GM to extend warranties

[The_Madz]

it's about bloody time.
if they want people to think they built better quality cars they should be backing it up. however too bad it only mentions powertrains, with GM's it tends to be more the small stuff that breaks.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aRQ2.U9f3f.k&refer=news

[SkiD]

What is nice about this new 5 year/160,000 km powertrain warranty is that it is transferrable and no deductible, which will increase resale value on GM products.

It would be great if the bumper to bumper warranty was increased, but they have to wait for transaction prices to raise so that the dealers don't complain too much about losing money.

[MrDisco]

only on powertrain? that is so weak GM. Hyundai gives 10 year on their powertrain in the States. Now that shows confidence in their brand.

i wonder if they'll do this here in canada (i wont hold my breath).

[Samir]

The thing is, GM engines and transmissions tend to be pretty good. The Ecotec and Northstar engines are some of the best around. That's most of the powertrain right there. This doesn't really mean anything to me as a buyer.

Where GM has problems is all the anciliary stuff (electrics, electronics, rattling interior, random fluid leaks, etc.). That's what I'd worry about if I owned a GM Car.

I think GM right now is at a position where people don't realize a lot of the improvements they have made. But to the discerning buyer, this isn't going to mean a whole heck of a lot.

[B0000rt]

Now only if they would give Caddliac warranties on all their cars :D
I'd love to have 4 years of free scheduled maintence!

Hell, even oil changes and cabin air filters are free!

[PussInBoots]

The transmission on my parents 2001 pontiac bonneville died last month with only 70k on it. The car just died right on the highway during rush hour.
The car was taken to the dealership to get it fixed and GM refused to pay for it. They said that the warranty doesn't cover it. That's so much BS! They gave us the run around and are still refusing to pay for it.

We ended up getting a rebuilt transmission that had 130k on it because a brand new one was going to be 5k.

You start wondering what they REALLY cover with the powertrain warranty and whether all of this is just a gimmick. That powertrain warranty is worthless!

[dgs]

What use is an extended warranty like this if the original manufacturer is not around to honour it in a few years time? I would suspect a third party underwritten coverage would be a safer bet than something underwritten by GM right now.

[BBQPorkBun]

The thing is, GM engines and transmissions tend to be pretty good. The Ecotec and Northstar engines are some of the best around. That's most of the powertrain right there. This doesn't really mean anything to me as a buyer.

Where GM has problems is all the anciliary stuff (electrics, electronics, rattling interior, random fluid leaks, etc.). That's what I'd worry about if I owned a GM Car.

I think GM right now is at a position where people don't realize a lot of the improvements they have made. But to the discerning buyer, this isn't going to mean a whole heck of a lot.

Agreed, to sell them at these prices, they had to cut corners somewhere.

[NorthYorker]

That's what I'd worry about if I owned a GM Car. Did you actually owned GM car to drive conclusions?

Although as (former) GM owner I tend to agree their powertrains are pretty good. I didn't have "check engine" light going for 7+ years I owned the car. But I had to have overdrive disconnected when car was at 12th year of it's life. Slightly increased my fuel consumption, but who cares for 12 y.o. car?

[eelfliw]

The thing is, GM engines and transmissions tend to be pretty good.
GM screwed a lot of ppl with leaky gaskets (http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060330/whistleblower_gm_060406/20060406/). There's a pending class-action lawsuit going against GM on this as well.

GM is currently handling this on a case by case basis. So there are lots of angry customers out there. Because some customers got free repairs. Some got partial refunds. And some are simply screwed.

I've been a victim of this as well. So there's always a shadow of doubt when I need to buy another one of their vehicles. 5/160K warranty is a good start. But I'll wait and see how GM handles warranty claims. The 5/160K warranty is garbage if GM doesn't honor it like it didn't honor the leaky gasket issue.

[Awshuks]

only on powertrain? that is so weak GM. Hyundai gives 10 year on their powertrain in the States. Now that shows confidence in their brand.

i wonder if they'll do this here in canada (i wont hold my breath).

Non-transferrable though, which I think is a big mistake on their part if they want to help improve the residuals on their cars.

[Sylvestre]

easy to extend the warranty if that's a chance the company won't be around to honour it :)

[Samir]

Did you actually owned GM car to drive conclusions?

Although as (former) GM owner I tend to agree their powertrains are pretty good. I didn't have "check engine" light going for 7+ years I owned the car. But I had to have overdrive disconnected when car was at 12th year of it's life. Slightly increased my fuel consumption, but who cares for 12 y.o. car?

I have not personally owned a GM car since 1999, but there are several in my entourage, including a Hummer H3, Olds Alero, Chevy Cobalt SS, Chevy Cavalier, GMC Yukon, GMC Envoy, and that little Pontiac subcompact Aveo-equivalent whose name I'm not sure of (maybe the Wave?) etc. Heck I even know someone with a DAEWOO LACETTI! (Chevrolet Optra).

And because I rent cars prodiguously for work and road trips, I've also driven several Pontiac Grand Prixs, Grand Ams (horrible cars), a Cadillac Deville, a Chevy Monte Carlo, a Buick Le Sabre, a Chevy Upldander and a G6.

So um yeah, I think I've seen a good sample of GM cars.

Right now the only GM cars I would consider are the Cadillac CTS and maybe some Buicks. Consumer Reports has pegged their reliability to be on-par with Lexus/Toyota, but I dont know if that will hold in the long term. I've sat in used CTS that was maybe a couple of years old and I've sat in a 1998 Lexus and lemme tell you the Lexus was running a whole lot better, and less weird noises coming from the car despite being older.

Other people have touched on the other major issue for GM here: Confidence. Seeing how they handled the head gasket issue, it doesn't exactly inspire me to go out there and consider a GM car when I'm making a decision.

[mlc2000]

Now only if they would give Caddliac warranties on all their cars :D
I'd love to have 4 years of free scheduled maintence!

Hell, even oil changes and cabin air filters are free!

No such thing as free maintenance.

If you do 20K per year, you're going to need 3 oil changes/yr
At $30 or less (their cost), we're talking about $360 over 4 yrs.
Add in another $1000 in scedhuled maintenance items like coolant flush, air filters, fuel filters, PCV's and rotating tires on every LOF.

Thats easy to bury in the price of a Caddie.

They can tack on free maintenance to a Cobalt too, but its gonna be a $2000 option.

[B0000rt]

No such thing as free maintenance.

If you do 20K per year, you're going to need 3 oil changes/yr
At $30 or less (their cost), we're talking about $360 over 4 yrs.
Add in another $1000 in scedhuled maintenance items like coolant flush, air filters, fuel filters, PCV's and rotating tires on every LOF.

Thats easy to bury in the price of a Caddie.

They can tack on free maintenance to a Cobalt too, but its gonna be a $2000 option.
You're forgetting other wear items that cost much more to replace, such as brakes :p

Also, they're transferable, so a used 2006 Caddy with little mileage (which you'll beable to fetch for a bargin) will have the same great 4 year/80k km warranty