Filed under: Maintenance, GM
GM increases warranty to five years/100,000 miles
Billed as the best warranty of any full-lined automaker (sorry Hyundai/Kia), the new coverage for all General Motors vehicles is now a fully transferable five-year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty with no deductible. The new warranty will cover all 2007 model and beyond cars and light-duty trucks sold in the U.S. and Canada, and any 2007 model already sold will receive the new warranty retroactively. In addition, GM has expanded its roadside assistance and courtesy transportation programs to five years, as well. A website has been set up to provide further details to customers and GM will officially introduce the new warranty on NBC tomorrow night during the NFL season opener between the Steelers and Dolphins.This a shrewd move on GM's part that has been years in the making. The automaker's quality levels have only recently improved to the point where a warranty extension wouldn't saddle the company with overwhelming warranty repair costs. At this point, however, many GM brands have risen to the top half of J.D. Power and Associates quality and dependability studies, and the company reports that warranty repairs are down 40 percent over the last five years.
Hyundai has used its industry leading warranty to great effect in changing public perception of its vehicles, and we see GM starting down that path with this new warranty. It's all fine and good that GM has begun producing better quality vehicles, but backing it up with a robust warranty is how the company will convert those quality gains into more sales.
Read what Bob Lutz has to say about the new warranty on the GM FastLane Blog.
(GM's full press release can be found after the jump)
[Source: GM]
Press release:
GM Announces Best Warranty of Any Full-Line Automaker
GM to Provide 100,000-Mile/Five-Year Powertrain Warranty, Roadside Assistance and Courtesy Transportation on 2007 Cars and Trucks
Comprehensive Coverage Validates Dramatic Improvements in GM Quality, Durability
DETROIT – General Motors today announced the best warranty of any full-line automaker, with coverage up to 100,000 miles or five years across its entire 2007 car and light-duty truck lineup in the United States and Canada, reflecting its success in dramatically improving the quality and durability of its vehicles.
GM's new 100,000 Mile Warranty coverage is a fully transferable five-year, 100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty with no deductible. GM also has decided to expand its roadside assistance and courtesy transportation programs to match the powertrain warranty term. Altogether, it's the best coverage in the auto industry.
"We've been telling everyone how strong GM's cars and trucks are in terms of value, design, quality and durability. Now we're going to back it up," Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said. "This new warranty, combined with GM's outstanding quality, competitive pricing, relevant technologies and a strong new lineup of cars and trucks, provides motorists with an unprecedented level of value and peace of mind.
"This latest step in our North America turnaround plan reflects the confidence we have in the quality of our cars and trucks. It's the result of years of hard work by our employees, suppliers and dealers. It's something that motorists want and deserve. For those who haven't driven a GM car or truck in a while, this is our way of saying, 'Come on back and see what we've done.'
"The bottom line is GM now has the best coverage in the industry," Wagoner said. "It includes the best warranty of any full-line automaker, equally compelling roadside assistance and courtesy transportation programs, unique safety and security technologies like OnStar and StabiliTrak, and the nation's largest network of outstanding dealers, with well-trained GM Goodwrench technicians who service GM cars and trucks better than anybody else."
The no-deductible, fully transferable limited powertrain warranty covers more than 900 components related to the engine, transmission, transfer case (if applicable) and final drive assemblies on all 2007 model-year Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Hummer, Saturn, Saab and Cadillac cars and light-duty trucks sold in the United States and Canada. GM will extend the existing roadside assistance plan to 100,000 miles or five years, and will provide courtesy transportation for a covered warranty repair.
The new warranty will apply retroactively to 2007 GM cars and trucks already sold.
For non-powertrain components, GM's Bumper-to-Bumper New Vehicle Limited Warranty remains in effect: four years or 50,000 miles for Buicks, Cadillacs, Hummers and Saabs, and three years or 36,000 miles for Chevrolets, GMCs, Pontiacs and Saturns.
The new package is an important part of GM's sales and marketing strategy, which is focusing consumers on the inherent value of its cars and trucks. Higher quality vehicles, reduced incentives and lower daily rental fleet sales are helping increase the residual value of GM cars and trucks. In addition, GM transaction prices have been rising, well above the industry average.
Wagoner said today's moves were the result of GM's successful decade-long effort to dramatically improve the quality of its cars and trucks. "From the men and women who design, engineer and build our vehicles, to our union partners, suppliers and dealers, the GM team's commitment to quality has enabled us to deliver this consumer confidence package."
GM tracks vehicle quality several ways, including analyzing warranty visits and the results of 10 million customer surveys each year, and studying the quality surveys of several independent organizations. GM has made significant progress on all fronts:
- Warranty repairs at dealers have decreased 40 percent during the past five years.
- Two GM brands, Buick and Cadillac, placed in the top five in the J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study released last month.
- GM swept the large pickup segment, placed 11 models in the top three of their segments and had two models top their segments in the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study released earlier this year.
- In the Strategic Vision 2006 Total Quality Index Study, five GM models topped their segments – more wins than any other manufacturer for the second consecutive year.
- GM dealers also rank among the leaders in the most recent J.D. Power and Associates Consumer Service Index study, which measures customer satisfaction among new vehicle owners with the dealer service department during the first three years of vehicle ownership.
- GM's Buick brand ranked second in the American Customer Satisfaction Index study released last month, administered by the University of Michigan's National Quality Research Center .
_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
AnonymousInsights 2:00PM (9/06/2006)
.....another piece of the puzzle for GM to survive. A recent Malibu rental with only 33,000 miles convinced me this vehicle would NEED a long warranty. It was literally falling apart and simply did not compare to the Altima I had the week prior.
Reply
arnie 2:12PM (9/06/2006)
This is a smart move. GM's biggest problem (apart from ignoring smaller cars) is the perceived value of their cars caused mainly by (real or imagined) reliability problems. This should help put prospective buyers minds at ease by decreasing the risk of purchase. It may prove to be costly but it was absolutely necessary. It seems that GM is increasingly trying to face reality.
Reply
True American 2:15PM (9/06/2006)
Nobody should have anything negative to say about this. GMs initial quality is comparable to any manufacturers. All the reports that I have seen show GMs Warranty cost per vehicle has plummeted to one of the lowest in the industry. No deductible, fully transferrable, nuff said. Great Program. GM ROCKS!
Reply
Oh Brother 2:21PM (9/06/2006)
"This a shrewd move on GM's part that has been years in the making. The automaker's quality levels have only recently improved to the point where a warranty extension wouldn't saddle the company with overwhelming warranty repair costs."
John, where are you coming up with THAT?
Reply
Michael Karesh 2:23PM (9/06/2006)
They're going for the magic 100,000; it's essentially a 5 year / unlimited miles powertrain warranty. Not as good as a 6/100 or even a 6/75 for most people. But better than the 5/60 nearly everyone else is now offering for people who drive a lot.
Hyundai's 10/100 is not trasnferable. The second owner gets 5/60. So for second owners, GM has a better powertrain warranty. Of course, Hyundai's 5/60 is BtB.
They could have done this years ago. Total warranty costs have dropped recently, but I suspect that their POWERTRAIN warranty costs have been among the lowest in the industry for some time. Their core engines and four-speed automatics rarely require service.
Of course, now they have new six-speeds coming out. Let's hope these don't have teething problems. Otherwise, they might have extended warranty just as repair rates are about to jump.
Reply
just me 2:47PM (9/06/2006)
".....another piece of the puzzle for GM to survive. A recent Malibu rental with only 33,000 miles convinced me this vehicle would NEED a long warranty. It was literally falling apart and simply did not compare to the Altima I had the week prior."
Bullshit.
Reply
Eric L. 2:48PM (9/06/2006)
Thats a good move by GM, but how about making it a bumper to bumper warranty? Powertrains today don't break down as often, but the small things like rattles and electronics will benefit from a full warranty, not just the powertrain. The argument that Honda and Toyota offer 3 years bumper to bumper does not apply here, because the point of the longer warranty is to instill confidence that GM vehicles are not just as good as, but better than the competition.
Reply
mwells 2:48PM (9/06/2006)
#3:
"Nobody should have anything negative to say about this."
But they will, this is Autoblog.
Reply
Jason 2:51PM (9/06/2006)
"Their core engines and four-speed automatics rarely require service."
While this may be true, I guess I was one of the unlucky ones. I had to replace a transmission in a '97 Grand Prix GTP at 88,000 km's to the tune of $3k (Canadian GM warranty is a pathetic 3/60k km's)
Warranty coverage of the tranny would have totally changed my view of my ownership of that vehicle (from "I don't think I can stand to buy a GM again" to "well, everything that went wrong was covered at least").
I mean, yes, it could happen to any vehicle...but let's just suppose I bought another GM and it happened again, I'd feel extremely stupid. If it happens to my current ride ('02 Nissan Maxima) at least I can't feel like I was too dumb to learn a lesson.
Reply
rwcmick 2:57PM (9/06/2006)
I'm just surprised that more folks aren’t mentioning Chrysler’s cancelling its 7/70 powertrain coverage for the 2006 model year after surveys showed that it was a low priority for cutomers.
http://allcarsallthetime.blogspot.com/2006/09/gm-and-ford-hop-on-train-that-chrysler.html#links
Reply
atoyoT a sevird doG 2:59PM (9/06/2006)
Boy, they better double the size of their service bays at the dealers. The Goodwrench Mechanic is now the most secure job in North America!
Reply
Richard Warren 3:04PM (9/06/2006)
A good move!
Reply
gmaccessories-direct.com 3:06PM (9/06/2006)
I know there are so many haters out there, but how could anyone possibly speak negatively about this. The question is: which manufacturers will follow...or even, which mfgs CAN follow. This undoubtedly a bold move for GM.
Reply
Michael Karesh 3:13PM (9/06/2006)
The largest impact might be on the resale value of three- and four-year-old GM cars. They'll often now have some powertrain warranty. This will probably be the largest benefit for most buyers.
Jason,
Any car can have a transmission failure. Honda has had quite a few with the Odyssey, I think 1999-2002 or so. But I also think that in many cases they stepped up and covered many out of repair costs. Check odyclub.com for the details.
Also, 1997 was ten model years ago.
People who think this will lead to a lot more traffic in GM service bays have no evidence.
It's also important to read what's covered. Essentially, this covers the engine, transmission, and drivetrain internal parts, plus manifolds and water pump.
Frequent repair items not covered: alternator, sensors, EGR value, fuel injectors, fuel pump.
Reply
Trest 3:17PM (9/06/2006)
Kia/Hyundai 5/60 basic 10/100 power train > gms new 5/100 powertrain. Sorry. Gms still second rate
Reply
Michael Karesh 3:19PM (9/06/2006)
Mr. GM Accessories,
I suspect most could easily follow.
Even Chrysler, with the Ultradrive transmission, offered a 7/100 for a few years. It had a $100 deductible, but what's $100 if you're doing a lot of transmission replacements?
Ford's transmissions have also been weak. But they're getting away from the four-speed transverse automatics that often failed early.
Most manufacturers already offer at least 5/60 on powertrain. So many people will benefit little if any from a 5/100. 7/100 could be a different story.
See, it is possible to be somewhat negative about this? It'll keep GM in the game, but it's not changing the game.
Reply
Michael Karesh 3:21PM (9/06/2006)
Hyundai/Kia's warranty is 5/60 for the second owner. The 10/100 is not transferable except to a close family member. GM's 5/100 is transferable.
So, let's say you're buying a used car with 50-60k miles on it. Pretty typical for a four-year-old car. Which warranty is better?
Reply
Trest 3:24PM (9/06/2006)
Gms certified Used car wich covers the vehicle till 100k on the odom bumper to bumper =)
Reply
Bert 3:26PM (9/06/2006)
It's a good move by GM on several levels.
It increases the perceived value of the car by pushing back the date at which repairs will start costing something.
It should also increase the average transaction price of the car.
rwcmick, the reason that no one cares about the death of 7/70 is that the allowed milage is FAR too low. 10K mi or 16K KM is soccer mom, grandparent, second car milage. People who run to the 7 years probably are fairly easy on their vehicles. IMHO a warranty should be at least 15K miles per year, if not 18 or 20.
But as was said in the other post on this subject, a warranty is worthless if the dealer network is strong armed by the mfg to reduce the number of accepted warranty claims or a local dealer that is a butt-hole. (which other dealers are more than willing to help you out with)
Jason, re your Maxima. I got the 6/160KKM BtB warranty on my 2000 Maxima and it has more than paid for itself, more than double.
It will encourage people in to longer financing periods due to the if-it's-covered-for-5-years-let's-finance-for-5-years.
Reply
dar5001 10:38PM (9/11/2007)
Trust me, I know first hand that GM does need to have a 5 year warranty. I own a 2006 gmc sierra with all the bells and whistles. It's been well looked after, but the rear end is gone, the transfer case is knocking and the transmission is leaking for the 2nd time. GM will not cover anything as it has 70,000 km. We won't buy a GM product again when we have to pay 20% of the cost of the vehicle back in repairs after one year. What a hunk of junk!