General Motors has rolled out a new tool to help shore up customer loyalty and dealerships. The automaker will now offer extended add-on warranties for Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac vehicles.
According to a Sunday Automotive News (subscription require) report, the optional warranty coverage sees a Chevrolet and GMC standard bumper-to-bumper 3-year/36,000-mile warranty climb to 5 years/60,000 miles. For Buick and Cadillac vehicles, the optional coverage raises the warranty from 4 years/50,000 miles to 6 years/70,000 miles.
There is no set price on the extra warranty coverage, and GM will leave the cost to dealers’ discretion. However, the automaker suggests a $1,000 to $2,000 premium based on the vehicle in question. The final cost is added to the vehicle’s sale price and can be rolled into a monthly finance payment.
Ken Mac, director of Chevrolet-Buick-GMC and Cadillac Protection, said the new program helps keep the GM customer experience “pure,” and it’s the latest tool GM is dishing out to dealers for increased customer retention. It should also help dealers increase operational profits.
However, some dealers believe the program will only help GM itself and not dealers. One dealer speaking anonymously said, “I don’t think they like that dealers can make money on other extended warranties. It’s a way to make more money for them.”
GM didn’t disclose how it will share profits with dealers, but Mac said GM will “very fairly and generously” share revenue from the optional add-on coverage. The automaker also plans to provide incentives to dealers to push the extra coverage, but it’s up to dealers to decide when and how they pitch the warranty.
But, other dealers believe it’s one of GM’s best ideas in a long time, especially as independent shops increase competition and overall vehicle quality continues to improve. Another dealer told the publication the added warranty coverage will likely help the business sell more cars.
The average car buyer in the United States keeps his or her vehicle for 6.8 years. GM’s optional extended coverage would nearly cover the entire timeframe for Chevy and GMC vehicles and entirely cover Buick and Cadillac buyers, save for breaching the mileage figure first.
Comments
“The average car buyer in the United States keeps his or her vehicle for 6.8 years.” is most likely a skewed stat…Some people either cannot afford to buy new while others won’t on principle, also a lot of people lease especially luxury vehicles…
“but Mac said GM will “very fairly and generously” share revenue from the optional add-on coverage”
Hahahahahahaha! Not for one single second do I believe that.
How is this news? GM has offered extended warranty options through GMPP (General Motors Protection Plan) for years, at least here in Canada. Did you guys in the states not have access to GMPP until now? How were extended warranties offered before this on GM branded vehicles?
GMPP was available in the US until about 2 years ago.
GM simply is re-tooling GMEPP coverage. And by the looks of it, they’re actually raising prices with only small gains (losses?) in terms.
Frankly I don’t get it. Mopar Max Care (Lifetime) is way better – and keeping me a defector.
Only way I’d buy a GM car today is with:
A) A corporate lease. Or,
B) A third-party lifetime/long-term service contract (CNA, etc).
GMPP has been around a long time. I purchased it 7 years ago when I bought my car back in 2011. It expired last year.the difference between the warranty extension versus the GMPP is there isn’t a $100 deductible on repairs.
Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!,Wheeew!. Ha!Ha!Ha!, Wheeeew!. Ha!Ha! Yep!. Again that’s just normal operation of the vehicle, what warranty? Fairly and Generously and GM in the same sentence, are you serious. Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!
This is interesting to me because I’ve spent more on out-of-warranty repairs on my two current GM products – a ’15 Suburban and a ’16 Sierra – than on my last 5 vehicles combined (which were driven, collectively, 805,000 miles). Things like master cylinders, torque converters and ac coils that I’ve never seen fail before.
But 60k mile coverage for an extra $2k isn’t going to work for me…I’m going to have to explore other brands the next time I’m shopping, which will be in about 2 years. I really hope GM gets the message before too many more like me turns their back on their go-to.
This is a question. Did GM create this ? If you totally and willingly let down the consumer, your customer to the point they don’t think they can live without an extended warranty. The customer has two options, buy extended warranty or buy another brand. You do relies GM is talking how to spread extra profit from an unreliable product. Is this not profiting more from the pain and suffering of the consumer. I do guess its true if you make a great reliable vehicle that doesn’t need repair you won’t be able to profit from repairs. Just opinion
After owning a different brand and having reliability issues, I don’t see it as a negative depending on the type of car purchases. No car today is better than the other in quality and reliability as they lead you to believe based on their reputation from 20 plus years ago. I wish Honda at the time had this when I owned the civic when I had the numerous problems. When I bought the Cruze in 2011 I purchases the GMPP and i used it a couple of times after the warranty expired and I was glad I purchase it for the couple
Of issues I had in the 6th year. I do see it’s not worth it for those who put miles in quickly though.
I agree that most brands have issues, may be all brands. What I have trouble with are the KNOWN WIDE SPREAD ISSUES. The special coverage warranty for some, not all. The that is normal operation, there is nothing we can do. Especially when you get the ” this is normal operation there is no warranty” then in 2 years GM actually fixes the issue for the exact item on the exact vehicle you were talking about, and then many are now out of warranty. If you brought to the attention of GM, an issue, and are still in warranty, and they said it is normal operation. Now two years later GM fixed the issue for your vehicle but you are now out of warranty and you have to pay for the fix. There was NO warranty. Just another way to get around paying warranty.
Its not an issue of all brands having issues. Its the customer service, how is the issue handled, how were you treated. This is where other brands rise to the top. And with GM leaving ALL vehicle issues up to the dealer is in my opinion where it starts. There are many great dealers out there who know the issue and care. However there are also many dealers who do not. And as your last resort you call GM, Who ALWAYS sides with the dealer, you are done. And in most cases worse off.
Again if you are told it is normal operation of a vehicle, you have NO warranty on that issue. It doesn’t matter if you have two lifetimes of warranty. You will still have the issue. Unless GM fixes it 2 years later I guess then it would help. But they should have covered it anyway if you reported the issue under warranty.
This is why a mandated recall is better. It mandates ALL automakers to fix the ALL KNOWN FAULTY issues no matter the warranty period. However currently automakers are only mandated to fix ALL KNOWN FAULTY issues of safety concerns. Not ALL KNOWN FAULTY issues. This would solve ALL DEALERSHIP PROBLEMS because they would be mandated to fix ALL KNOWN FAULTY issues, weather they were a good dealership or not.
In my opinion.
I get what you are saying about known issues that they the car companies and dealers tend to bounce around without fixing. But I’m the end what’s the purpose of the extended warranty? To fix a problem are two that could crop up without a cost to you ther than it’s initial purpose.it has worked well for me but it is also going to work well if you go to a dealer who knows what they are doing=and won’t avoid fixing the problem. Once again these are for unexpected problems that won’t often occur. The bigger problems that happen on a bigger level and is very common that the company tries not to fix I feel is another subject.
I agree the KNOWN Faulty issues is somewhat a different subject, maybe. Say you were one of those who bought pickup with an 8 speed that had KNOWN FAULTY issues. If the dealer says its “normal operation” there is NO WARRANTY. Like I said, it doesn’t matter if you bought two lifetimes of warranty. And if they fix it in 3 years and 1 second or 36,0001/10th mile if you had the issue at 1000 miles and informed GM they still should have covered under the original warranty.
I’m ok people buying extended warranty for the bell shaped failure curve of anything man made. Out of 100 parts, good parts, some fail early some fail late but most fail at average(in the middle). If people want to cover the average or early failure rate of a vehicle that’s great for some people.
What I’m talking about is the early spike in the failure curve. If the design is to last 100,000 miles for example if some fail at 20,000 ok and if some fail at 150,000 miles ok. But if most fail at 75,000 miles NOT OK. And if you had 36,000 mile coverage great but MOST failed early and were not covered. Sure the extended coverage would help you here. But if you bought this vehicle used at 36,0001/10th mile and did not have coverage the most of them on the road fail early.
Maybe the better question is to GM, Just how long do you think a vehicle should last. Because if it was made public that GM thought there vehicles should only last 36,000 miles very few people would buy one. Sure most would lease, just like now, but no one would buy one after that. And I think, I could be wrong, but there are one hell of a lot more vehicles on the road with more than 36,000 miles than with less. And if you bought a GM vehicle used with 36,0001/10 miles and it failed early, 75,000 miles would you want to buy another, new or used ? Take the Camry for instance, if you bought it new, used, smashed, found it in the ally, your grandma gave it to you for college. It lasted and Toyota fixed ALL KNOWN issues, maybe not all issues but ALL KNOWN issues, and look what it did for Toyota. I don’t think Toyota went through bankruptcy. Hell the Camry had a HUGE RECALL on the run away issue. Did they go through bankruptcy, get bailed out, no and the same customers are still buying Camry. Look at the Cadillac CUE screen issue, it is a joke. When its hot out they fail, period. Temperature change. These cars are not that old. But if you have one with 36,0001/10 mile or 50,000,1/10 mile GM does nothing. This is a huge well known issue. If you own a Cadillac new or used great car love it and this happens on as many as it does, at this point of Cadillac trying to rebuild there image, you would think GM would want to fix ALL KNOWN issues. NO they want you to buy a new one and then top that off spend even more money on an extended warranty so you can pay for there poorly designed screen.
Sure all automakers have issues, but it is how that issue is resolved is what matters in the long game.
Still a long way from the lifetime warranty you can get on FCA vehicles. I’ve had one on both my current 2017 Ram and my previous vehicle but I have not had to use them at all. As I plan on keeping this truck basically until I die a pretty good deal. $100 deductible and good for 1 million miles or until the year 2100 whichever comes first.
Finally! Someone said it so I didn’t have to.
Mopar Lifetime Max Care will keep me a Mopar customer for life, so long as they keep selling them – and FCA stays fiscally stable.
GM needs to answer the call – name a price. Heck, I’d pay more than FCA asks – which is already in the $2500 to $3500 range on a new or near-new car.
I tried to extend my GMPP 5 year warranty for 2 more years on my ’13 Silverado. The price was $4000.00. Yes, four thousand dollars.
I believe it. I’m dreading the call to CNA to quote bumping out the policy on my Sky Red Line a couple more years. I racked up $8,000 in claims in four years. And CNA has paid all of it, every penny.
This is why I want the 124 Abarth to get FCA’s new 2.0T. Match that with a Mopar lifetime, and I’ll wave a tearful farewell to my Sky… in a heartbeat.
I see GM has changed the number of “free” oil changes on new cars and dropped it to 1 within the 1st year of ownership, starting with the 2019s. Yeah, they’re all about taking care of their customers.