Archived Copies of Warranty Week

December 2002 to Today

European Automaker Warranty Expenses, Part 2: In this latest part of a worldwide roundup of automaker warranty expense totals and averages, we find that VW has always had the highest costs, while the French companies have always had the lowest. This doesn't correlate well with either customer perceptions or reliability trends, but facts are facts, while opinions are subject to bias (and advertising).
May 27, 2021
US Automotive OEM & Supplier Warranty Report: Because of the way their warranties are structured, car manufacturers have the highest warranty costs and their suppliers have the lowest. Truck manufacturers and their engine suppliers, however, have much closer expense rates. But the pandemic seems to have upset these patterns considerably.
April 15, 2021
American Auto Warranty Expenses: While General Motors continues to recover from its massive ignition switch recall of 2014, the warranty expenses of Ford are creeping upward. Tesla, meanwhile, is in the strange position of having the lowest claims rate and the highest accrual rate in the U.S.-based portion of this industry.
July 18, 2019
New Home Warranty Expense Rates: Some industry metrics are at their highest level in more than a decade, and one set a new all-time high. And none of the builders are using the sleight-of-hand accounting tricks they employed before the last recession. So is there any substance to these talks of an imminent industry downturn?
November 29, 2018
U.S. & German Auto Warranties: Car manufacturers based in Germany have the highest warranty expense rates in the industry. But that doesn't mean they make the worst cars and more than it suggests that China, the country with the lowest warranty expense rates, makes the best cars. Somewhere in the middle are the U.S. and Japan.
October 25, 2018
Automotive Supplier Warranty Report: Of all the companies that supply parts and components to the car and truck manufacturers, those making engines, axles and transmissions pay the most claims and see the highest warranty expense rates. Last year, in fact, they broke records for claims paid, accruals made, and reserves held.
April 12, 2018
Worldwide Automotive Warranty Report: With hard numbers in hand for the warranty costs of roughly 80% of the world's car and light truck manufacturers, we set out to create estimates for the remaining 20%. And not surprisingly, we find that the highest warranty costs are in Europe and North America, with the lowest in Asia.
July 6, 2017
Service Contract Pricing: Microwaves: Built like electronics but sold like an appliance, the microwave oven is a hybrid of two different product categories. And with service contracts costing almost 19% of the product's price on average, it also has one of the highest average costs of protection. And there's a big difference in the cost of protection plans for units priced at the high or the low end of the market.
February 2, 2017
New Home & RV Warranty Report: Put a home on wheels and its warranty costs rise. While the warranties on traditional site-built homes typically cost the builder about one percent of selling price, the warranty cost of mobile homes is somewhat higher. And the warranty cost of modular, prefabricated homes may be highest of all.
May 21, 2015
Warranty Accruals per Vehicle: The German OEMs still have the highest warranty costs worldwide, but the Japanese carmakers are no longer unopposed at the bottom. Both Fiat and Ford are cutting their warranty costs to within range of longtime low-cost leader Honda. And Toyota is well on its way to getting back to normal.
July 11, 2013
Warranty Analytics Study: IDC has profiled nine of the top providers of warranty analysis software and services, ranking them on both capabilities and marketing strategies. And while SAS gets the highest score, the companies closest behind them are somewhat unexpected.
June 7, 2012
Japanese & European Warranties: While consumer electronics have some of the lowest warranty costs, computers have some of the highest claims rates. And telecom gear is somewhere in the middle, as a look at eight of the top international suppliers details.
July 22, 2010
Automotive Warranties: While GM and Ford spend the most on warranty, other types of vehicle manufacturers pay out a greater share of their total revenue on claims. And while most parts suppliers have relatively low claims rates, those in the aftermarket report some of the highest rates of all.
April 25, 2006
Warranty Claims by Industry: Over the past ten quarters, warranty claims patterns have remained remarkably consistent in numerous industries. Those closest to consumers in the supply chain seem to experience the highest claims rates.
September 7, 2005
Extended Warranties in the UK: After concluding that British retailers charge some of the highest prices in the world for extended warranties, the UK's Competition Commission's final report advocates reforms of the salesperson-to-consumer relationship.
January 20, 2004