Worst/Best Warranty Stories

[carock]

Who has the worst or best record for warranty repairs? Back in the 70's the worst warranty was with Lotus as they did not pay for anything and the cars were disasters.YOur dealer would tell you "they are all like that" and he wasn't kidding. The best may have been another British manufacturer, Rolls Royce. Rolls would replace anything , anywhere, and leave you with a new Rolls Royce while they towed yours back to the shop. Then they never charged you anything because their policy was that no Rolls Royce had ever broken down. Man, it was a totally different story after the warranty expired though...

These days I know that Lexus has excellent warranty service. They always seem to repair any problem. I have never been impressed with VW warranty service as they 1) refuse to admit you have a problem, 2)never seem to have enough time to schedule you an appointment,3)and often give me back a car with more problems than I went in with.

I don't know how much of warranty service is determined by the dealer, or by the manufacturer. I know there is a lot of acrimony between the two. Any dealer mechanics have some input on this?

 

[AstroVic]

My story might not actually qualify for a "warranty" claim, but...

I bought a brand new 1995 Ford Ranger 4-cyl. XLT extended cab and it simply died (computer problem, I was told) out in the middle of nowhere. The truck was about one month old and had less than 2,000 miles on it. The dealer (and Ford) refused to provide me with a free loaner car, even though they "couldn't get to the truck for about three or four days" and then took another week or so to fix the problem.

The good news is the truck went another 100,000 miles without any issues whatsoever. Furthermore, I've had good experiences with Ford products over the past several years, although admittedly I've not had to utilize any warranty claims.

 

[another Todd]

I have had excellant warrantee service with Ford. They even repaired my motorhome after is was out of warrantee because my problem was a known concern of theirs. Horrible warrantee service with Chevrolet. They wouldn't repair my truck in warrantee and instead said "it was working as designed". I guess they design their trucks to stall and idle rough. I wish they would have told me of this design before I bought it.

 

[JHZR2]

Ive found that warranty quality shifts with the dealer.

When I was 17, my parents bought me a new chevy S10 ZR2... still have it and despite a good deal of offroading, its still like new... but I digress...

After about two weeks of ownership (and lots of popping the hood - my parents never owned anything larger than a 4 cyl since before I was born, so I loved to look at that big V6), the hood somehow closed with the latch in a funny position that kept it stuck down.

Where we bought the truck was about 75 miles away, at the dealer near our weekend home. I didnt want to wait to go out there, so I tried 3 different local delaerships. the first one wouldnt help because I hadnt bought the truck there, the second wanted me to wait three weeks for the first available apointment since I hadnt bought from them... and the third did the work.

After the first two dealers, I went to a local ford/olds dealer, thinking that olds would be more upscale and more helpful, and since they sold the bravada, would know how to fix this thing that really should be quite simple. They told me that they couldnt, but suggested another chevy dealer, whom they personally called and got me an immediate spot at.

They fixed (at the third chevy place) it in about an hour and all has been well since. In thinking back, I could have waited to just go back to the dealer we bought it from, but I was impatient... It just amazed me how great some dealership service departments can be (and I have my share of stories of good results from LOTs of different makers), and some can be very bad... even when a vehicle is brand new and fully under warranty!

JMH

 

[road_rascal]

The last car my father purchased was a 1997 Saab 9000 turbo (still has it). He had some trouble with the MT a few years after he bought it (I can't remember if it was under warranty or not) but the dealer was very helpful in fixing it/ getting a loaner/ etc. I bought a new 1998 Nissan Pulsar NX 1800 in 1998 and had so many problems with it I dumped it 22 months later. The dealer in Denver was the absolute worst. I had the transmission replaced at least twice, ignition system three times (partly due to incompetent techs- how they messed up the coil on plug

) and countless brake issues. I never received a loaner, parts were always on backorder, never had a call from the dealer when the car was finished. One of the mechanics left a socket on top of the valve cover and closed the hood leaving a big wart.

 

[michaelc80]

I purchased a 1994 Dodge Dakota from a Dodge dealer late in 1993. There was an intermittent stall problem that no one could figure out-it would run fine, but on occasion when pulling away from a stop it would simply die. No codes, no nothing. It would start back up and run normally.

The dealer service manager (Granger Motors in Granger, Iowa) let me use his personal pickup while they were diagnosing mine. Turns out it was a misrouted wiring harness to the transmission. It was routed so there was no slack in the wires. When the engine/transmission twisted slightly from the torque of pulling away from a stop it would cause the connector to disconnect. Once the engine/transmission were back the connector made full contact.

The same truck went back in just before the 7/70 warranty expired. There were a couple minor issues that needed corrected, and the service department discovered a couple other things that should be replaced under warranty (timing chain was noisy and the rear main leaked). I didn't know about either of those, but they pointed them out and took care of it. Again, the dealer gave me a free loaner while mine was getting repaired.

One of the things I liked about my Subaru was the free loaner anytime it was in for warranty repair. I had it in last fall for a couple dashboard rattles and was given a new Outback (less than 2K miles on it) for the day.

 

[Slick17601]

GM covered the intake gaskets 100% on my S-10 almost 1 year out of warranty.

 

[JTK]

Back about 1995, my wife (then girlfriend

) bought a second hand 1993 Nissan Sentra from a local Nissan dealer. A few years later @ ~62Kmi the AT started acting funny, shuddering, harsh shifts, etc. Had the dealer look at it. They replaced the trans no questions asked, 2Kmi out of warranty with no real service history with them! They even provided her with a loaner altima while it was in the shop for 2wks. The first trans they dropped in it didn't 'feel' right they told us, so it actually took them 2 AT's.

Joel

 

[Volvohead]

Warranty coverage is all about the dealer and the district rep. A pro-customer service writer and an indulging rep. can make an ownership very pleasant indeed, even where the vehicle is repair-prone.

Smart dealers know that it's the service department that bonds the customer for repeat sales. You only deal with the showroom and sales department for a couple days at most. For the next several years, it's just you and the service and parts counters.

 

[beanoil]

1984 Pontiac Fiero, don't remember the exact mileage, but do remember being out of warranty. Started overheating in Clearwater, FL., on vacation. Pulled the suspect thermostat, and drove, still overheating, to Cocoa Beach. Figured if I was getting stuck, I was going to get stuck at my destination. Dropped the car at the local Pontiac dealer in Cocoa, where they shaved the head, (yep, I warped it), replaced the head gasket, and changed oil. I paid for the repairs, and rental car. On the way home, the car developed a small, but very annoying exhaust leak at the head. I took the car to my local dealer where I had purchased it. When I picked it up, a day later, the leak was fixed, and GM, through the dealer, cut me a check for the work done in Florida, and the rental. GM has been velly velly good to me in the past, and still pretty good to this day. Probably why there is still a Poncho, and a Chevy in the driveway.

 

[Hootbro]

My roomate in the Army from the late 1980's had a grey market German spec BMW 5 series imported. Now while both a German spec BMW and a USA spec BMW could look the same, many times they are totally different under the hood.

Anyways, myself and my roomate went down to the BMW dealership in Nashville, TN to get a custom ordered battery cable due to a defective cable and with the battery being in the trunk. We were going to take it back to base and fix it at the auto craft shop on base but the BMW dealer refused to release the part to us. What it boils down to was the service manager and dealership had a policy that any BMW owner was to not get dirty working on their cars. So in the end, the dealership installed the part on their dime with labor, with only my roomate paying the cost of parts. This was with the dealer knowing the car was not bought, built or sold in the USA.

Hootbro

 

[ITSMR2U]

I got a Ford Grenada company car in the late '70s that was the worst *** I've ever driven. It was a victim of early attempts to meet EPA standards, and it stalled, knocked, and dieseled when shut off. I complained of all the knocking and dieseling, and the dealer said: "Those are the sounds of economy!"
I figured that my only recourse was to destroy the car, so I parked in places most likely to get the car hit and never got so much as a door ding. I floored it whenever I could and nothing broke. Finally, I ran headlong into a large log that rolled down a hill onto the road. The logger that caused this ran to me full of apologies and couldn't understand why I was laughing!

 

[Norm Olt]

Well, Subaru paid 100% for the 4th replacement of my SVX's rear-wheel bearings (1st @ 43,507, 2nd @ 52,223, 3rd @ 64,490) @ 86+K miles, this under "extended" factory warranty (which was, as I recall, 6YR/60,000 miles on the "powertrain").

This actually involved a couple phone calls to the Regional Service Manager, who, in the end, decided that my logic was flawless: if the original wheel bearings lasted 43K, were replaced at less than 10K later, then failed (AGAIN) 12K later, and (AGAIN!!!) just 22K later, were they EVER properly repaired, under warranty, to begin with?

That, and the unanswered questions of "What did I (or anyone, for that matter) DO (or didn't DO?) to make the bearings fail? The wheels just have to go around & around when you drive the car, don't they? & If it were the u-joints on the steering column that failed repeatedly under warranty, wouldn't it be required for them to issue a 100% safety recall since it would be considered a DESIGN FLAW?"

Well, at least they got the transmission problem corrected: mine went South at 56K and was replaced in less than 24 hours with a factory unit (probably re-built) that had 5 years of upgrades incorporated. Nary a problem 75K later.

The rear wheel bearing fiasco had to do with bearings that were probably marginal for the amount of power the SVX can deliver independantly to each wheel & to the fact that the bearings had to 1st be cleaned of the original packing material (an almost cosmoline-type goo) and repacked with synthetic grease prior to installation: the average Subaru Dealer tech's expertise varied greatly in this regard. Torque settings were also crucial.

Only one RWB repair out of warranty, that at 110K after driving through a gullywasher/standing water rainfall in Wyoming at 85 mph that probably washed out some of the grease, too. It was interesting to note that the cost of the work @ a Stealership just about doubled from the original warranty $ to what they wanted to charge when the customer was paying the bill: I guess it just cost$ MORE to have something done CORRECTLY than to just have it DONE?

Cheers!

 

[another Todd]

ITSMR2U--I ****near fell out of my chair laughing. I suppose the last time you "floored it" was when you saw the log in the road! Still LOL

 

[JohnBrowning]

My Dodge dealership never gave me any warranty problems at all. They were always friendly and fast. I had to visit them 1-2 times a month the first year and once every other month the second year. I got rid of my Dakota after the second year so who ever bought it got a brand new vechile. I will say this I never had problems with the engine or transmission just all of the accessors and emisiion controls bolted to it and the interior acc. like power windows and uncontrolable door locks etc....... I really liked that truck though! i liked the wayit handled on the road and I liked the truck over all.

 

[racer12306]

it surely does depend on the dealer. i bought my car from advantage autoland (comprised of dodge, ford and chrysler dealers), specifically the dodge one.

one time i had, what i thought was an alignment problem, the car liked to pull to the left a little. that warrenty is only for 12000 miles. i had 12500 or slightly more when i talked to the dodge dealer about it. i told the guy my mileage and he said that he would just put it in as a mileage prior to the expiration of the warrenty. i was very happy with this, and got it all checked out, but they couldnt find anything wrong. i went on a drive and couldnt get it to reproduce it as well, so i let it go. but the car always like to pull to the left on the highway. i later found out that it was mainly the crappy goodyear eagle ls's, i put new yokohama avid trz's on it and it drives straight as an arrow.

about a thousand or so miles later i discovered an axle seal leak. it happened to be a saturday and the dodge and chrysler dealer alternates which saturday they are open, so i was transferred to the chrysler dealer. made an appointment and such. took the car in. of course i dont get a loner car, they said it wasnt in some agreement or something. i never bothered to look it up, but it wasnt a big deal. i just drove my dads truck for the time being. i dropped it off on monday morning, was told it would be done tuesday afternoon. called tuesday, not done, told it would be done the next day. called weds. not done, told thursday and it was finally done, but it wasnt finished until close to closing time. i was mad because it kept on getting pushed back further and further. it shouldnt take 4 days to replace an axle seal. if i had known it was going to be a pain i probably would have done it myself.

 

[BigAl]

This is an aftermarket warranty story. 1980, bought a new Ford Courier with Rusty Jones rustproofing. It cost $175 for the treatment and lifetime warranty. In 1982, Rusty replaced two fenders, and gave me $175 cash because they couldn't find the right stripe package. I removed what was left of the stripes on the truck and liked it better anyway. In 1984 Rusty replaced the hood and welded up a door. In 1986 the box was starting to rust. Rusty offered me $1,500 to forget about my warranty. I sold the truck. With Rusty's money, I drove it for 6 years almost for free. (Rusty went bankrupt the next year.)