Opel / Vauxhall, GM's European branch, seems to catching a little flack for pushing a lifetime warranty on its vehicles. What's wrong with that? It seems as if German competition authorities (industry referees) don't like it, and have gone so far as take legal action against the company for "misleading advertising". Hey, just because some of the competition isn't offering warranties providing similar care does not exactly warrant lawsuits.
According to the those refs, the term "lifetime", or "lifelong", can be a little vague and confusing. Naturally, it isn't meant for YOUR entire life, but a significant amount of time during the car's existence (in this case, repair costs will be covered on cars with fewer than 160,000 Km or 100,000 miles). As with a lot of warranties, major mechanical and electrical systems (engine, transmission, steering, wiring/fuses) will be covered; wear-and-tear items, as expected, will not be. So, what's the problem?
While 160,000 Km - just under a 100,000 miles - may seem like a pretty standard warranty to us over here in the States where most of us drive a good bit, Europe has significantly better mass-transit (where's my train system, Obama?). Significant? You bet, considering that a 100,000 mile warranty over there could very well be a good long while. Maybe not a lifetime, but certainly a long time.
Opel sales and marketing chief Alain Visser had this to say: "We are not even considering abandoning our campaign...Like every guarantee offer, ours also has conditions and these conditions are presented very clearly...Despite threats and some bad PR we do believe that a lifetime guarantee with no time-limit is the strongest statement we could possibly make -- even if it does have some footnotes."
By Phil Alex
Source: Reuters
