Should Nissan Bring Its 10-Year Warranty To America?

Vehicles serviced outside the dealer network may also qualify for a warranty extension if they pass a health check

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In the United States, newly purchased Nissans come with a standard three-year or 36,000-mile warranty. This is pretty typical for most new cars in the U.S., where warranties usually hover around the same length. But across the globe, things are different.

In Australia, for example, many new cars come with warranties lasting five to seven years, with some extending all the way to a whopping 10 years. Now, Nissan is getting in on the action and offering a 10-year warranty, which seems to be paying off. But here’s the real question: Should Nissan take this same approach in the U.S.?

More: Nissan’s 10-Year/186,000-Mile Warranty In Australia Is Huge, But There’s A Catch

As standard, new Nissan models sold Down Under now have a five-year unlimited mileage warranty. Eager to do whatever it can to generate money, Nissan announced a new 10-year / 300,000 km (186,000 miles) warranty in February, although it does have some important caveats.

To be eligible for the extra five years, owners must have all regular servicing done at a Nissan dealership. This is the same strategy that Mitsubishi follows in Australia for its 10-year warranty. Current Nissan owners who have had their vehicle serviced outside the official dealer network may be eligible for the five-year extension if their vehicle passes a AU$99 (~$64) health check to ensure it’s been serviced appropriately.

The Results So Far

Nissan Australia says that in the first 30 days of the new warranty program being released, it received more than 2,500 service bookings for owners.

“In terms of revenue to the dealer network, it’s been quite impressive,” the managing director of Nissan Oceania, Andrew Humberstone, told Drive. “It’s really important that we find ways to secure their financial business, especially given the kind of cost increase we are seeing [at the moment] in the market where dealers – irrespective of brand – are experiencing about a 30 per cent increase in their costs. Whether that’s recruitment, utilities or whatever.”

“The challenge that they have is how to offset that cost, and if you can’t just do it with volume and you can’t just do it with margin, then you’ve also got to deliver it on aftersales,” he added. “The retention [comes] through the finance company and the aftersales program and all the new product stuff that we’re doing. That’s the strategy on how we drive the business forward.”

What About The U.S?

There are some brands in the US that offer four and five-year new car warranties like Genesis, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Cadillac, and Mitsubishi, but far too many still only offer three-year warranties and extended powertrain warranties, typically for another year. If a brand like Nissan offered a longer, bumper-to-bumper warranty for cars serviced at dealers, do you think it would be a good idea? Let us know in the comments section below.