Topic: Consumer Advice: Which Car Manufacturer Has the Best Warranty?

[Autos_Editor]

Buying new? Keeping your shiny new ride for more than two years? Come see how long you're covered by the manufacturer.
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[Noto]

Rust-Through Warranty Terms
Manufacturer   Duration   Distance
Chrysler, Dodge, Dodge SRT, Fiat, Jeep, RAM   3 years   unlimited
Tesla   4 years   80,000 km
Acura, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Scion, Smart, Subaru, Toyota   5 years   unlimited
Buick, Chevrolet, GMC   6 years   160,000 km
Cadillac, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus   6 years   unlimited
Infiniti, Mazda   7 years   unlimited
Audi, BMW, Mini, Porsche, Volkswagen, Volvo   12 years   unlimited

[tooscoops]

helpful info... as i know the fca stuff pretty well, they are the only ones i'll comment on.

rust through/perforation for the fca is not 3 year unlimited, it is 5 year 160000km. perforation being key... if it's surface rust, then the 3 years applies (but i believe 60,000km).

also, all fca cars aside from srt and cummins are 5 yr 100000 roadside. not sure why dodge popped up on your shorter term there.

one issue with these long term warranties i find is the longer the term, the easier it is for the manufacturer to get out of it (more chances of a missed oil change or service, more opportunity for blame to be put on the driver, etc.) and another thing is if you are expected to pay double the price each time you get a service in order to keep the warranty valid, how much are you really saving?

anyway, good info. another category should be which companies have the maintenance included warranties and their duration.

[rrocket]

helpful info... as i know the fca stuff pretty well, they are the only ones i'll comment on.

rust through/perforation for the fca is not 3 year unlimited, it is 5 year 160000km. perforation being key... if it's surface rust, then the 3 years applies (but i believe 60,000km).

also, all fca cars aside from srt and cummins are 5 yr 100000 roadside. not sure why dodge popped up on your shorter term there.

one issue with these long term warranties i find is the longer the term, the easier it is for the manufacturer to get out of it (more chances of a missed oil change or service, more opportunity for blame to be put on the driver, etc.) and another thing is if you are expected to pay double the price each time you get a service in order to keep the warranty valid, how much are you really saving?

anyway, good info. another category should be which companies have the maintenance included warranties and their duration.

FLA just changed their warranty...like a month ago. Not sure if that's why?

[ALin]

helpful info... as i know the fca stuff pretty well, they are the only ones i'll comment on.

rust through/perforation for the fca is not 3 year unlimited, it is 5 year 160000km. perforation being key... if it's surface rust, then the 3 years applies (but i believe 60,000km).

also, all fca cars aside from srt and cummins are 5 yr 100000 roadside. not sure why dodge popped up on your shorter term there.

one issue with these long term warranties i find is the longer the term, the easier it is for the manufacturer to get out of it (more chances of a missed oil change or service, more opportunity for blame to be put on the driver, etc.) and another thing is if you are expected to pay double the price each time you get a service in order to keep the warranty valid, how much are you really saving?

anyway, good info. another category should be which companies have the maintenance included warranties and their duration.

Thanks for pointing this out! I was originally looking at the general warranty terms when compiling the list, and there they state "Rust-through coverage on all body sheet metal is for 3 years." Having looked at the actual warranty booklet, you're correct, the outer panels in particular are covered for 5 years/160,000 km (and clarifies that the 3-year term has no distance restriction). The only other manufacturer I came across with similar terms (identical terms, actually) was for Mercedes-Benz Sprinters.

I used Dodge SRT instead of just SRT because FCA has been waffling on whether SRT belongs to Dodge or is a marque in its own right. The SRT 3-year/60k term applies to all vehicles with the SRT designation, which includes cars like the Hellcat SRT, which is ostensibly a Dodge vehicle.

I was originally looking at the included maintenance terms, but there's only one manufacturer offering it: BMW (and I suppose Audi, but they only cover the first visit). Volvo used to, but they dropped it sometime after 2013. I've added a mention to it in the article. It's something that definitely adds value, and is an active step towards ensuring that the car is properly maintained, but I doubt it's going to find traction with other manufacturers at this point.

[mmret]

Free maintenance was included on a few Volvos recently... Maybe only as a sweetener for some models. Mine has it.

[bensonc]

To me warranty is 1 thing,make the dealer to fix them is another...
Here is some complain from my 2013 Toyota Venza.  Every time the service adviser said tech can't find problem during test drive.  And there is nothing they can do about if they can't duplicate the problem.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJft94jPhRA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HsTfOVY5XY
one more showing the same problem...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlZiLJaSeOE 

[johngenx]

Yeah - totally agree.  Warranty is useless if they won't honour it and/or fight you tooth-and-nail over it.  The first trick is to buy a car that probably won't need the warranty anyway, and then to buy from a maker that will stand behind it.

I'm not much of an expert on Toyota's warranty service as our Corolla required only a couple minor repairs - but those went smoothly.  We only had one warranty repair on our Forester, and it was simple and the dealer did it without question.  I know some folks that had large engine issues with their Subarus and they seemed to be handled reasonably well.

We owned several Mercedes' under warranty and the service was incredible.  I've only owned one BMW under warranty (I've only owned 2, ever, and one was a 1974 model!) but in the short time we had it, no non-scheduled visits.

[carcrazed]

Infiniti seems to have a best balance of all criteria combined.. good for them.

[X-Traction]

A relevant matter outside the scope of the article is whether the warranty transfers beyond the original owner.  How many Hyundai owners keep their vehicles for 10 years?

[tooscoops]

i don't think there are any factory warranties that aren't transferable at this point. could definitely be wrong, but pretty sure they are fully transferable and only some of the extendeds and "lifetime" ones aren't able to be passed on.

happy to help out mr lin! i don't know much, but might as well share the little bit i do know! as i said, though, good info.

and to the comments on the FNF (fault not found).... my god it's annoying. and it happens so damn often. have my jeep up on the hoist right now actually for an oil change and have them trying to find the shifting issues i have been having... tech just came up and said he can't get it to do it... meanwhile, over the last two weeks, i have had three other people drive my jeep, and ALL THREE commented that it "popped out" of fourth on them... well, the one didn't comment... i wan in the passenger seat as it did a pop and grind... i believe he actually just said, "SH!T, sorry mike!"

but really... even if they do fix it... a new transmission? do i really want that, or would i prefer to just be aware and more careful going into 4th? not sure...

[X-Traction]

i don't think there are any factory warranties that aren't transferable at this point. could definitely be wrong, but pretty sure they are fully transferable and only some of the extendeds and "lifetime" ones aren't able to be passed on.

The Hyundai/Kia 10-year warranty is not transferable.  Which is why I mentioned it.
http://www.autotrader.com/research/article/car-tips/228454/buying-a-car-is-the-factory-warranty-transferable.jsp

[Fobroader]

The best warranty is one that you will never/seldom have to use.....that to me is a much bigger seller than 10 years/200k km blah....blah....blah...

[Patrick_D1]

i don't think there are any factory warranties that aren't transferable at this point. could definitely be wrong, but pretty sure they are fully transferable and only some of the extendeds and "lifetime" ones aren't able to be passed on.

The Hyundai/Kia 10-year warranty is not transferable.  Which is why I mentioned it.
http://www.autotrader.com/research/article/car-tips/228454/buying-a-car-is-the-factory-warranty-transferable.jsp

That's U.S. only. Warranties in Canada have to be transferable, which is why you don't see the same first-owner offers here as in the U.S..

[tooscoops]

i don't think there are any factory warranties that aren't transferable at this point. could definitely be wrong, but pretty sure they are fully transferable and only some of the extendeds and "lifetime" ones aren't able to be passed on.

The Hyundai/Kia 10-year warranty is not transferable.  Which is why I mentioned it.
http://www.autotrader.com/research/article/car-tips/228454/buying-a-car-is-the-factory-warranty-transferable.jsp

think that's just in 'murica....

New Vehicle Limited Warranty

Terms and Conditions
The warranties in this manual apply only to Kia vehicles
manufactured  to  Canadian  specifications  which  are
distributed  by  KCI  through  its  authorized  dealer  body, 
and  registered and normally operated in Canada.

During  the  applicable  warranty  period,  the  remaining
warranty  coverage  is  transferable  to  subsequent
owners.

the rust perforation one seemed a bit more ambiguous, but it would seem that the rest of the warranty is transferable.

[X-Traction]

i don't think there are any factory warranties that aren't transferable at this point. could definitely be wrong, but pretty sure they are fully transferable and only some of the extendeds and "lifetime" ones aren't able to be passed on.

The Hyundai/Kia 10-year warranty is not transferable.  Which is why I mentioned it.
http://www.autotrader.com/research/article/car-tips/228454/buying-a-car-is-the-factory-warranty-transferable.jsp

That's U.S. only. Warranties in Canada have to be transferable, which is why you don't see the same first-owner offers here as in the U.S..

Huh!  Thanks for correcting me.

[Northernridge]

I think warranties are mostly just curious marketing features.

Toyota and Lexus probably have the best warranties because their cars are basically warranted to rarely break in the first place.

I wonder how influential new car warranties really are for people? Other than wanting some kind of warranty I bet people don't give it much thought.

[tooscoops]

it backs up the preconceived notion of reliability of a new car... it is quite important... i very rarely sell a car where they don't ask what the warranty is... probably less rare for someone not to ask about the engine... and i'm not exaggerating.

media has convinced them to ask about fuel consumption, warranty and financing rate. even if it doesn't matter to them, they have been trained to ask.

[ArticSteve]

I think warranties are mostly just curious marketing features.


Nicely put.

[tooscoops]

that's true... when they have someone footing the bill, they will give anything a shot! when they think warranty will deny the claim, they don't risk it.

when it's not acting up, say they guess at a $500 part that makes sense, but it comes back in for the same warranty issues a month later? warranty denied for that claim. then the service department becomes a loser, which as we all know, is the only place for the dealer to actually make some cash (besides business office).

and yeah, when i'm footing the bill, i am MUCH more willing to put up with certain flaws....