General Motors cuts length of US warranty on 2009 Saab models, says measure will cut costs

[Jimmie84]

Originally Posted by jayman

I wonder what the fine print is? I just can't see a "lifetime" whatever, there is usually enough wiggle room to allow them to wiggle out of a claim

Ok checked it out. You're supposed to see the dealer for details. They probably have a book the size of War ANd Peace you have to wade through

My Dad has a 2005 Dakota. We took it to the dealership last Saturday to have it serviced. While we waited we drove a 2008 Ram 1500 4x4 with the 5.7L hemi and ect. Nice truck overall and is built very solid. Dodge trucks now are far better than what they were in the 80's and 90's.

It did come with the lifetime warranty but it does not cover wear and tear. I guess if something major was to happen well beyond 200k like spun rod bearing in the engine, Dode would have to tear it down to decide if it was wear and tear or manufacture flaw....

If i Was in the market for a truck new truck right now I'd be all over the one we looked at. List was $38,000 and they had a $15,000 off the price on the windshield. Thats a freakin steal!

[cwerdna]

Originally Posted by jayman

I wonder what the fine print is? I just can't see a "lifetime" whatever, there is usually enough wiggle room to allow them to wiggle out of a claim

Ok checked it out. You're supposed to see the dealer for details. They probably have a book the size of War ANd Peace you have to wade through

There's a FAQ at New Chrysler Lifetime Powertrain Limited Warranty - Cars, Minivans, SUVs, Crossovers - Warranties. The biggest limitation is that it isn't transferable.

[bac]

Originally Posted by cwerdna

There's a FAQ at New Chrysler Lifetime Powertrain Limited Warranty - Cars, Minivans, SUVs, Crossovers - Warranties. The biggest limitation is that it isn't transferable.

Again, the devil is in the details - which you are certainly NOT going to find on Chrysler's FAQ page.

... Brad

[JSH]

Originally Posted by JimN

1. Cutting the warranty reduces the reserve for warranty work. This is a non-cash expense. Instant improvement to the bottom line without having to do anything.

2. How large is the actual warranty expense for the later years? What fails after the 3/36 warranty?

Since this is GM I have my suspicions. Cutting the warranty infers the product is now lower quality. Way to go to improve consumer confidence. Note to every auto manufacturer: If you don't believe in the quality of your product why should I?

I agree with you that this is a financial move that help GM's books immediately.

I disagree with you when you say that cutting the warranty implies that the vehicle is lower quality. Warranties are nothing more than a marketing tool. Companies give warranties to buy customer confidence. The lower the average customers confidence in your product, the longer the warranty given. The idea is to get a customer to take a chance on you by promising to fix any future problems.

Hyundai is the best example of this in the automotive industry. Hyundai came to the US with cars that had horrible quality and quickly got a bad reputation. They went back, fixed the cars, but still couldn't overcome the stigma of their previous quality problems. Then they come out with their 100K mile warranty in order to buy customer confidence and the rest is history.

What Saab has seen is that offering an warranty that was twice as long as any other luxury brand didn't help sell any more cars. They then went back to the industry standard for luxury car of 4 years / 50,000 miles for both basic and powertrain warranties. Saab's warranty package is still the best in the business because not only do the have the a 4 yr / 50K mile warranty, they also pay for the first 3 years of maintenance.

If the people here really thought that the length of warranty was directly related to quality of vehicle you wouldn't have bought a Toyota. Toyota has the shortest warranty in the business with the exception of Chrysler products. Why? Because they don't have to convince the customer that they have good quality.

[cwerdna]

Originally Posted by jhinton

Saab's warranty package is still the best in the business because not only do the have the a 4 yr / 50K mile warranty, they also pay for the first 3 years of maintenance.

If the people here really thought that the length of warranty was directly related to quality of vehicle you wouldn't have bought a Toyota. Toyota has the shortest warranty in the business with the exception of Chrysler products. Why? Because they don't have to convince the customer that they have good quality.

I don't see how Saab's "warranty package is still the best in the business" even with the "free" maintenance for the first 3 years. Many companies, including Toyota powertrain warranties of 5 years/60K miles in addition to their standard 3 year/36K mile basic warranty. As for Toyota's being shortest, several other companies have the same 3 year/36K basic, 5 year/60K powertrain warranty such as Nissan, Mazda, and Honda.

Acura and Infiniti do 4 year/50 or 60K mile basic warranties and 6 year/70K mile powertrain warranties. BMW does 4 years/50K miles on the whole car and "free" maintenance during the entire duration.

See Auto warranty, car warranty at Edmunds for a warranty chart.

[RobH]

I understand why they reduced the warranty on the Saab. I owned one.

Shall we just say that the build quality of a Chevrolet is better than a Saab.

What I really liked about the Saab was the high profile, vertical seating, 4-door hatchback design. The hatchback opening came all the way down to the bumper. The shape of the 900 was a rather quirky aerodynamic style not found in other cars. Kinda like a Prius...

I do miss putting the key into the ignition switch on the floor.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by cwerdna

I don't see how Saab's "warranty package is still the best in the business" even with the "free" maintenance for the first 3 years. Many companies, including Toyota powertrain warranties of 5 years/60K miles in addition to their standard 3 year/36K mile basic warranty. As for Toyota's being shortest, several other companies have the same 3 year/36K basic, 5 year/60K powertrain warranty such as Nissan, Mazda, and Honda.

Acura and Infiniti do 4 year/50 or 60K mile basic warranties and 6 year/70K mile powertrain warranties. BMW does 4 years/50K miles on the whole car and "free" maintenance during the entire duration.

See Auto warranty, car warranty at Edmunds for a warranty chart.

I got my information from: Manufacturer Warranty Comparisons | CarSmart. I don't know how this compares to Edmunds.

I should have made it clear that I was referring to Luxury cars when I said best in the business. Among luxury brands 4/50,000 basic 4/50,000 powertrain warranties are standard. Only Chrysler is less at 3/36,000 basic and only Acura, Lexus, Infiniti, and Lincoln are better with a 6/70,000 powertrain warranty.

I stand corrected though, as I wasn't aware that Acura and BMW were offering longer free maintenance than 36K miles.

To me, free maintenance is much more valuable than a longer warranty. I've based this on my experience as a product manager for off-road vehicles. I am currently finishing up the details of the warranty on our 2009 vehicles. From my company's experience, extending warranties are almost free. The vast majority of warranty failures happen within the first 50 hours of use. So going from 2 to 3 years cost the company very little but can be a valuable marketing tool to win over customers from the major companies or a excellent way to make a larger profit if we sell an optional extended warranty.

Lets say I give the customer the option to purchase an additional year as an extended warranty. Take for example an extended drivetrain warranty. It costs my company ~$12 to purchase an addition year of warranty from our engine manufacturer and transaxle manufacturer. We can then turn around and sell this to the customer for $499.