July 9, 2009
sponsored by Tavant
ISSN 1550-9214         

Worldwide Electronics Warranties:

It's not where you're from as much as what you make. European and Japanese electronics companies report warranty expense rates similar to what their American competitors do. The difference is that while U.S. companies must report what used to be trade secrets, the international companies are simply doing their New York Stock Exchange shareholders a big favour.

Last week's traditional Fourth of July look at European and Asian warranty providers was met by an elevated level of interest by our non-American readers. To be sure, we received 1,718 "out of office" notifications (more than a third of the subscriber base), making our email administrator wonder if we were under some kind of cyber attack by the North Koreans.

But there also were a good many comments and questions coming from countries where the fourth is just another day of the month. Many wanted to know why such-and-such a company was not included, and the simple answer is that only a few dozen non-American companies disclose their warranty expenses at the level of detail needed to create the charts that you see in this week's and last week's newsletters. If it existed, we'd print it.

One reader offered his services as a potential translator, which we gladly accepted, assuming there's warranty data in the financial statements of French, German, and Italian manufacturers. Another wanted to know what warranty disclosures were required of non-American manufacturers by non-American financial regulators. The simple answer is: none. As in pre-2003 America, warranty spending rates and totals are top-secret metrics.

Thank goodness for the Enron scandal! If not for their alleged cover-up of the costly guarantees they had made, the Financial Accounting Standards Board might never have required American companies to disclose their warranty expenses, beginning in 2003. And if American companies had never been required to, some of the European and Japanese manufacturers who sell stock in New York might never have followed suit.

Last week we covered some of the top vehicle makers, who dominate a category that accounts for perhaps 53% of the US$72 billion worldwide warranty spend. This week, we propose to spotlight some of the top telecom, computer, and electronics companies that along with their American counterparts account for an additional 20% or so of the worldwide pie.

Typical Spending Levels Worldwide

As we did last week, we're using ¥98.2 = US$1.00 = €1.39 as our exchange rates, although currencies are not as important in these metrics as is the percentage of sales that warranty expenses consume. And no translator is needed to suggest that warranty expense rates under 1% of sales are low, while anything over 5% is high. Anything close to 10% is catastrophic. In telecom, appliances, computers and autos, anything in the 2% to 3% range is typical. But in industries such as medical equipment, auto parts, semiconductors and many consumer electronics sectors, even 2% is too high.

The claims and accrual rates are percentages derived from warranty amounts divided by product sales. In the past nine months, many companies have reported rapidly falling sales totals, which has caused their claims rates to spike, because they're essentially repairing last year's units with this year's reduced revenue. But it shouldn't have a major effect on accrual rates.

And then there are the lucky few companies that are in markets that are so hot that they're almost recession-proof. For instance, Nokia's product sales were down slightly in the year ended Dec. 31, 2008, to €50.71 billion, from €51.06 billion the year before. That's a 0.7% decline -- barely noticeable compared to the carnage that the automakers are reporting. However, both claims and accruals were up. Nokia's claims rose from €963 million in calendar 2007 to €1,070 million in calendar 2008, while accruals grew from €1,127 million to €1,211 million in the same period.

As a result, Nokia's claims rate rose from 1.9% in calendar 2007 to 2.1% in calendar 2008, while its accrual rate rose from 2.2% to 2.4%. Both of those rate increases can be seen in Figure 1 below.


Figure 1
Nokia Corp.
Warranty Claims & Accrual Rates, 2003-2008
(as a percentage of product sales)

Figure 1


Claims and accrual rates have remained inside a very narrow band for all of the past six years. However, readers will note a gradual rise in warranty outlays, represented by the blue bars, for each of the past four years. But because sales rose more or less proportionally, the claims and accrual rates, as represented by the red and green lines, remained more or less the same.

We should note that most of the data in this week's charts is derived from annual reports, which we have taken the liberty of dividing into four equal fourths to fit into the quarterly reporting format used by most American manufacturers. In other words, the €1,070 million annual figure for Nokia's claims has been chopped into four quarters of €268 million each in Figure 1.

Accounting Differences

Also, the fiscal years of Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent, Canon, and Ericsson ended on December 31. Siemens ended its fiscal year on September 30, 2008. Sony, Panasonic, and Hitachi ended their fiscal years on March 31, 2009. Therefore, four of the charts contain data for 24 quarters, three are for 25 quarters, and one is for 23 quarters.

This week, we're dealing with the accounting systems of five countries and three different currencies. Nokia is Finnish. Siemens is German. Alcatel-Lucent is French. All three use the euro. Ericsson is Swedish and uses the kronor in its financial reports. Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi, and Canon are Japanese and report their financials in yen.

The currency differences cancel out of the percentage rate calculations, of course. It doesn't matter if we're using euro, yen, or kronor. When we say a given company spent 2% of its revenue on warranty claims, we mean 2% of whatever currency is in use. It's up to the multinational companies themselves to make the conversions from dollars, pesos, pounds and roubles, for both their consolidated revenue totals and their warranty costs.

We're not sure if the national accounting systems have different definitions of product revenue and warranty claims. But whatever the respective definitions are, we assume they are constant over time. So the total listed for warranty claims in 2003 for a given company should be comparable to what that same company lists for 2008, even if it is not comparable to another company's figures. And the percentages we calculate using warranty claims, accrual, and revenue should be comparable over time -- at least when comparing a given company to itself.

That's a very important point, so let's say it again in a different way. While we can't compare companies across national boundaries or between currencies, we can compare a company to itself over time. So while it's useful to look at the charts to see the percentage level at which a company is paying claims, what is more revealing is the six-year trend. Companies may moan about the effects of new product introductions, dollar devaluations, swine flu, sunspots, and recessions, but the six-year trend pretty quickly reveals whether their grasp and control of warranty costs is increasing, decreasing, or has yet to manifest itself.

Steadfast Siemens

Siemens is one of only two companies in this week's roundup to see its sales increase in its most recent fiscal year. But that's only because its fiscal year ended on September 30, a mere two weeks after the Panic of '08 began. Siemens was also lucky to see both its claims and accrual totals fall, both in terms of euros and as a percentage of sales.

Product sales rose from €71.55 billion to €75.67 billion. Warranty claims fell from €888 million to €651 million. Accruals fell from €1,470 million to €1,329 million. The claims rate slipped from 1.2% to 0.9%. And the accrual rate fell from 2.1% to 1.8%.


Figure 2
Siemens AG
Warranty Claims & Accrual Rates, 2003-2008
(as a percentage of product sales)

Figure 2


The reason why Siemens' 2007 and 2008 data seems more stable than its 2003-2006 data is simple: the company switched from quarterly disclosures to annual disclosures at the end of 2006. We can infer that there was just as much volatility in the past two years, but without supporting data all we can draw are flat, smooth lines. And there is perhaps no better demonstration of why management might prefer less-frequent disclosures while customers and shareholders might prefer more-frequent warranty expense reports.

Taking Out Movies and Music

For Sony, we had to first subtract a significant amount of entertainment revenue from the totals, so as to prevent us from trying to calculate the warranty cost of a feature film or a Billy Joel album. However, because the company reports only consolidated warranty figures, our calculations are an average of the costs seen in the computer, television, camera, audio, and gaming product lines.

In the year ended March 31, 2009, Sony saw warranted product sales fall 16%, from ¥7.15 trillion to ¥6.02 trillion. Claims and accruals also fell, but not as fast. Claims declined from ¥54.5 billion to ¥58.4 billion. Accruals declined from ¥66.7 billion to ¥60.8 billion in the most recent year. But the rates rose, from 0.8% to 0.9% for claims and from 0.9% to 1.0% for accruals.


Figure 3
Sony Corp.
Warranty Claims & Accrual Rates, 2003-2008
(as a percentage of product sales)

Figure 3


Unlike the auto industry, in this week's roundup the range of the claims and accrual rates seems to have more to do with the industry a given company is in than it does with the location of its headquarters. As can be seen in Figure 3, it is possible for a Japanese company to spend as much as the Europeans (and Americans) do on warranty. Why? We suspect it has lots to do with Sony's stake in the computer industry, where high claims rates are common. Take away the computers, and you're left with Panasonic.

Speaking of which, Panasonic saw sales fall 14% in its most recent fiscal year, but both warranty claims and accruals rose. Sales came in at ¥7.77 trillion, while claims were ¥45.8 billion and accruals were ¥51.5 billion. In the previous fiscal year, sales were ¥9.07 trillion, while claims were ¥37.0 billion and accruals were ¥42.2 billion. Therefore, the claims rate rose from 0.4% to 0.6%, while the accrual rate rose from 0.5% to 0.7%.


Figure 4
Panasonic Corp.
Warranty Claims & Accrual Rates, 2003-2008
(as a percentage of product sales)

Figure 4


Panasonic also has a stake in the computer industry, primarily through its Toughbook line of ruggedized notebooks, which must generate some significant warranty costs thanks to three-year warranties. But it would be a major contradiction if that line of business represented a major portion of Panasonic's warranty costs, wouldn't it? I mean, they're supposed to be tough.

Panasonic is also engaged in the sale of home fire alarms, semiconductors, auto navigation systems, and men's shavers. And they do sell professional and business equipment. But it would not be unfair to call them primarily a consumer audio, video, computer and communications company, with the emphasis on consumer. As such, the 0.4% to 0.7% range seen in Figure 4 is probably a benchmark for consumer electronics. That's the mark to measure yourself against.

We should note that until October 2008 the company's official corporate name was Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Ltd. and Panasonic was merely a brand. Then it changed the name. The company really is quite diverse within the brown and white goods industries, but as Figure 4 shows, it has the relatively low warranty cost pattern that is typical of a consumer electronics company. Telecom equipment and computers are warranty-intensive. Audio and video equipment is not.

Telecom Equipment Leaders

Speaking of which, Alcatel-Lucent is a premier telecom equipment supplier not only on the continents of its hyphenated merger partners, but also worldwide. While it has interests in the mobile and wireless segments, its pain et beurre is in carrier equipment.

Despite or perhaps because of the self-destruction of arch-rival Nortel, Alcatel-Lucent saw a 7.4% sales decline in calendar 2008. But its warranty costs fell even faster. Sales fell from €14.6 billion to €13.5 billion, but warranty claims fell from €370 million to €292 million and accruals fell from €500 million to €354 million. That resulted in a year-ending claims rate of 2.2% and a year-ending accrual rate of 2.6%.


Figure 5
Alcatel-Lucent
Warranty Claims & Accrual Rates, 2003-2008
(as a percentage of product sales)

Figure 5


When Lucent was a distinct company, it managed to reduce its warranty costs by incredible amounts. Back in 2003 its warranty costs exceeded 3.6% of sales. By 2004 that had been cut to 1%. And then by the time of the merger in late 2006 it had risen back to only 1.9% -- somewhat lower than where it's been for the past two years. We should note that while Alcatel filed its warranty disclosures every six months and Lucent filed them every three months, the merged companies now report only annually.

Place-Saving Estimates

Hitachi also usually reports its warranty expenses every six months, which is why most of the data points in Figure 6 come in pairs. As this issue of Warranty Week goes to press, the most recent six months of data is still not available, though it was anticipated to be filed in June. So we have repeated last year's data as a place-saving estimate, and we will forego any annual comparisons. The less preferable choices were to either leave the columns blank or chop off the chart after the third quarter of 2008.

However, we didn't want to end the company's story with last summer's report, because Hitachi also managed to slip in an intriguing quarterly report covering the third calendar quarter of 2008. That's why there's a pronounced dip in the time series below for that period of time. Claims fell to 0.3%, while accruals fell to only 0.13%. Both were the lowest percentages reported by the company since at least 2003. Was that quarter an anomaly or the beginning of a new trend? Suffice it to say that it will be very interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks when the data for the second half of the most recent fiscal year finally becomes available.


Figure 6
Hitachi Ltd.
Warranty Claims & Accrual Rates, 2003-2008
(as a percentage of product sales)

Figure 6


The data in Figure 6 supports a statement that Hitachi has found a way to consistently reduce its warranty costs over time. Of the eight companies profiled here, we'd say that about only Hitachi and Ericsson. Nokia, Panasonic and Sony have perfected the ability to remain consistent, but based on six years of data, we'd have to say that Hitachi and Ericsson have learned how to cut.

Different Fiscal Years

Canon is of course a Japanese company, so it reports in yen. But unlike its peers Sony, Panasonic, and Hitachi, Canon ends its fiscal year on December 31. In that fiscal year, sales fell 8.6% while yen-denominated warranty expenses were virtually unchanged. But because the claims and accrual rates are calculated by dividing sales into claims and accruals, both rates rose. The claims rate increased from 0.58% to 0.66%, while the accrual rate rose from 0.69% to 0.75% (we don't want to exaggerate the accuracy, but one digit past the decimal point would have rounded off too much).


Figure 7
Canon Inc.
Warranty Claims & Accrual Rates, 2003-2008
(as a percentage of product sales)

Figure 7


Were it not for the anomaly of 2006, one could see a clear pattern in the Figure 7 data suggesting a gradually rising warranty cost profile. Yes, the rates are still far below 1%, but they've each more than doubled since 2003. And both Canon's claims and accrual rates are now at their highest-ever levels, at least since reporting began in 2003. There's no danger signal flashing here, but there's also no boasting to be done.

Speaking of which, Ericsson is the only other company in this week's roundup to be able to boast of a sales increase in its most recent annual report. Sales rose from 187.8 billion Swedish kronor to 208.9 billion Swedish kronor (1.00 USD = 6.08 SEK) in the year ended Dec. 31. At the same time, warranty claims fell precipitously, while accruals rose more or less in proportion to sales. A round of akavit, or Absolut, or whatever it is they drink in Sweden when they're happy, is in order.

Lag Time with Claims Paid

This might also be a good time to bring up a point raised by another reader last week. In looking at auto claims and accrual rates, he asked whether we were making allowances for the lag time between when a vehicle is sold and when it is repaired under warranty. We said we were not. So in a radical sales downturn as is now the reality, we were essentially comparing vehicles sold in 2006 and 2007 with revenue earned in 2008.

That, he said, creates a false picture of true costs. It would be better, he suggested, if we averaged three years of revenue and three years of warranty claims to get a moving average of the warranty claims rate.

The problem is, there are still national markets where 12-month warranties prevail. And then there are the extra-long Kia and Hyundai warranties in select markets, not to mention the four-year norm in the luxury market and the five-year and even lifetime powertrain warranties in some markets. In addition, 18% of Honda's revenue comes from motorcycles and generators. The bottom line is that even with detailed market-by-market and product-by-product unit data, the process of time-shifting and/or averaging revenue and claims costs would take us too far into the theoretical realm, away from the hard math.

Fortunately, the accrual rate suffers no time lag. What a company accrues in 2009 is what it believes its 2009 sales will cost it over the long run. When the accrual rate changes, it should signal a change in product quality or repair cost, or perhaps a change in the price per unit. It should not go up or down simply because a company needs to boost or reduce its earnings to "make its numbers." Even though it's an estimate based upon a projection, it should not be manipulated arbitrarily.

For instance, it should not be raised or lowered to compensate for past over- or under-accruals. It should simply reflect the expected future warranty cost of current sales, and that amount should be set aside as those sales are made, unit by unit. So if the accrual is set at €10 per unit, and 500 units are sold this week, €5,000 should be set aside this week to finance future warranty claims. If sales rise to 600 units next week, €6,000 should be set aside in accruals. Assuming the price per unit stays the same, so should the accrual rate, even though unit sales are increasing.

In other words, what Ericsson did was exactly as it should be. The accrual rate remained close to 0.8% in both 2007 and 2008 because that is the cost the company predicted for future warranty work. The accrual rate fell in each of the preceding three years because the claims rate was expected to fall too. And lo and behold, it did -- perhaps not in lock-step with accruals, but over time the claims rate fell from 2.6% in 2003 to 2.0% in 2006 and 0.6% in 2008. Time proves the estimates right or wrong.


Figure 8
Ericsson LM Telephone Co.
Warranty Claims & Accrual Rates, 2003-2008
(as a percentage of product sales)

Figure 8


With this week's eight electronics warranty snapshots and last week's six vehicle warranty snapshots, we've now profiled 14 different European and Asian manufacturers in more or less the same format as is done with the American companies that are required to follow the FASB Interpretation No. 45 accounting rules on warranty disclosures. This week's telecom, computer and consumer electronics companies are part of the "high-tech" slice of the pie, which we believe accounts for roughly 20% of the US$72 billion worldwide warranty pie.

Along with American-based companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell, IBM, Motorola, Cisco and Apple, these eight are among the top brands in that space. And while we wish there was more publicly-available warranty data from the likes of Lenovo, Samsung, LG, Acer, Sharp, Toshiba, or Nintendo, what we have gives us a representative sampling of that 20%.

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This Week’s Warranty Week Headlines

Image of President Obama used to endorse a counterfeit "BlockBerry" in Shanghai.
CNET Australia, July 10, 2009
Atlas Copco offers longer warranty on hydraulic breakers to those who register online.
Press Release, July 9, 2009
Boaters worry that 15% ethanol use could void their engine warranties and damage fuel systems.
American Chronicle, July 9, 2009
Personal injury claimants face Thursday deadline in GM bankruptcy proceedings.
Detroit News, July 8, 2009
Auto warranty telemarketers’ calls drop after Oklahoma agencies act.
The Oklahoman, July 8, 2009
 

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Warranty Headlines (cont’d)

Boeing to do warranty work on fleet of 94 B-52 bombers for next ten years.
Strategy Page, July 8, 2009
The Warranty Group opens a new office in Lima, Peru.
Press Release, July 8, 2009
The Warranty Group appoints Jeanne Jurasek as senior VP and director of internal audit.
Dealerscope, July 8, 2009
Lear Corp. files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
Press Release, July 7, 2009
Fleetwood Enterprises may sell Garrett IN manufactured housing plant to Adventure Homes LLC.
Press Release, July 7, 2009
 

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PCMI - Your technology partner

 

Warranty Headlines (cont’d)

Consumer Reports advises readers to avoid extended warranty provider USfidelis.
Press Release, July 7, 2009
POS-X Inc. adds two-day replacement terms to its point-of-sale product warranties.
Press Release, July 7, 2009
Collapsed roof of Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium had a two-year warranty.
Malay Mail, July 7, 2009
Personal injury lawyers object to GM's bankruptcy reorganization plan.
Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 6, 2009
Pentagon's Inspector General probes defects, negligence andr fraud in Afghan headquarters.
Bloomberg News, July 6, 2009
 

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After Warranty Analytics

 

Warranty Headlines (cont’d)

Homeowners saddled with tainted Chinese drywall sue local home builders for damages.
New Orleans Times-Picayune, July 5, 2009
Automobile Dealer Economic Rights Restoration Act would raise the cost of auto bailouts.
Washington Post, July 5, 2009
Counterfeit Apple iPhone stereo headsets come with a fake warranty pamphlet.
Cult of Mac, July 5, 2009
UK's Serious Fraud Office to investigate the demise of carmaker MG Rover in 2005.
BBC News, July 5, 2009
SCIC issues tips for consumers to avoid scams when buying vehicle service contracts.
Press Release, July 3, 2009
 

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Warranty Headlines (cont’d)

Consumer groups want Chrysler vehicles to get stickers warning buyers of liability risks.
Washington Post, July 3, 2009
Is Apple bailing on Nvidia chips in upcoming Macs?
Computerworld, July 2, 2009
Home Warranty of America says its GreenPlus option has surpassed expectations.
Press Release, July 1, 2009
InFocus closing Singapore office, moving warranty work back to Oregon headquarters.
Portland Business Journal, July 1, 2009
National Electronics Service Dealers Association rejects TTE's service delivery model.
Press Release, July 1, 2009
 

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Warranty Headlines (cont’d)

The Warranty Group to administer service contracts for Santander Consumer Finance dealers.
Fleet Directory, July 1, 2009
Ssangyong credits increased UK sales to its five-year plan on warranty, service & finance.
What Car? July 1, 2009
Cavco Industries may buy manufactured housing line of business from Fleetwood Enterprises.
Press Release, June 30, 2009 (PDF file)
Arabian Automobiles to sell extended warranties and Guaranteed Asset Protection insurance.
AME Info, June 30, 2009
New York City bike lane markings come with a one-year warranty.
Staten Island Advance, June 30, 2009
Some iPhone 3GS owners say batteries in their handsets are reaching very high temperatures.
Wired, June 29, 2009
Sunrise Homes tells homeowners their one-year warranties on Chinese drywall expired.
Baton Rouge Advocate, June 29, 2009
Wellington City Council worries over its exposure to leaky building warranties.
Wellington (NZ) Dominion Post, June 29, 2009
ETA Services Ltd. to sell mechanical breakdown insurance for electric vehicles in UK.
Press Release, June 29, 2009
T4 Science lengthens the warranty on its iMaser 3000 atomic clock to seven years.
Press Release, June 29, 2009 (PDF file)
Car owner with lifetime warranty on seventh Midas muffler & third Sears shock absorber set.
Detroit News, June 28, 2009
Mississippi PSC files complaint against Vehicle Warranty Options, SVC Inc. & Mike Moneymaker.
Associated Press, June 27, 2009
Builder of Guernsey's new incinerator plant agrees to only a two-year warranty.
This Is Guernsey, June 27, 2009
LDV suppliers and dealers told warranties on vans won't be honored.
Birmingham Post, June 26, 2009
Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine names SigmaQuest as a 2009 Top 100 Company.
Press Release, June 26, 2009
Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine names Cimtek as a 2009 Top 100 Company.
Press Release, June 26, 2009 (PDF file)
Bankruptcy court lets Fleetwood Enterprises sell assets to American Industrial Partners.
Press Release, June 25, 2009
Can health care come with a warranty?
New York Times, June 25, 2009
Grand jury indicts Thomas J. Kline for warranty fraud involving SonicWall firewall devices.
Legal Eagle Review, June 25, 2009
Office Depot to offer data recovery services by DriveSavers at retail locations nationwide.
Press Release, June 25, 2009
Panasonic to open warranty call centers in the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Lebanon.
AME Info, June 24, 2009
MaintenanceNet Inc. appoints Andrew Bray as its new EMEA business manager.
Press Release, June 24, 2009
Canadian Solar to offer six-year product warranty instead of two-year.
Press Release, June 24, 2009
Garmin offers GPS software update to fix a software issue that inadvertently disabled devices.
Press Release, June 24, 2009
Pennsylvania joins 36 other states in filing objections to the GM bankruptcy proceedings.
Press Release, June 24, 2009
Arkansas attorney general sues two more companies over calls about car warranties.
Arkansas News, June 23, 2009
Lee Iacocca & Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters to reshape 2009 Mustang into a sleek fastback.
Detroit Free Press, June 23, 2009
What do you do when you discover your computer is one of the many orphaned by MPC?
InfoWorld, June 23, 2009
Reporter calls for shorter mattress warranties, but warranties get longer anyhow.
Furniture Today, June 23, 2009
Chinese drywall may be biggest environmental crisis to hit homeowners and builders in decades.
Move Smartly, June 22, 2009
Lexus, Porsche, Cadillac, Hyundai and Honda top J.D. Power 2009 Initial Quality Study.
Press Release, June 22, 2009
Squeezing repairs out of California's Lemon Law, the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act.
Riverside Press-Enterprise, June 21, 2009
Service USA Inc. selected as a national field service provider for OEM Warranty Risk Inc.
Press Release, June 20, 2009
Ohio attorney general wants details from GM on lemon laws and extended warranty coverage.
Press Release, June 19, 2009
SquareTrade survey finds 10% of iPhones malfunction while 20% suffer accidental damage.
Press Release, June 19, 2009 (PDF file)
The Warranty Group launches "Try Our Expert" service contract training program in auto dealerships.
Motor Trader, June 19, 2009
Better Business Bureau & NY senator take aim at lower credit card interest rate robocalls.
Fox News, June 19, 2009
Arrow Truck Sales offers 4-yr/400,000 mile engine warranty option on pre-owned Volvo trucks.
Truck News, June 19, 2009
Crest Pumps doubles the warranty period on all new chemical pumps to two years.
Press Release, June 19, 2009
CBC series questions sales tactics of Furnasman's One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning.
Canadian Broadcasting Corp., June 18, 2009
Leasing companies struggle with unpaid warranty claims after collapse of UK van maker LDV.
Fleet News, June 18, 2009
Former General Re executive John Houldsworth gets two years of probation for fraud.
Insurance Journal, June 18, 2009
Verizon Wireless & OnStar step up the fight against illegal auto warranty telemarketing.
Press Release, June 17, 2009
Meineke Car Care Centers support Right to Repair Act; will sell vehicle service contracts.
Press Release, June 16, 2009
GM car warranty confusion leaves consumers and dealers in the dark.
Consumer Reports, June 16, 2009
Crest Pumps extends warranty period on new chemical pumps to two years.
Press Release, June 16, 2009
Voice Touch Inc. owners ran warranty telemarketing business out of Daytona Beach home.
Daytona Beach News-Journal, June 16, 2009
Enterasys/Siemens Enterprise Communications selects SigmaQuest’s OnDemand SigmaSure software.
Press Release, June 16, 2009
Gateway and MPC send collections agent after high school that got partial order, no warranties.
Argus (SD) Leader, June 15, 2009
Ex-employee of Transcontinental Warranty spills the beans to the FTC.
Fox News, June 15, 2009
Four of the people behind the massive expiring car warranty robocall scam.
Fox News, June 15, 2009
Select Kitchens liquidated, leaving subcontractors unpaid and customers without warranties.
Sydney Morning Herald, June 15, 2009
GE’s Stimulus Simplicity program to issue electronic medical records certification warranties.
Press Release, June 15, 2009
Bollinger Motors ends 95-year run as a Dodge dealer, feels betrayed by the company.
Detroit Free Press, June 14, 2009
Owner of Bob Thomas Car Co. asks U.S. Congress why his GM dealership was terminated.
Bend (OR) Bulletin, June 13, 2009
Darner Chrysler franchise terminated after 56 years selling Plymouth, DeSoto, Jeep and Chrysler.
Arizona Republic, June 13, 2009
Columnist helps consumers resolve their appliance, TV and computer warranty problems.
Toronto Star, June 13, 2009
Best Buy to offer Apple's iPhone 3GS with Geek Squad's Black Tie Protection plan.
Apple Insider, June 12, 2009
Texas attorney general says new GM dealership agreements may limit warranty claims.
Press Release, June 12, 2009
Has bankruptcy become a competitive advantage for Chrysler or GM?
International Business Times, June 12, 2009
Quiet PC offers two-year product warranty in anticipation of UK adopting EU rules.
Hexus, June 12, 2009
Reporter gets a free replacement of iPhone headphones he didn't know were under warranty.
New York Times, June 11, 2009
FieldTurf raises the annual limit on its prepaid warranty insurance policy to US$13 million.
Press Release, June 11, 2009
Fulcrum Analytics opens data-driven marketing blog.
Web Page Posting, June 11, 2009
Outgoing Chrysler CEO touts "lowest warranty cost in the company's history" in farewell.
Detroit News, June 10, 2009
Good Sam Club proposes model legislation for a motor home lemon law.
RV News Service, June 10, 2009
New Oklahoma lemon law replaces its much-maligned 1985 ancestor.
Tulsa World, June 10, 2009
Louisiana Senator Julie Quinn's Chinese drywall bill diverted to second committee.
Associated Press, June 9, 2009
LDV says it will no longer pay its dealers for warranty work on Maxus vans.
Fleet News, June 9, 2009
Nortel introduces a lifetime warranty for its stackable Ethernet Routing Switch product line.
Press Release, June 9, 2009
Navistar says unanticipated warranty costs helped drive down profits in the second quarter.
Press Release, June 9, 2009
Soon-to-be-former Chrysler dealers scramble to unload vehicles.
Associated Press, June 8, 2009
Homeowners with toxic Chinese drywall have gotten no help from builders or insurance companies.
New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 7, 2009
Warranty Hero helps track product warranties and keep records of purchases.
Macworld, June 7, 2009
Royal Buick dealership, dropped by GM, to do warranty work through Oct. 31, 2010.
Arizona Daily Star, June 6, 2009
Bankruptcy court lets GM remain in Better Business Bureau's Auto Line program.
Sacramento Bee, June 5, 2009
Author shares concerns over warranty provisions of Hurco Companies Inc.
The Rational Walk, June 5, 2009
OEM Warranty Risk Inc. to provide warranty services to a major surge protection product supplier.
Press Release, June 5, 2009
Obscure EU directive helps consumers get refunds up to two years after the sale.
This Is Money, June 4, 2009
 

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