Since I've been back at the dealership for the past few months, I've been looking more objectively at what GM can do to reverse the general public feeling that if it has an American nameplate on it, the quality MUST be subpar. Nicer interiors in volume cars such as the Malibu, G6, Equinox and Cobalt will help significantly, but there is another thing GM could do...

5/60 bumper to bumper warranties and 10/100 powertrain warranties. Think about it. Last week I was in the process of selling an '01 Intrigue to a customer with a '96 Camry with 126k miles on it. Frankly, learning about the history of the trade, this car had significantly MORE repairs than my father's former '95 Grand Prix had in the 111k we had it for. Now, when I wasn't giving these guys the $4,500 trade-in they insisted the car was worth, the wife proclaimed "but its a Toyota!" OK, "legendary" quality, praise from every auto rag known to man...enough said. Toyota has done a lot right through the years, and while I do NOT believe their cars are so "legendary" in the reliability department, models between 1980 and 2000 are, for the most part, significantly more reliable than their domestic counterparts...and I do give them credit for that. Compare a 1990 Camry to a 1990 Lumina, or an '85 Corolla to an '85 Grand Am, and I think you see my point. While times have changed, perception obviously has not.

Now, my neighbors just purchased a new Hyundai XG350. I asked him how long he planned to keep it for, as they seem to buy new cars often. He proclaimed, "its a Hyundai!" and claimed the warranty PROVES they last forever.

Hyundai? Run forever? Say what? I can almost stomach the argument for a Camry, but for a HYUNDAI????

A few weeks ago I believe it was CNN that reported some random J.D. Power Survey (I believe the IQ one), and claimed Hyundai now ranked barely behind Lexus, and "significantly above its domestic rivals." Now, I do not have the details of the survey, but I do know since the institution of the 10/100 Hyundai's quality has shot up significantly. Lets face it...it had to. Now, the anchor-person claimed "Hyundai's rise to popularity appears to be stemming from the confidence inspired by their 100,000 mile warranties."

Why the hell doesn't GM do this? Spend $400-500 more on the components on a car which seem to wear out the fastest, charge $400-500 more for the car, slap a 100k powertrain warranty on it, and call it a day, gentlemen. I'd pay for it as Joe Consumer. Lemme see here...better brake rotors, trim bits, ENGINE GASKETS ( ) and such can't come to much more than $500 per car.

The confidence inspired by the warranty? Hell, if it makes HYUNDAI owners feel their cars are invincible, why can't Chevy and Pontiac owners feel justified the same way? My dad's '95 Grand Prix had 111k on it, and all we did was one set of tires, one set of brakes, and an intake gasket under warranty at 34k. My Z28 in 8 years and 56k miles has needed a new intake gasket (see a theme going here?!?!!??!), a water pump and a power steering pump. That's it. My sister's '01 GP GT has needed NOTHING in 61k miles. See a theme here? I bought my GP knowing until I passed 100k, this car would need virtually nil in repairs, outside of normal routine maintenance...and in 44k miles of service (21k with me), it has proved that. 2 warranty claims under the prior owner, and nothing since. Not much breaks under 5/60 typically anymore, unless its something asinine such as, I don't know...BRAKE ROTORS on an N body? Intake gaskets on 3400s?

Someday, if I'm still at the dealership on Saturday's long enough (god, I hope not...), I want someone to proclaim, "but, its a Pontiac!" when I don't give them what they want for their car. Then, I'd be proud...

 

That is a good idea Jason, but I believe when DC jumped on the warranty for 7 yrs on powertrain etc. GM countered saying that it would actually hurt their quality perception in the long run if they pulled the program to a more normal 3 yr term.

I agree with you though that it should be offered but it should replace the incentives on the cars currently. That IMO is what is hurting the image despite gains in the actual quality. I think now people have attached a bargain to domestics because of the steep incentives and in the minds of consumers it is the car they settle for.

 

Then why do Cadillacs and other lux brands come with a 4 year 50,000mi. warranty.

I'd like to at least see a 3 year 45,000 warranty from Chevy, I drive more than 12K a year.

 

Agreed.

The 12,000/yr (36,000 over 3 yr) warranty is outdated.

I'd be willing to bet that the majority of car buyers drive more than 12k a year in today's day and age.

Step up with the times on this issue,GM. At WORST, make it 3 yr/45k.

 

and if GM wants this to have any impact on people they need to beat Toyota, Honda, and Ford to the market with this.

 

I buy extended warranties to cover the duration of the lease all the time anyway so paying more up front with a longer warranty wouldn't cost me anymore. I say"go for it".

 

Pretty much every component in a domestic car is now validated to a 10 year/100,000 mile durability cycle.

Basically, much of the work has already been done.

I agree that the strongest statement GM could come out with now goes like this:

"We at Chevrolet believe, and current quality surveys such as those by the JD Powers corporation prove, that our quality is as competitive as any other manufacturer's. Because we so strongly believe this to be true, we are now offering 5 year/60,000 mile warranties, from bumper to bumper, on every vehicle we build."

Cadillac would bump up to 6 years/72,000 miles.

Slip in an extra $400 to the MSRP of every vehicle over 6 months to a year and call it even.

 

Absouletly! If they insist on sticking with 3 years, at least kick it up to 45,000miles (insurance companies say that 15,000mi is about the average for mileage per year).

My wife and I are looking for a slightly used car, and although the domestics are cheaper, they're almost all out of warranty! I can't seem to find a 2002 without 36,000miles on it when I'm looking at Grand Prixs etc, but I can find lots of 2002 imports that are still under the max mileage on the warranty.

 

Well, this thread hits close to home because I used to believe in GM quality until my wife bought her 2000 Chevrolet Impala. I still visit this site everyday and bought an '01 T/A new but based on our latest experience with GM and our dealership this is our last GM car. Just a short list of problems: engine cradle replaced, bolts on front wheel came loose several times, coolant leak "fixed" twice before replacing the intake manifold (warped), after 60K miles replaced the rotors 3 times, resurfaced multiple times, rear brakes would stop working oh at least 4 times before they fixed that correctly. Straw that broke the camel's back: bring in the car for steering problem that we've been complaining about since the car had 10K miles (when they replaced the engine cradle because it was bent without an accident) and they finally figure out the problem because the noise is too difficult to ignore, we need a new steering rack. And we have to pay for it (despite spending countless hours on the phone with the dealership/GM customer service). GM can forget my business when it comes to that Z06 I was going to get in 3 years, they can forget the 5th gen I would've bought if I didn't buy a 'Vette, they can forget us ever buying a family car again (my wife was a Ford/Dodge person and the Magnum is our next car, we're driving our piece of junk Impala until we drive it into the ground because I want to avoid this 1st model year mess), and when I need a truck to tow my boat around you can bet it won't be a GM product.

Now that I've vented if our car is typical it will cost GM a lot more to cover the additional miles/years of warranty. Also, they need to add a warranty for interior rattles because I get a new one every year/5K miles even with SFCs and now a 6-point roll-bar. Bad two weeks because of this experience, you bet.

 

I've always wondered if the Big Three has held back on extending warranties NOT because they don't feel the cars can't last (the import owners' annoying argument) but that it could hurt car sales. If people get longer factory warranties on their cars they are inclined to keep them longer, and as we know if the consumer isn't buying then the automaker isn't making money. I'm not sure if there is truth to this but in a way it seems logical.

 

You can flip that around though and say that the warranty coverage would significantly increase the resale value of the car.

There is no reason beyond entrenched bueracracy that GM still has a 3yr/36kmi warranty program.

 

I really don't think that is the case. The people that are going to buy a car and keep it forever will do that regardless oof how long the warranty period is, and the people that are going to get a new car every two years are going to do the same.