If you are looking to buy a car battery, you may have come across the terms prorated warranty and non-prorated warranty.

Let’s take a look at what these two terms mean.

Non-Prorated

A non-prorated warranty protects against any battery defects, and you will get a free replacement if you have issues. With a non-prorated warranty, you get full protection. You don’t have to pay for the cost of the repair or replacement.

With a non-prorated car battery warranty, should your car battery fail to hold a charge during the free replacement warranty period, your battery will be replaced for free.

Prorated

With a prorated warranty, you will have to pay for some of the replacement battery’s cost.  The battery manufacturer will cover part of the defective battery cost.

If you have a prorated warranty, should your car battery fail during the warranty period, will you be reimbursed for the remaining portion. A prorated battery with a 5-year warranty fails in 2.5 years. You will be refunded only 50% of the purchase price. Sometimes, the reimbursement can only be applied to your next replacement battery.

Non-prorated then Prorated

Manufacturers will divide a warranty into a non-prorated and prorated terms.

Some car batteries may start with a non-prorated warranty for the first 1, 2, 3, or 5 years; this is referred to as the free replacement period. If your battery fails during this time, you should get a free replacement battery.

After that, the battery warranty switches to prorated. You will only be partially reimbursed if your car battery dies and no longer holds a charge.

Example

prorated vs non pro rated car battery warrantyLet’s say you buy a battery that has a 6-year warranty. First, two years have a free replacement. After that, it is prorated. After the free replacement warranty (non-prorated) is up, you are now on the prorated period.

If your battery fails during:

Year 3 – You will be only refunded 75 % of the battery value.

Year 4 – You will be refunded 50% of the battery value.

Year 5 – You will be refunded 25% of the battery value.

Year 6 – After year 6, you get a refunded 0%.

What does Battery Limited Warranty mean?

A limited battery warranty will cover only certain circumstances and a limited amount of time.  The whole battery industry is going away from prorated battery warranties.

Now you will find a 1, 2,3,4 years for free replacement and no warranty (prorated) after that.

We hope you find the Prorated vs Non-Prorated Car Battery Warranty guide helpful. Check these troubleshooting and repair guides for more help on your vehicle.

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