Warranty - what do the Germans know?

[Mermaid]

Toyota is now offering a 5 year warranty on all new cars.

Kia or Hyundai or one of these Korean things is offering a 7 year warranty AFAIK.

Most German/French/Italian cars offer a 3 year warranty, some with mileage limited.

Manufacturers of a couple RWD rear engined ones only a 2 year warranty - Porsche & Smart .

So what do the Germans (great engineers etc etc) know about their cars that prevents them offering a 5 year warranty?

[8400rpm]

It's not profitable to make their cars last for 5 years without costing a fortune in warranty claims.

[F i F]

Marketing that's all it is.

Toyboata have increased theirs in a response to the recent debacle, fabricated by the media largely imo.

Hyundai etc it's a tool so they can command a higher price.

Porsche etc feel they don't have to offer a longer warranty so don't.

all imho.

[McSam]

Yep, all I've ever thought of it as is a way to shift cars. The mainstream/prestige brands simply don't need to offer or advertise longer warranties because people will want to buy the car anyway, whereas it becomes a selling point for lower quality and lower priced cars. Toyota, of course, needs to pull business back in for different reasons, as F i F says,

[JB!]

to be fair, for a new runabout, a new toyota with a 5 year warranty is VERY tempting.

[Dracoro]

8400rpm said:

It's not profitable to make their cars last for 5 years without costing a fortune in warranty claims.

Only an issue if the cars are unreliable.

Which they are, otherwise little to lose by having a 5/6/7 year warranty and everything to gain.

[Mermaid]

F i F said:

Toyboata have increased theirs in a response to the recent debacle, fabricated by the media largely imo.

.

agreed - but they can probably not ever wind back the 5 year warranty, and have factored in the cost i.e maybe it is not that big for them.

[McSam]

JB! said:

to be fair, for a new runabout, a new toyota with a 5 year warranty is VERY tempting.

I've always figured that taking a six-month-old ex-demo with the remainder of the warranty on it is a better way to go. I'll happily save 20-40% to not be the first owner, cheers

Edited by McSam on Monday 21st June 11:52

[Jayho]

the likes of Kia and Hyundai offer the warranty to mainly for marketing reasons. If they offer this warranty it gets more people to consider one, especially those who usually keep there cars until it runs to the ground. It's a way to say "we're not as unreliable as people say we are" because if they built an unreliable car they wont make any money due to the repairs!

Toyota is just damage control.

Germans are already known for reliability therefore dont need to sell through warranty.

[Dracoro]

Jayho said:

Germans are already known for unreliability therefore can't sell through warranty.

Edited for accuracy

Anyway, tell me, why did the Germans (and all the others for that matter) move from 1 year warranty to 3 years? After all, even then many of them were known for their reliability. They did it because the cars were built well enough to not have any significant issues in 3 years of most driving.

[ZesPak]

Jayho said:

...
Germans are already known for reliability People still think germans are reliable, therefore dont need to sell through warranty.

EFA

Imho they'd lose too much on claims, otherwise they would prolong it.
Which tells me that their cars aren't as reliable as they claim.

Which is confirmed by several surveys.

[homerjay]

i dont think toyota make anything i'd want to buy anyway, 5 year warranty or not.

bland bland bland

[g3org3y]

Jayho said:

the likes of Kia and Hyundai offer the warranty to mainly for marketing reasons. If they offer this warranty it gets more people to consider one, especially those who usually keep there cars until it runs to the ground. It's a way to say "we're not as unreliable as people say we are" because if they built an unreliable car they wont make any money due to the repairs!

I'm assuming for the warranty to be valid for 7 years it will need all main dealer servicing at the required intervals.

So what can one actually claim on the warranty - major 'fails'. I would have thought consumables would not be covered - however that term can be far reaching - springs, bushes etc can be considered as such.

[Rude-boy]

homerjay said:

i dont think toyota make anything i'd want to buy anyway, 5 year warranty or not.

bland bland bland

Agreed, that said if they were selling a Boxster rival (and I could aford a new one ) this might tip the balance.

[shibby!]

Hyundai in the US advertise their cars as having a 10 year 100k mile warranty!!!!!!!

Pretty poor from eveyrone really!

[Great Pretender]

ZesPak said:

Jayho said:

...
Germans are already known for reliability People still think germans are reliable, therefore dont need to sell through warranty.

EFA

Imho they'd lose too much on claims, otherwise they would prolong it.
Which tells me that their cars aren't as reliable as they claim.

Which is confirmed by several surveys.

No, I rather think that anything German is seen as prestige, therefore, a long warranty/reliability is not as high on their criteria when purchasing the car.

[aclivity]

g3org3y said:

Jayho said:

the likes of Kia and Hyundai offer the warranty to mainly for marketing reasons. If they offer this warranty it gets more people to consider one, especially those who usually keep there cars until it runs to the ground. It's a way to say "we're not as unreliable as people say we are" because if they built an unreliable car they wont make any money due to the repairs!

I'm assuming for the warranty to be valid for 7 years it will need all main dealer servicing at the required intervals.

Not in the EU - main dealer servicing is not required, all that is required is that the garage is VAT registered and follows the manufacturer specific service plans, using original (or equivalent standard) parts.

[ArtVandelay]

Rude-boy said:

homerjay said:

i dont think toyota make anything i'd want to buy anyway, 5 year warranty or not.

bland bland bland

Agreed, that said if they were selling a Boxster rival (and I could aford a new one ) this might tip the balance.

The Toyobaru (if it is still in line for production) might be what you're looking for

[homerjay]

ArtVandelay said:

Rude-boy said:

homerjay said:

i dont think toyota make anything i'd want to buy anyway, 5 year warranty or not.

bland bland bland

Agreed, that said if they were selling a Boxster rival (and I could aford a new one ) this might tip the balance.

The Toyobaru (if it is still in line for production) might be what you're looking for

this thing?

http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/toyota-ft-86-20...

Edited by homerjay on Monday 21st June 13:20

[Jayho]

Dracoro said:

Jayho said:

Germans are already known for unreliability therefore can't sell through warranty.

Edited for accuracy

Anyway, tell me, why did the Germans (and all the others for that matter) move from 1 year warranty to 3 years? After all, even then many of them were known for their reliability. They did it because the cars were built well enough to not have any significant issues in 3 years of most driving.

hmmm... My brothers VW Golf S reg i think!?! :S Mk 4 has had no problems with over 150k miles on it, just need to keep it serviced and maintained? Think the only thing he's had to replace is the heat shield and some bearings that comes from normal usage after this bad winter?

So what do you guys deem as reliable cars then? I'd be genuinely interested to know what is the most reliable nationality of car?!?! I've had French which was reliable but the drive was rubbish, I've had British which broke down every 4 months, and my Jap mobile is in and out of the garage!?! :S maybe its just my poor driving though!