I've been wondering about this for a few years. Every new car comes with a warranty protecting the buyer against serious and expensive defects. However, how much is this warranty needed? In order to maintain the warranty the car must be taken in to the dealership every 5000 km. I worked out the service costs for a Kia (I used a Kia because that company actually has an online maintenance schedule with cost of service) up to 100,000 km and it works out to $3500 without including the costs of parts or various lubricants. Adding those could easily double the cost.
I've been buying cars since 1969 and the service period hasn't changed. It is the same old 5000 or 6000 km it has always been. This is despite the fact that the quality of modern vehicles is much higher than it was 50 years ago. It seems to me that this is little more than a money making gimmick for the dealership and a new car buyer might be better off ignoring the warranty schedule and just attending to basic maintenance like oil changes etc.
Any thoughts?
I've been buying cars since 1969 and the service period hasn't changed. It is the same old 5000 or 6000 km it has always been. This is despite the fact that the quality of modern vehicles is much higher than it was 50 years ago. It seems to me that this is little more than a money making gimmick for the dealership and a new car buyer might be better off ignoring the warranty schedule and just attending to basic maintenance like oil changes etc.
Any thoughts?