Adobe.StockWhen you buy a car, new or used, and you hear from the salesperson that there's a bumper-to-bumper warranty, you kind of assume that means if anything goes wrong, it's covered, like forever."Consumers, when they buy a new car, they hear bumper-to-bumper, and then they hear powertrain; they're like, oh, that's great. One is good for three or five years, the other one's good for 10 years. But the reality is there are exceptions. So a lot of new cars that have a lot of new safety equipment and infotainment equipment, those systems are often covered up to three years," said Patrick Olsen, CARFAX.When it comes to used cars, you might have a Dealer Warranty or a third-party warranty. Both come with things you need to know."First, in dealing with car warranties, read to understand the fine print. The fine print, such as here, is really the fine. print, you have to look really hard to see it," said Christopher Jones, 2 Wants To Know Call For Action volunteer. Jones is one of our 2 Wants To Know Call For Action volunteers. These volunteers help consumers resolve their warranty issues. "You should look to see what is in the warranty. It's not exactly what they say, but it's what's in the warranty that's going to matter," said Jones. For example, in the third-party warranty, you are required to get authorization prior to beginning any repairs covered. In the Dealer's warranty, to keep the powertrain warranty valid, your vehicle must be serviced according to the owner's manual... and you must keep receipts to document it. Some dealerships require you to return it to their site or a specific affiliate to have warranty work paid for.Need help with a consumer issue? Fill out the complaint form in the 2 Wants To Know section.