Which car-makers offer the best warranty?

Warranties have quietly become a new battleground for automotive brands in Australia.

Kia launched the first shot in the war, more than a decade ago, when it introduced a seven-year warranty. The Korean brand was soon followed by the once-was-British marque MG, also offering a seven-year warranty.

Recently, the Chinese brand has had to upgrade from seven years to 10 years, just to keep pace with Japanese brands Mitsubishi and Nissan.

But as much as the brands at the ‘tooth-and-nail’ end of the market have grasped the warranty nettle, navigating through the minefield of warranty offers available can be complicated and frustrating for the typical new-car buyer. It’s not as simple as just knowing that the car is covered against defects for ‘X’ years or ‘Y’ thousands of kilometres, whichever threshold is crossed first.

Some importers prescribe different warranties for passenger vehicles versus commercial vehicles, and some passenger cars are subject to a shorter warranty if they are used for commercial purposes – taxis, couriers, Ubers and hire cars, as examples.

Even if the passenger car is for private use only, the warranty may vary for things like ‘perforation’ (rust/corrosion) and the powertrain. A ‘traction’ battery in an EV or hybrid (the latter including plug-in hybrids) will likely be covered by a long warranty of eight years and a distance cap of at least 100,000km, but the buyer will be lucky if the car’s standard 12-Volt battery is covered for two years.

There are common exclusions, too. The warranty will be void if the vehicle is used for motorsport, or advanced driver training. If the car has suffered a heavy impact, the dealer and the importer may decide that the warranty is void, because it’s often not possible to tell whether a defect is something that can be traced back to the factory, or was a delayed effect from the crash.

Cars modified from standard by the owner are at risk of the warranty being declared void. The same applies to cars with the odometer wound back.

Naturally too, ‘wear and tear’ is another exclusion. Replacement of tyres and brake pads won’t be covered under the warranty, although a manufacturing defect detected in a tyre will be covered, but usually for only a year or two after the vehicle’s purchase.

Some importers use warranties to clear old stock. An added sweetener to entice buyers is roadside assistance, which usually applies for the term of the warranty. And the extended warranty presents an opportunity to ‘upsell’.

If it’s costing you nothing more for 10 years of warranty cover, it’s most likely that the importer has stipulated that servicing must be carried out by an authorised dealer for the entire period. No running off to an aftermarket repairer or independent workshop the moment the car celebrates its seventh birthday.

It’s important to note that car companies offering 10 years of warranty cover may pare back the coverage to just half if the vehicle is serviced anywhere other than an official servicing dealership.

For the sake of simplicity, we’re focusing on just those models that are currently available as new stock and with a factory warranty, not an extended warranty underwritten by a third-party insurer.

Reference to ‘battery’ in the following list refers to a traction battery in an EV or hybrid, including plug-in hybrid powertrains. Note that importers usually accept that the traction battery is defective if it cannot retain at least 70 per cent of its battery charge at the end of the battery’s warranty period.

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