Just a few thoughts on new-car warranties in Ireland...
The question
Hi,
My question relates to new car warranties here. Is it fair to draw conclusions about a manufacturer’s confidence in their design and engineering from the warranty they offer?
There’s a huge range of warranties on offer in Ireland. As I understand it, Mercedes offers a paltry two years, unlimited mileage, with no option to purchase an extension.
This is followed closely by Audi and VW, each offering three years and 90,000km, again with no option to purchase an extension.
Most others seem to offer at least three years with up to unlimited mileage, up to Kia’s seven years and 150,000km.
My own four-year-old Toyota Corolla will be warrantied for up to 10 years with timely Toyota servicing.
I note you don’t tend to mention reliability in your reviews, maybe because numbers sold in Ireland are too small for meaningful stats.
The UK’s What Car? reliability survey is eye-opening and in some cases eye-watering, and presumably closely reflects the experience of Irish drivers.
It seems to me that warranty should be a key consideration when buying a new car. What are the stingier warranties telling us about quality?
If you haven’t done so to date, would you consider doing an article about new car warranties here?
Keep up the great work,
Asked by Phil Tyndall ·
Expert answer
Hi Phil,
I do agree that the warranty says a lot, though some brands have probably assumed they can get away with less impressive warranties because of their reputation or desirability. That doesn't work so well on the mass market.
We can't report on reliability in our new-car reviews as we don't test the cars for long enough and we don't have statistically significant data from Irish owners either. The UK data should apply to Irish cars of course.
You may have noticed that we do quote the warranty details in our reviews, however, as we believe it is an important factor.
Saying that, a large proportion of new-car buyers change their cars every three years, so, once the warranty covers that, they're happy...
Thanks for your message - food for thought.
Answered by Shane O' Donoghue