Vauxhall Lifetime Warranty on all new cars (well, for 100k miles)

All new Vauxhalls now get the Vauxhall Lifetime Warranty

It was going to happen sooner or later; long-established car makers biting the bullet on warranties to counter the threat form the Koreans with their huge warranties and bargain prices. And it’s Vauxhall that’s jumped in to the fray, offering a lifetime warranty on all new cars with immediate effect.

Of course, that’s a ‘Lifetime Warranty’ in what has become the modern, disingenuous fashion. Don’t think we don’t applaud this move by Vauxhall – we do. But a ‘Lifetime Warranty’ isn’t a lifetime warranty if it has limits. In this case 100,000 miles. It’s a bit like the ‘Unlimited Internet’ on your SmartPhone contract. Well, yes, it is unlimited – up to 1gb a month.

The same applies to your home broadband contract. Pay more to get ‘Unlimited ‘Downloads’ and that’s what you get. Until you exceed what your ISP considers ‘Fair Usage’. We’re not happy with these modern definitions of ‘Lifetime’ and ‘Unlimited’. But we digress.

The Vauxhll Lifetime Warranty will apply to the first owner of a Vauxhall registered from 1st August 2010. Vauxhall has defined ‘Lifetime’ as 100,000 miles but don’t appear to have put a time limit on. So theoretically you could go out and buy a new Vauxhall, do 3,000 miles a year and have a 33 year warranty.

The warranty covers all powertrain, steering system, brake system and electrical equipment. You need to have an annual inspection and you’ll have to adhere to servicing schedules to keep the warranty valid. Vauxhall are also planning a programme to allow subsequent owners access to the Lifetime Warranty.

We may have the odd issue with the ‘Lifetime’ bit, but we have no issues with what Vauxhall are offering. Yes, they will probably manage to keep more Vauxhalls in the dealer service network as a result – which is a big plus for them – but the peace of mind for buyers the Lifetime Warranty offers is to be applauded.

Very sensible move.

By Cars UK