Used Car Warranties

[hertsnminds]

Just watched the What Car Week 86 Podcast. Kia are upgrading their used car warranty so on a C'eed any car up to 18 months old with up to 18,000 miles on the clock will get it's full 7 year 100,000 mile warranty restored when you buy it. That gives a car with an 8 1/2 year 118,000 mile warranty. How can Kia be so sure of their product and no other manufacturer, even the World's largest (Toyota) cannot.

[Demonic Angel]

I was talking to a work colleague about this last week.... the likes of Kia & Hyundai give extended warranties of 7 and 5 years respectively on some of their models (with Hyundai I think its the whole range)

It amazes me that these smaller companies can "guarantee" their cars for this amount of time and other bigger manufacturers still only give a 3 year warranty as standard for a brand new car....

It's a good marketing ploy though, I'm sure Kia & Hyundai sales are more than they were 5 years ago....

[Karma Supra]

Its crazy. They must be very confident in their cars.. what initiates a healthy sales boost now could put a company under in 5 years time if they get a lot of similar ages cars failing!

The fact that my car has only a 3 year warrenty, and only a 6 year rust warrenty (which I have already had to claim on) is disgusting for a just under £50k car.

Hats off to them if they can pull it off - Everyone else will pretty much have to match it or come close to be competetive!

[Steigers]

I'd like to hear about someones claim experience, which is too early to say yet.

Imagine 6 years and 88k into your Kia ownership you need to claim for some suspension bits. I wonder how much the dealership will try to wiggle out of it and say it is must be because of someones heavy handed driving. Or......

"looking through the service records sir this air conditioning service was completed just outside our tolerances therefore your suspension problems are not covered."

Kia will also have to be a solvent company in seven years time to have to fulfill the seven year/100k promise. I remember people thought Daewoo were too big to fail at the car game and look who bought them out of the financial doo-doo!

Maybe I am just cynical of course :D

[s m smith]

Hyundia are a massive business , one of the worlds biggest ship builders, making cars is not there main source of income, so maybe they can subsidize there car industry and offer longer warranties when others can not

[Steigers]

Hyundia are a massive business , one of the worlds biggest ship builders, making cars is not there main source of income, so maybe they can subsidize there car industry and offer longer warranties when others can not

Daewoo are pretty enormous also, unsure whether they are bigger than Hyundai. Chucking cash at a problem has never been a great solution IMHO

As Demonic Angel said, a clever marketing thing mainly. You have to like the cars to consider the benefit of a seven year warranty and Kia's aren't for me.

[s m smith]

Hyundia are a massive business , one of the worlds biggest ship builders, making cars is not there main source of income, so maybe they can subsidize there car industry and offer longer warranties when others can not

Daewoo are pretty enormous also, unsure whether they are bigger than Hyundai. Chucking cash at a problem has never been a great solution IMHO

As Demonic Angel said, a clever marketing thing mainly. You have to like the cars to consider the benefit of a seven year warranty and Kia's aren't for me.

there cars years ago were pretty grim, but they seem to have improved quite a bit, i have owned Toyota's for over 30 years now and have looked at the Kia ceed, its a pretty good motor, and i do like the look of a 7 year warranty, but its hard to change manufactures after so long

[Demonic Angel]

It'd be interesting to see where Kia & Hyundai come in the Customer Satisfaction surveys....

My best friend has a Hyundai Getz, which has the 5 year warranty, on an 04 plate, so the warranty is just about to come to an end. She's not had any major issues with it and any she has had have been fixable under warranty. Whether the reliability will continue, who knows, but I do know the 5 year warranty was one of the main factors behind the initial purchase of the car back in 2004.

[chatman]

These warranties are underwritten I believe by the vehicle manufacture, so they have to put up the money to make them viable... Hey even FIAT offer a 5 year warranty now on some models....

The KIA and HYUNDAI are two good examples of manufacture ability to have confidence in there veichcles...and in this current climate I'm sure these dealers are having no trouble shifting motors.... You don't see fields and dock yards full of Kia's and Hyandai's... but you do see loads of Toyota's and Honda's

[Heidfirst]

You don't see fields and dock yards full of Kia's and Hyandai's... but you do see loads of Toyota's and Honda's

their UK sales are lower & they don't have any UK factories - both good reasons for there to be more Honda & Toyota stock in the UK. ;)

[Steigers]

Driver behaviour is probably one of the bigger factors influencing warranty length - I wonder if either Hyundai or Kia would offer a seven year 100k warranty on any performance model they may offer in the future.

Without being rude about people who drive Kia's or Hyundai's I think their motoring desires/expectations are a little less than that of a lot of people. I.E They are buying the car because it has a seven year warranty, not the 0 - 60 time, or handling etc...They may therefore drive a little less enthusiastically than others and experience less claims over the course of seven years compared someone driving a sportier car?

I am sure both manufacturers are good at what they do, marketing probably being the really strong point :)

[Karma Supra]

Good point Steve!!

[Steigers]

Good point Steve!!

Thank you Charlie - it may have killed the thread though :)

[Pompey Gaz]

isn't there a toyota factory in Derby?

lol the toyota's get shipped in at grimsby and there is a huge multisite plot where they store them, same with Audi and Mercs though. still see a fair few leave and come though, wouldn't say it was unhealthy storage

Lol i love my Grande Punto's unlimited milage 5 year warranty, so far for one job they wriggled out of it so i'm not really ever gunna use it, gotta mate who sorts us out at his garage lol uses proper parts too.

the Kia Cee'd sport looks alright but i walked into the fiat side of Stoneacre before the Kia side lol

[hertsnminds]

They may therefore drive a little less enthusiastically than others and experience less claims over the course of seven years compared someone driving a sportier car?

So you are saying anyone giving less than a 5 year warranty has nothing that drives in a sporty fashion?

Hyundai Coupe is now on it's third generation 0-60 under 10s, top speed around 130mph same as many hot hatches. But it still get s a 5 year warranty.

Toyota make a few less sporty cars, should they have a longer warranty than the sports models?

If you stereotype a Honda Civic driver they are all pensioners so Honda should be giving 10 year warranties on these cars.

I don't think your logic makes sense for determining warranty duration. The number of warranty claims is determined by the quality of parts and manufacturing as well as correct servicing for the cars usage.

[Steigers]

They may therefore drive a little less enthusiastically than others and experience less claims over the course of seven years compared someone driving a sportier car?

So you are saying anyone giving less than a 5 year warranty has nothing that drives in a sporty fashion?

Hyundai Coupe is now on it's third generation 0-60 under 10s, top speed around 130mph same as many hot hatches. But it still get s a 5 year warranty.

Toyota make a few less sporty cars, should they have a longer warranty than the sports models?

If you stereotype a Honda Civic driver they are all pensioners so Honda should be giving 10 year warranties on these cars.

I don't think your logic makes sense for determining warranty duration. The number of warranty claims is determined by the quality of parts and manufacturing as well as correct servicing for the cars usage.

No I'm not saying that, if you read the first line of the post.....

Driver behaviour is probably one of the bigger factors influencing warranty length

Insurance is only gambling by men in suits - without wishing people to suck eggs all insurance is based on huge piles of data and generally it is pretty accurate. No car manufacturer is going to offer a long warranty on a car that tends to bought by people who will drive it more enthusiastically as they know it will probably wear out quicker and cost more to be fixed over it's life and reduce their profitability.

Why would a car manufacturer offer a warranty on a car for longer than they felt necessary - kind of giving away any profit which is exactly why you don't get a ten year warranty on a Honda. Basic economics really etc...

As a footnote a car that gets to 60 in under ten, and onto 130 does not make a sports car IMHO.

As has already been stated, mainly a marketing thing in order for manufacturers to gain market share - not IMHO an indicator of quality

[Mike0001]

I love the Toyota Approved used car warranty that covers anything that doesn't wear out! :D

[hertsnminds]

Driver behaviour is probably one of the bigger factors influencing warranty length

I still don't see how this works. Unless you are saying a majority of drivers of a certain car manufacturer or specific model all drive the same way. If that is what you are saying then your argument is that a cars warranty should based upon the same factors as the owners insurance premium?

[duncerduncs]

Why do Toyota offer a 5 year warranty on new cars in mainland Europe but only a 3 year one in the UK?

Maybe it's because they all drive on the wrong side of the road!

[Mike0001]

Why do Toyota offer a 5 year warranty on new cars in mainland Europe but only a 3 year one in the UK?

Maybe it's because they all drive on the wrong side of the road!

No, just a poor exchange rate! :P

[Steigers]

Driver behaviour is probably one of the bigger factors influencing warranty length

I still don't see how this works. Unless you are saying a majority of drivers of a certain car manufacturer or specific model all drive the same way. If that is what you are saying then your argument is that a cars warranty should based upon the same factors as the owners insurance premium?

I think driver behaviour is just one of the factors, you mentioned some other factors which will also influence warranty length which I think are relevant too IMHO. Whilst I am not in the position to prove it with facts and figures i think that drivers of certain types of vehicle will drive in similar ways. Have to be careful of offending people here but speaking in very broad terms....

Saab/Volvo drivers used to have a bit of a rep for being a bit too cautious (Have owned a Saab so hopefully this will placate any offended).

BMW drivers not being as considerate as some drivers.

and others I can't think of now..... All people are different, but if you drive a certain car you will probably exhibit some traits similair to someone else driving the same car. You can also prove anything with statistics....

I would be surprised if car companies did not consider who would drive their car and therefore how this may influence all the aspects of manufacturing, marketing and ultimately profit from any vehicle. Therefore warranty claims are a big part of this, and therefore they will offer what they think they need to, and what the market tolerates/demands.

As for insurance, it is IMHO just a warranty given another name so yes I think the basic premise of insurance premiums and warranties would exhibit similarities in the way they are calculated. Do I think they should be..... i am not an expert so couldn't say, but i don't think when you get to the nitty gritty it is the same.

Don't know whether I am making any sense, it does in my head but then that's one of the challenges of communication, especially on forums :)

[Mike0001]

I think, with respect, that your insurance is a combination of you and the car, whereas the warranty is based solely on the car. Also, insurance takes into account mainly accidents whereas a warranty covers component failures, not necessarily the same state space.

[Steigers]

I think, with respect, that your insurance is a combination of you and the car, whereas the warranty is based solely on the car. Also, insurance takes into account mainly accidents whereas a warranty covers component failures, not necessarily the same state space.

Essentially I agree. I just think that some drivers may bring about more warranty claims than others through their driving habits... I.E IMHO some people are harder on drivetrains than others and if this factor isn't considered by car companies i would be surprised. Obviously I could be way off target :D