New car buyers: does warranty impact your brand choices?

[SC Maintenance]

No. I am not all that sure how good warranties are, given the efforts dealers go to avoid honoring them.

If you really want a warranty all OEM's sell extended factory warranties for not all that much money. So for an extra couple grand I wouldn't choose one brand over another purely for that reason - I would buy what I like best.

 

[Elkins45]

Not covered. The part that caused the failure not covered under powertrain.

That sucks. What kind of powertrain warranty has exempt transmission parts? Shame on Nissan.

Let's reframe the question.

Which would you prefer, your daughter driving from Kentucky to Seattle in a new Land Rover or a used Toyota RAV4.....

Warranty is only important if it generally is not likely to be used. If warranty is likely to be needed---the vehicle is a pass.

The new Dodge Hornets recently caught my eye. After reading the reliability reviews---- the warranty is essentially useless as the warranty can't overcome the reliability design exposure the Hornet poses.

Another way of looking at it. I phone with a one-year warranty, or a cheap poorly designed with inferior parts Chinese phone with a ten-year warranty. I can't afford to send my cell phone in to a service center---- so I will take the I-phone with a one-year warranty than a cheap Chinese phone with a ten-year warranty.

In my current situation I see it maybe a little bit differently. Since I own several vehicles I'll likely always have at least one that is in drivable condition so it's perhaps not the issue it would be were it my only vehicle. Plus, I'm retired so there's nowhere I have to be at any particular time. In my situation I feel like a stronger warranty is sort of a license to try a vehicle I find interesting but otherwise would not have considered. In this particular case it would be a Mitsubishi Outlander instead of the CX-5 or RAV4 I would normally be choosing between. This presumes their warranty isn't written like the Nissan described above.

 

[SC Maintenance]

That sucks. What kind of powertrain warranty has exempt transmission parts? Shame on Nissan.

Probably something the dealer made up. The old Nissan fail prone CVT's were pretty much an inclusive unit. They didn't even have an external cooler - they didn;t get those until like 2016. So I have no idea how a warranty could be denied based on some external part. Maybe she didn't do a required service?

 

[fsdork]

As others have said, it is one of the many factors to consider, and if all else is equal I'll take the vehicle with the longer warranty. However, after watching my coworker be without his Santa Fe for months due to parts backorders on a warranty fix, the repair cost is secondary to being without a vehicle because it's broken.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

As others have said, it is one of the many factors to consider, and if all else is equal I'll take the vehicle with the longer warranty. However, after watching my coworker be without his Santa Fe for months due to parts backorders on a warranty fix, the repair cost is secondary to being without a vehicle because it's broken.

And some don't even offer loaners or have them available. My father-in-laws Renegade was almost 2 months with no loaner/rental for a fuel pump with extended warranty. They did have a loaner he used for the 9 months he waited for a new motor. Maybe from our yelp/google reviews prior, or the not so positive voicemails left on Service voicemail etc.

Luckily to have paid for the extended warranty. If that was your only vehicle, and you are still making payments on it, what do you do to get to work for 9 months?

 

[CKN]

The best warranty is one you don't have to use......

 

[supton]

The best warranty is one you don't have to use......

Pretty much... if they have to use a 10yr/100k warranty to get people in the door... just how bad is it?

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I get the idea of having warranty during the time one is making payments. Some cannot pay off a car in less than 5 years. If they can make payments to themselves and then self warranty after a few years after that, all is golden.

I know I'm in a minority but I prefer a car that doesn't break down. I think 100k on the clock is low miles. A car that I feel a need to have a warranty to make it that far w/o taking all my dimes... sounds like a bad purchase. YMMV but I'd rather buy a cheaper car, with a lesser warranty, and more quickly get to where I'm stacking cash in case it breaks.

Maybe some day when I have loads of cash on the side, and spare vehicles, I'll think about "fun" cars again. At the moment, having a spare car is an extra grand or two per year just to have it sit in the driveway, that goes away to paying for a car that might not need repairs in the first place.

 

[ATex7239]

Warranties only factor in as much as the manufacturer or service provider cares about their reputation and imagine.

 

[Elkins45]

The best warranty is one you don't have to use......

This is 100% true, but a good warranty on a reliable car is the best of both worlds and does reduce a certain amount of potential stress IMO.

All other things being equal it’s better to have a broken car someone else will pay to fix than a broken car you’re on the hook for. I think the real place a warranty becomes a big part of the calculation is in deciding between new and used. Knowing you (potentially) get X years or Y miles of covered repairs has a value that partially offsets the lower cost of a used car with no coverage.

 

[Cujet]

You're going to find that the people that don't have a good warranty will say they don't care, and the people that have a good warranty will say they care.

I purchased a new truck 5 months ago. Ford's warranty is not terrible, with 60K powertrain. I'd like 100K or more on the powertrain. Maybe I will purchase a Ford warr from a discount dealership (if possible). Those transmissions are $10K+ to replace, as are the engines.

 

[CKN]

I purchased a new truck 5 months ago. Ford's warranty is not terrible, with 60K powertrain. I'd like 100K or more on the powertrain. Maybe I will purchase a Ford warr from a discount dealership (if possible). Those transmissions are $10K+ to replace, as are the engines.

You can shop genuine Ford Warranties on the Internet-before 3/36 expires.

 

[ls1mike]

No.

 

[CharBaby]

No, I don’t buy vehicles based on their warranties since most car companies have similar/same warranty
coverage meaning 3/36 & 5/60.
Hyundai/KIA & Mitsubishi(maybe some others) have better warranties as do the luxury line of vehicles.
I have bought vehicles with the better warranties but that’s because I wanted those vehicle.

 

[ragtoplvr]

IMHO the best warranty is the one you never need.

 

[Dadillac]

Does warranty impact my purchase? No. Never has never will. Usually the cars with the longest warranty period are not cars that I am interested in.

Don