The Prior Condition Clause: Ask Whether a Known Problem Can Be Set Aside Before You Sign

A warranty or service contract is a set of promises written in a specific order of words. The part most likely to decide what happens later is often not the headline description but the clause that treats some conditions as already present when the agreement starts. This guide explains that clause in general terms and gives you the questions to put before anyone asks for a signature.

What a prior condition clause does

Many agreements exclude or set aside problems that existed before the contract began, or that were known to the seller when the sale was made. The wording differs from one agreement to another. Some name a list of conditions, some describe a test by the repair facility, and some refer back to an inspection sheet. Read the definition of the term and the section that applies it, not only the summary on the front page.

Questions to ask in writing

Ask whether a problem you already know about, or have noticed in the past, would be excluded at the start. Ask who decides whether a condition was present before the agreement began, and what evidence that decision uses. Ask whether your service records must be kept in a particular form, and for how long. Ask for each answer in writing, because a spoken answer may not match the document.

Related clauses to read beside it

A waiting period is the time after the agreement starts before certain parts of it apply. Cancellation and transfer rules usually say how the agreement ends, how any refund is worked out, and whether a new owner can take it on. These are general features of how such contracts tend to work, and the exact wording in each one controls.

Compare the published terms, not the sales talk

This site keeps the published factory terms for each brand in its drawers. The Acura service contracts page and the Audi service contracts page set out how the factory terms run, when they end, and what a contract adds, and they hold the published figures to check against any quote you receive. Read those pages next to the document you have been given, and note every place where the two differ.