BMW, Porsche resist move to five year warranty

Some of the country’s most desirable luxury cars are being sold with below-par ownership features, despite commanding huge prices.

Pressure is building on a handful of luxury brands to extend their below-par new-car warranties after Audi announced it was lifting its warranty coverage to the accepted industry standard of five-year/unlimited km.

Most major car brands moved to a five-year/unlimited km warranty a few years ago, while some brands, including Kia and MG, offer seven years coverage.

All new Audi vehicles are now covered by a five year/unlimited km warranty.

Audi’s move now leaves BMW and Porsche as the only major luxury car brands short changing buyers with a three-year warranty period. Top-end marques such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin have also persisted with three-year guarantees, while Tesla’s coverage is four years.

Audi’s flip to the more generous warranty period could be the catalyst for Porsche to follow suit, as they are both owned by the Volkswagen Group.

BMW is one of the few remaining car brands to only offer a three-year new car warranty.

A BMW spokesman said the brand has no plans to change its warranty period at this point.

These shorter warranties leave buyers open to being out of pocket for two years if issues crop up.

Despite their big price tags, Porsche vehicles only come with a three year warranty.

Most mainstream brands such as Toyota, Mazda and Subaru upped their cover from three to five years in the past few years.

Hyundai has had a five-year warranty since 1999 and Kia has covered its cars for seven years since 2011.

Hyundai has had a five year warranty for more than 20 years.

Mitsubishi has a conditional 10-year/200,000km warranty for its vehicles, but you must get the vehicle serviced at a Mitsubishi dealership every year to be eligible.

Mercedes-Benz was the first luxury brand to up its warranty to five years in March, 2020.

Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus and Volvo have since followed suit.

Mitsubishi has a conditional 10-year/200,000km warranty.

RAM Trucks, which imports and converts US pick-up trucks to right-hand drive in Australia, only offers a three-year/100,000km warranty. The rival Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck will also be covered by the same warranty period when it launches soon.

Audi Australia boss, Paul Sansom, said the company was delighted to provide its customers with valuable peace of mind.

“We’ve listened to our customers and are proud to make our five-year warranty a permanent feature of the Audi ownership experience,” said Mr Sansom.

The warranty applies to all vehicles delivered from January 1 this year.

Lexus, which switched to a five year warranty in November, 2021, backdated its new warranty to any vehicle sold in 2021.

Originally published as BMW, Porsche resist move to five year warranty