[windiesel]

Originally Posted by GTO

I remember a BHPian paying Rs. 50,000 to replace the defective brake master cylinder on his 2 year old 5.5 lakh rupee hatchback.

Good lord in heaven! Rs 50,000/= for a Master Cylinder!! I remember paying 3000 odd rupees when my Indica's master cylinder was replaced some yrs ago and that too for a genuine lucas unit (LISPART as they are called). No wonder I did'nt opt for the extended warranty by paying an extra 5 grand when I bought the manza--- 2yrs down the line they have umpteen reasons to put the blame on you--- unfair wear and tear they'll say, then you slog it out in the consumer court) Which is this precious li'l car are we talking about here, to be precise?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by kiku007

3 Year warranty should be made Std across the companies. Polo's 6 Year Anti-corrosion warranty is a trend setter

You took the words right out of my mouth, Kiku. 3 year warranties will soon become the standard, while 5 years as a common extended option.

Will it be possible to collate information on how rigid the different manufactures are wrt modifications done to the vehicle and the impact on warranty?

From my personal experience, Maruti & Mercedes are easiest with warranty claims. Mercedes even goes beyond the warranty period if part failure is indisputably a manufacturing defect. Honda I haven't had a single claim. For all of Mercedes' reliability problems, I have to say this : the dudes stick by their damn cars.

Tata, on the other hand, has a little back & forth (read = arguing) before they approve warranty claims. This has been my experience at the Tata company owned workshop at Worli.

Originally Posted by Gilead

I believe Honda's 4 year warranty, which is definitely better than the 2 years offered by the competition, is already baked into the premium that Honda charges. Maybe due to more reliable parts and better engineering etc. I agree there is nothing in the figures to prove this, but there is nothing to disprove it as well.

Is Honda the only premium-charging manufacturer?

- Why doesn't Skoda give 4 year coverage on a 18 lakh rupee Laura?

- Why doesn't Mercedes give better warranties than cars costing 1/2 as much, or even lesser?

- Why doesn't the Linea come with 5 year warranties as standard, when it costs 1.xx lakh more than the Manza (same engine, better interior space)?

- The i20 which is without doubt one of the most premium mass-scale hatchbacks in India? Why isn't 5 year coverage standard on the 8 lakh rupee fully-loaded Hyundai?

- Or to bring Ford as an example : Why doesn't Ford give 4 - 5 year warranties as standard, when it costs more than the Dzire....a cheaper sedan that has more power and the same interior space / amenities?

As I mentioned earlier, there is no blanket correlation between the price tag of a car and the warranties it offers. And as my opening post starts, the warranty is an indication of how much the manufacturer is willing to back its product in the real world. It's literally the brand putting their mouth where their money is.

Honda offers the best standard warranty, and Hyundai the best extended option. There's a reason : Their cars are also amongst the most reliable. Its down to the basics : A brand will offer industry-topping warranties only when it knows that the car it makes won't bleed the company dry. Remember, warranties are VERY expensive on the manufacturer's balance sheet....a brand that sells 5,000 (Honda) to 25,000 (Hyundai) a month.

I have spent 3 lakh rupees on my Mercedes in less than 5 years / 65,000 kms. If Mercedes were to offer 5 year warranties, they would be WIPED out by now.

Now the question is why don't Hyundai and Ford bake that additional 8-9K into the price and offer a standard 4 year warranty? Does any research indicate that 2 years is the 'sweet spot'?

Good question : See, we can safely presume that the actual number of customers who actually opt in on extended warranty is between 15 - 25% tops (dependent on the brand). And in this scenario, either party is happy:

- The one who does NOT buy extended warranty is confident of the brand's reliability. And knows that the standard warranty coverage he got is on par with competing cars.

- The one who does buy extended warranty sleeps better . Literally! He knows hes covered for another 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 years and thinks the couple of grand was more than worth it.

Now, from the manufacturers point of view, its easier to keep the extended warranty optional, actually cover only 25% of the total sales for a longer duration, while at the same time keep both parties happy.

Originally Posted by windiesel

Good lord in heaven! Rs 50,000/= for a Master Cylinder!! I remember paying 3000 odd rupees when my Indica's master cylinder was replaced some yrs ago and that too for a genuine lucas unit (LISPART as they are called). Which is this precious li'l car are we talking about here, to be precise?

BHPian KBK_75 and his Hyundai Getz petrol.

[AbhiJ]

Originally Posted by car-dent

extended warranty is not available for i20 crdi (as told by a dealer)

Was not available until a few months ago.

Got my third year warranty today for Rs. 7520/-

[windiesel]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Skoda should start giving EW to pull customers. Sadly their 3year 45,000kms package doesnt cover all cars. Buy it, use it and sell it before 2 years?

3yrs and 45,000 kms? Give me a Skoda and I'll do 45k in one yr, man! no wonder Skoda owners feel they've been had.. right and propah upto the hilt!!

[wingsoffires]

Originally Posted by GTO

Attached to this post is an excel sheet covering full details for all brands.

Not sure about the prices mentioned in the attached excel sheet for extended warranties. I recently bought a Ritz along with a 2 yr extended warranty.
The cost of the warranty was as follows :-
3rd year - 2395.00
4th year - 2600.00
Total - 4995.00

Can you please clarify why is the cost mentioned as 9590 for purchasing extended warranty for Ritz in the excel sheet.

Same thing goes for the other cars in the Maruti stable. The cost of extended warranty for SX4 is mentioned as 13990(MT) 14990(AT). I have the latest price list for all models of Maruti and per dealer price list the cost of warranty for SX4 is 4000.00(3rd year) + 4000.00(4th year).

[GTO]

I have no idea, wingsoffires. Dippy compiled that pricing excel sheet and I'll leave it up to him to explain. However, considering that salesmen can provide incorrect pricing data, I'm going to remove the excel sheet on $$$ until further notice.

[windiesel]

Originally Posted by GTO

BHPian KBK_75 and his Hyundai Getz petrol.

That reminds me! I'll never honk at a getz now, maybe some of them are making do with the Hand Brake only.. 50,000, Allah be praised, no one will buy a used petrol getz for that much, what to talk of the master cylinder. Such gems should be taken to the Smithsonian, man!

[lejhoom]

Thank you GTO for the info.

Shouldn't we also analyze how these companies honour their warranties? You've already suggested the attitude of TATA ("back and forth"). What about others when they have to bear the cross?

[MotoKris]

Warranty offering is just another strategy followed by companies. Sometimes well made, sometimes flawed, sometimes over protective and what ever else.

In fact, the warranties are not considered as reliability factor for the products. If we leave cars aside and check all the products around us, we'll see numerous examples for that. Well, not very far away from cars, TVS Star gets 5 year warranty on the engine. Bajaj Pulsar 220 had a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty on the engine. Do you think those engines are any more reliable than their Honda counterparts that offer a megere 2 year 40K KMs warranty?

It is just a "strategy" a company follows, that I guess even their board room won't be able to fully agree upon and justify.

[Dippy]

Originally Posted by wingsoffires

Not sure about the prices mentioned in the attached excel sheet for extended warranties. I recently bought a Ritz along with a 2 yr extended warranty.
The cost of the warranty was as follows :-
3rd year - 2395.00
4th year - 2600.00
Total - 4995.00

Can you please clarify why is the cost mentioned as 9590 for purchasing extended warranty for Ritz in the excel sheet.

Same thing goes for the other cars in the Maruti stable. The cost of extended warranty for SX4 is mentioned as 13990(MT) 14990(AT). I have the latest price list for all models of Maruti and per dealer price list the cost of warranty for SX4 is 4000.00(3rd year) + 4000.00(4th year).

Hi wingsoffires

How recently have you bought the Ritz because according to the dealer the warranty prices have also changed post budget. Can you put up that price list here? What we have mentioned in the excel sheet are the exact prices given by a premier Maruti dealer here in Mumbai.

[rishab.k]

In addition to what wingsoffires has said ,here are the rates for 3rd year extended warranty I got from Maruti.

SX4 - 3990/-
Swift,Ritz & Dzire - 2395/-
A-Star & Estilo - 1895/-
Wagon-R - 1890/-
Alto - 1690/-

[throttleking]

Not to forget that GM (Chevy) also offers 3 years maintenance program at very cheap price, that shows their confidance in quality of parts and material they use. While no other manufacturer offers such a program. No wonder the mass selling Maruti is at No. 7.

[aniketi]

@GTO ===>> I have bad & good experience with Tata warranty. few yrs back we had Tata Sumo. One fine day while going to Lonawala, it stopped in between the road. We have to pull it to the Tata garage. They didnt told us exactly what has happened, but they have to do the whole engine down & repair. It was for sure very costly affair. But we didnt pay a penny. But they didnt told us what has happened & why. Surely it was some major flaw from there side. Afterwords we never had any problem though.

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Will it be possible to collate information on how rigid the different manufactures are wrt modifications done to the vehicle and the impact on warranty?

Eg. Aftermarket alloy wheels, tampering with the electrical wiring to install ICE, car security etc, using synthetic engine oil etc.

Very informative article.

GTO/Dippy - since we are on the topic of warranty, it would be really nice if you could provide some information on what is the customer's responsibility towards keeping the warranty intact. For example:
- Maintaining regular service schedule
- What modifications are allowed
- What aftermarket fittings to avoid

In other words, what are the factors which can cause the car company to tell a customer that his/her warranty is not valid. For example, we often hear sales/accessory guys say that:
- the warranty on electrical systems will get void if we install aftermarket music systems / central locking
- the warranty on suspensions etc will get void if we put aftermarket alloys

Rohan

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by GTO

Honda offers the best standard warranty

I checked the Honda website. They say, it is 2+2.

Honda’s Extended Warranty for 2 years giving you a peace of mind for 2+2 years

I think we have to see standard and extended warranties as separate things. Not all things covered in standard warranties are covered in extended warranties. Extended warrantees are more like insurance policies, for which you pay a sum. In this case, you don't have a choice to say "no" to extended warranty, and the cost of it is obviously included in the price of the car.