Archived Copies of Warranty Week

December 2002 to Today

European Automaker Warranty Expenses: Following the merger of FCA and PSA, we're down to just five major automakers in the euro zone: Stellantis, VW, BMW, Mercedes, and Renault. And now that all five have filed their annual reports for 2021, it's time to take a look at their warranty expense reports for the last five years.
April 7, 2022
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
European Auto Warranty Expenses: Among the seven largest auto manufacturers, VW spends the largest percentage of revenue on warranty. Daimler spends the most per vehicle, and had the biggest jump in warranty reserves. And both PSA and Renault continue to have the lowest warranty expense rates in Europe.
August 27, 2020
VW's Emissions Warranty Scandal: Some students cheat on tests. But companies rarely do, because the cost of getting caught is very high. And in the long run, someone usually snitches. So isn't it ironic that a bunch of students caught one of the world's largest manufacturers cheating on a test?
October 1, 2015
European Auto Warranties: Their annual reports tell a simple story: Daimler and BMW are reducing their warranty costs. VW is doing just fine. And Fiat is now absorbing the warranty costs of Chrysler.
July 5, 2012