Which Warranty Comes With a Used Vehicle at Jim Taylor Ford?

“Does it come with a warranty?” is the first question most people ask about a used vehicle, and the honest answer at Jim Taylor Ford is “it depends on which one.” Two trucks parked next to each other on our lot in Ruston can carry completely different coverage. One might still have factory warranty left. One might be Gold Certified with seven years of Ford powertrain coverage. One might be a regular used vehicle with our own Jim Taylor Assurance Warranty. One might be sold as-is because it is too old or has too many miles for any of those.

This guide explains each layer of coverage you might see on a used vehicle here, from the remaining factory warranty through Ford Blue Advantage and the Jim Taylor Assurance Warranty to optional Ford Protect service contracts, and how to find out which one applies to the specific vehicle you are looking at. Nothing here stacks automatically. Each vehicle gets the coverage it qualifies for, and you should know what that is before you talk price.

What are the layers of used-vehicle coverage at Jim Taylor Ford?

There are four: whatever remains of the original factory warranty, Ford Blue Advantage certified coverage on vehicles that qualify, the Jim Taylor Assurance Warranty on eligible regular used vehicles, and optional Ford Protect service contracts you can buy. A given vehicle has one or two of these, not all four.

The rest of this guide walks down the table one row at a time. If you only read one sentence, read this one: ask which coverage applies to the specific vehicle, and ask to see it in writing.

Does a used Ford still have its factory warranty?

Sometimes. Ford’s new-vehicle warranty runs from the date the vehicle was first sold, not from your purchase, so a one- or two-year-old used Ford usually still has factory coverage and a four-year-old one usually does not, at least not the bumper-to-bumper portion.

The original bumper-to-bumper coverage is 3 years or 36,000 miles, and it transfers with the vehicle. If you buy a 2025 Escape from us with 18,000 miles, a good part of that coverage is still there, and it works exactly as it would for the first owner: covered repairs at any Ford dealer, including ours on N Service Rd E. The factory powertrain coverage runs longer than the bumper-to-bumper portion, so a three- or four-year-old Ford can be out of comprehensive coverage and still inside factory powertrain coverage.

This is the layer people forget to ask about, and it is worth real money on a late-model used vehicle. We can pull the in-service date and the warranty status on any Ford on the lot in a minute. On a non-Ford trade-in, the same idea applies, but the terms belong to that manufacturer and you would ask us to check them.

What does Gold or Blue Certified add?

Gold Certified adds a 12-month/12,000-mile comprehensive limited warranty that begins when the factory 3/36 ends or at purchase, whichever is later, and a 7-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty measured from the original in-service date. Blue Certified adds a single 90-day/4,000-mile comprehensive limited warranty with no separate powertrain coverage.

Certified coverage is the broadest and longest coverage a used vehicle on our lot can carry, and it is backed by Ford, so any Ford dealer honors it. It comes with a 172-point inspection for Gold or 139 points for Blue, a $100 deductible per repair visit, 24/7 roadside assistance, a CARFAX report and Ford Rewards points. Gold and Blue are not the same thing, though, and the powertrain row in the table above is where they part ways. On a Blue Certified vehicle the engine and transmission are covered for the same 90 days as everything else. On Gold they are covered until the vehicle is seven years past its in-service date or reaches 100,000 miles.

Certified inventory changes weekly, and there are weeks when no Gold or Blue Certified Ford is on the lot. When one is, it is badged in our certified pre-owned inventory. The certified pre-owned Ford overview explains eligibility, inspection and warranty for all three Ford Blue Advantage tiers, and the warranty guide goes line by line through the coverage.

Curious how a Ford qualifies? Here is the Ford Blue Advantage certification process in Ruston, step by step.

What is the Jim Taylor Assurance Warranty?

The Jim Taylor Assurance Warranty is our own dealer-backed limited powertrain warranty, included on eligible used vehicles that are under 10 years old with under 140,000 miles. It runs 3 months or 3,000 miles, whichever comes first, and covers the engine, transmission, transfer case and drive axle.

Think of it as the floor. It is the coverage a used vehicle gets from us when it is not certified, whether because it is a make Ford does not certify under Gold, because it is outside the Ford Blue Advantage window, or because it simply was not put through the program. It also includes towing reimbursement up to $125 and rental assistance if a covered repair keeps the vehicle overnight, which matters when your only vehicle is in the shop and you still have to get to work in Grambling or Choudrant the next morning.

Two things to be clear about. First, it is a powertrain warranty, not a comprehensive one. The air conditioning, the electronics and the power accessories are not part of it. Second, it does not stack on top of or extend Ford’s coverage. A certified vehicle carries Ford Blue Advantage coverage; an eligible non-certified vehicle carries the Assurance Warranty. Each vehicle gets the coverage it qualifies for, and the full terms are on our Jim Taylor Assurance Warranty page.

What are Ford Protect service contracts?

Ford Protect is Ford’s own line of optional extended service plans. They are something you choose to buy, not something included with the vehicle, and they are the way to add longer coverage to a used vehicle whose included coverage is short or ending.

Where a Ford Protect plan makes the most sense is on a vehicle that falls between the layers: a good used Ford that is just outside the Gold window, or a Blue Certified vehicle whose 90-day coverage will be gone by spring. Plans vary in what they cover and for how long, so I am not going to list terms here. Ask us for the plans and prices available on the specific vehicle you are considering, and compare that against what the vehicle already carries. Sometimes the answer is that the included coverage is enough.

How do I find out which coverage applies to a specific vehicle?

Ask, and ask to see it in writing. Every used vehicle on our lot in Ruston has a coverage status, and any salesperson here can tell you in a minute whether it is certified, whether it carries the Assurance Warranty, and how much factory warranty, if any, is left.

Three questions get you the whole picture. What is the original in-service date, and how much factory warranty is left? Is this vehicle Gold Certified, Blue Certified or neither? If neither, does it qualify for the Jim Taylor Assurance Warranty? The answers tell you exactly what is covered from the day you drive off, and they change the value of the vehicle.

One more thing to know: the warranty that covers the vehicle is the one written in its paperwork, not the one described on a website, including this one. Read the warranty document before you sign, and if anything in it does not match what you were told, ask before you drive off, not after. If you are weighing a certified truck specifically, the certified F-150 guide walks through the questions to ask on the most popular one.

Frequently Asked Questions

My take on used-vehicle warranties

The conversation I want to have less often is the one where somebody assumed “certified” and “warranty” meant the same thing, or assumed every used vehicle on a dealer lot carries the same coverage. They do not, and the difference is not small. A Gold Certified truck and a regular used truck with the Assurance Warranty are both honest products from us, but one carries years of Ford powertrain coverage and the other carries three months of ours. The price should reflect that, and so should your decision.

My advice is to make coverage part of the shopping, not an afterthought at the desk. If you are keeping the vehicle a long time and driving it hard, the way most people around Lincoln Parish do, weight the certified truck and the years of powertrain coverage heavily. If you trade often or the vehicle is a second car for short trips around Ruston, the Assurance Warranty on a lower-priced vehicle may be all you need. Either way, get the answer in writing.

Come by Jim Taylor Ford in Ruston and ask us which coverage comes with any vehicle on the lot. We will show you, and we will tell you if a different vehicle would serve you better.

Ford Blue Advantage and factory warranty terms are set by Ford Motor Company; Jim Taylor Assurance Warranty terms are on our Jim Taylor Assurance Warranty page. The vehicle’s warranty documents govern. This guide sits inside our full certified pre-owned Ford overview for Ruston, which explains the Gold, Blue and EV Certified tiers in detail.