October 23, 1999
Chrysler owners, eat your heart out. Isuzu is offering a ten-year,
120,000-mile drivetrain warranty.
That gives Isuzu an edge over Hyundai,
which has enjoyed a 71 percent increase in U.S. sales since introducing
a ten-year, 100,000-mile warranty earlier this year.
Hyundai still holds the lead in the basic
warranty race -- with a five-year, 60,000-mile plan. Isuzu's basic
warranty, for non-drivetrain items, is three years or 50,000 miles.
The new plans put both manufacturers miles
ahead of the competition. Toyota, for example, offers a basic
warranty of three years or 36,000 miles and a drivetrain warranty of
five years or 60,000 miles.
With the average American keeping a new car
for 7.5 years, a longer warranty covering expensive drivetrain
components can mean big savings if an engine or transmission rebuild is
needed.
Hyundai's move to a longer warranty was in
response to quality problems that plagued the Korean automaker earlier
in the decade. With its quality problems largely fixed, Hyundai
wanted a cost-effective way to win back consumers.
Isuzu, which makes only sport utes, has a
good reputation for quality but the small Japanese company need a
way to differentiate itself from its huge competitors and their enormous
advertising budgets.
Consumer leaders are generally enthusiastic
about the longer warranties and dealers say they are bringing customers
into the showrooms.
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