Why do many Manu. in the states offer 10Yr 100K mile powertrain warranty on all their cars and often have very long service intervals 20K+ while us brits would be lucky to get 3yrs warranty..... :o/
Barry
|
I often wonder why we dont do similar things over here. Over there, an oil change is as simple as filling up with petrol.
Over here, in my experience at least, its completely faffy hassle.
|
As long ago as the 1970's Mazda (and probably a few other Japanese manufacturers) were offering 5-year warranties in the US.
Currently in the US all manufacturers are forced by the US DoT to give an 8-year warranty on the emission-control system (that's basically the whole engine management system on a modern car). Coupled with legislation to make distribution of service data a requirement to anyone that requests it, plus laws preventing price fixing of spares it makes the whole market much more competitive. The US government is really pretty tough on the motor industry. The UK government seem to be in the pockets of the industry (I was absolutely staggered to learn that UK ESVA applies to RHD import cars, but not LHD - that's how blatant it is!).
|
|
Whenever I've been to America, I've always noticed that at most petrol(gas) stations there is a special ramp near the pumps left aside for anyone who wants to have there oil changed quickly. You can just drive on, fill the car up, get the oil changed, and be off within 10 minutes. Seems like a marvellous idea to me, so why don't we have it over here?
|
|
As mentioned regularly on here, the 'fast fit' places in the UK now offer very cheap oil changes.
|
Oil change costs aside, I think the reason the US manufacturers are able to offer such long warranties is that driving conditions are very different across the pond. US roads are relatively straight and uninterrupted, US speed limits are lower than they are in the UK, and US cars are more likely to have big lazy unstressed engines.
Also, US customers are much more demanding and product-focused than we are in the UK. They are less likely to be swayed by a premium brand and more likely to judge a car on magazine reviews and consumer satisfaction surveys. I think the 10yr warranty was first used as a marketing gimmick by Hyundai in the US back in the early 90s, to demonstrate their confidence that the newly-introduced Sonata could be as reliable as the established Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
|
Oil change costs aside, I think the reason the US manufacturers are able to offer such long warranties is that driving conditions are very different across the pond. US roads are relatively straight and uninterrupted, US speed limits are lower than they are in the UK, and US cars are more likely to have big lazy unstressed engines.
It seems to be mainly the Far Eastern cars with relatively small engines that get the long warranties. As to the "straight and uninterrupted" roads - well, I spent some time living in Boston and its not like that! Driving is pretty fast and furious there.
|
|
|
|
>>> Over there, an oil change is as simple as filling up with petrol.<<<
You're absolutely right. Saturday morning you just take your car in, drive it up a ramp, they change the oil, and you're out of there. No 2 hour waits to be told they don't have the right filter like at Kwik Fit
|
So are any consumer groups lobbying to extend Compulsory car warranties? Or is it only out of courtesy that we get longer warranties...
Clouddz
|
I have no way of knowing if the following yarn is true but the guy seems genuine, see www.subaruoutback.org
This bloke took his outback into a local US oil change fast service outlet to replace the fully synth. oil he had been using, he collected the car after work and drove it 30 miles to his home on a cold dark winters night. On the way home he thought the engine sounded rough but kept going, when he got home he opened the hood and found the inside red hot with lots of ticking noises of red hot metal cooling, he dipped the oil; zilch. In the morning he had a look around and found that the sump plug had been left out, he had driven 30 miles with no oil. The car subsequently started and drove OK when refilled with oil. There is some suing going on apparently. A guy from American Subaru is reported to have said that one of their cars running on synthetic oil could be driven with an empty sump for some distance. I dont think I'll try it.
|
Well that guy must be pretty thick if he cant see the oil warning light,Engine warning light, Temp gauge!!!
Clouddz
|
|
I precied the story. Apparently the coolant temperature showed normal and yes he ignored the oil pressure warning.
|
|
|
|
When I post a website why does'nt it work? I'll try again.
www.subaruoutback.org
Sorry moderators for using the thread as a test bed. I'm just stupid.
|
Once again people are perpetuating the myth that the US is a wonderful service economy. A lot of things that are 'better' in the US are due to government legislation - e.g. the 8-year mandatory warranty on emissions-related parts. Consumer legislation is so strong that many manufacturers have caved-in and decided to give very long warranties simply because consumers can sue them anyway - even if out of warranty. Its easier and cheaper just to give the warranty!
When I lived in the US I had a couple of different cars. It is cheap and easy to get an oil-change on an 'old iron' US car - they are fairly low tech and half-a-dozen filter applications cover most GM/Ford/Mopar vehicles. Drive in with something a little more exotic though (a European car) and you'll find that they don't have the filter and are not sure what oil to use or where to put it. 'Quick-Lube' don't recruit from Harvard you know!
When I ran a Nissan in the US the service was pretty poor (although admittedly cheap). They were very slow to get parts and when I needed an aircon part they sent the wrong item twice - despite having the correct number on the system. The US parts guys are even dopier than their UK equivalents - but the parts are far cheaper. The strange thing that I found is that dealers offered the same parts at wildly different prices - something to do with anti-price-fixing legislation meaning the manufacturers are not allowed to set prices. So you could order a part cheaper from a dealer 1000 miles away than from a dealer one mile down the road.
|
>Once again people are perpetuating the myth that the US is a wonderful service economy.
Compared to the UK it is NOT wonderful. It's Utopia as far as customer service is concerned.
>When I lived in the US I had a couple of different cars. It is cheap and easy to get an
>oil-change on an 'old iron' US car - they are fairly low tech and half-a-dozen filter
>applications cover most GM/Ford/Mopar vehicles. Drive in with something a little more
>exotic though (a European car) and you'll find that they don't have the filter and are not
>sure what oil to use or where to put it.
That used to be true and might still be true in Hicksville, Arkansas, but nowadays you can drive into almost any Jiffy-Lube in the US. and they'll have a suitable filter and the correct oil for everything sold in America or Canada. You might have problems with French or Italian stuff but other European vehicles are well covered.
>'Quick-Lube' don't recruit from Harvard you know!
That's because a Harvard recruit would waste all his/her time arguing with the customer ;-)
>The US parts guys are even dopier than their UK equivalents -
Not in my experience. Give them the VIN and they can tell you the exact part number you require. If the part is incorrect then it's odds-on that the manufacturers database is wrong.
At least the guys working in US parts stores are, more often than not, complete petrolheads.
Kevin...
|
>Once again people are perpetuating the myth that the US is a wonderful service economy. Compared to the UK it is NOT wonderful. It's Utopia as far as customer service is concerned.
Well, I can only speak as I've found it. Can't say it seemed like Utopia to me. Lived in Natick for a while and neighbours and work colleagues seemed to have much the same kind of car problems as we have here and the same sort of problems with the dealers. The parts software they use is pretty much 'global' but I think the guy was just looking-up the wrong part - human error because he didn't know much about cars.
The country where I have been most impressed as regards car servicing is Germany. The guys in the dealerships there really impress me - I attribute that to the superb German educational system which turns out youngsters suitable for work in the engineering industries rather than just to stand behind a counter in Dunkin Donuts or Taco Bell and parrot 'have a nice day'.
|
|
|
|
>>>>It is cheap and easy to get an oil-change on an 'old iron' US car - they are fairly low tech and half-a-dozen filter applications cover most GM/Ford/Mopar vehicles. Drive in with something a little more exotic though (a European car) and you'll find that they don't have the filter and are not sure what oil to use or where to put it.<<<
My local hole in the wall place can handle my Lexus OK
|
My local hole in the wall place can handle my Lexus OK
Ah, but that's nice and simple. I wouldn't fancy taking a VW PD in - would they use the correct oil? Would they even recognise it as a PD?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
