November 7th, 2005 by admin
Use their list to buy your next car
37 vehicles made it into the Best Buy category in Consumer Digest’s comprehensive review of 268 cars. Among the SUVs, sedans, minivans and trucks are vehicles ranging in size/price from the Honda Civic to the GMC Yukon.
The list was judged on value, or cost in relation to features.
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November 4th, 2005 by admin
Using ITI, Volvo Aims to Reduce Claims
Volvo, an automaker already associated with reliability (and high-cost parts), is teaming with efficiency experts, ITI to scour the data regarding their product failure rates.
Already, ITI has been able to show Volvo some ways to improve the long-term performance of their engines.
ITI worked with Volvo to understand the reliability behavior of its line of current engines. Rather than look at reliability for the12-liter engine family as a whole, information was sorted by industry and application. This enabled historical performance and future requirements for the entire family of engines to be fully quantified and understood. In this way, realistic yet aggressive targets could set for each engine with specific reliability plans developed for each.
As this added reliability filters down to the consumer, lowered costs in warranties and repairs are the expected result.
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November 4th, 2005 by admin
Auto Makers and Tire Manufacturers Weigh In
One of the latest fads in the car industry is ‘siping’ your tires. To sipe a tire costs around $10 per tire, and is done by a tire professional. In fact, some places, like Les Schwab and Discount Tire suggest dramatic improvements in tire traction.
However, Seattle’s Komo 4 News took the time to ask some industry experts as to the safety of siping. Their conclusions?
The automotive experts at Consumer Reports told me they advise motorists to steer clear of siping. The magazine’s Eugene Petersen told me "there’s no question siping gives a tire more edges to grip the road," but he cautioned, "it can alter the tread pattern so the tire wears more quickly." — Komo News 4
The rest of the experts came the same conclusion, if you need better traction, don’t sipe your tire, just buy a tire that is specifically designed for traction.
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November 1st, 2005 by admin
American Cars are only second to Japan in reliability now, bringing warranty costs down.
Because American car companies are building better cars, the general public are submitting fewer warranty claims than in past years. With fewer claims comes lower rates.
Other domestic automakers are scoring the same effects from the quality-obsessed teamwork approach. For General Motors Corp.’s domestic fleet, the number of warranty claims is down 36 percent over the last five years, according to spokeswoman Janine Fruehan. Warranty costs are down 21 percent.
This is great news for anyone with a domestic car. Quality translates to lower warranty costs. It’s a win-win situation.
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September 25th, 2005 by admin
New IBM search technologies help automakers cut warranty expenses
Newly developed IBM search technologies help automakers cut warranty expenses, which cost the industry over $14 billion annually. IBM’s solution goes beyond "keyword" searches to collect and analyze data from a variety of information sources such as repair records and blogs.
Automotive companies across the world today face a very competitive and difficult marketplace. In an effort to stimulate growth, many automakers, particularly in the United States, have resorted to steep discounts to compete. These price cuts, in addition to rising operating costs, have taken their toll on the profit margins in the industry. To counterbalance the downward trend of profit margins, all automakers are looking at creative ways to control costs.
Warranty coverage is one of the fastest growing areas of operating costs in the automobile industry. In 2004, experts estimate warranty costs exceeded $45 billion worldwide. In the United States, auto warranties account for nearly 41 percent of all auto warranties industrywide. And, for the first time, in 2004 the number of recalled vehicles exceeded the total number of manufactured vehicles.
One of the causes behind the rising warranty costs and claims is the increasing complexity of vehicles. Today, nearly 40 percent of the value in an average vehicle is tied up in its software and recalled vehicles A single car may have as many as 70 different processors, controlling everything from anti-lock brakes and automatic transmissions to cruise control and fuel injection. Failures to those embedded systems account for a third of all warranty claims.
Controlling the costs of warranties has big benefits. Currently, warranty costs drag down profits of automobile industry by 3 percent. If automakers could reduce their warranty costs in half, they would see their profits soar as much as 300 percent.
August 24th, 2005 by admin
Industry executives to work together to focus on reducing industry warranty costs
Neil De Koker, president of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, OESA, recently called for automotive industry executives to work together to focus on reducing industry warranty costs. In a brief address to attendees of the Management Briefing Seminars, De Koker said that OESA has created a Warranty Management Council, responsible for developing recommendations to reduce warranty costs.
According to Warranty Week, the industry spent $11.5 billion on warranty claims in 2004. OESA proposes that it is the responsibility of both suppliers and car companies to seriously look at warranty and other non-value added costs.
"We heard from speakers today who tell us that the next two years will require significant and extreme action to maintain profitability," De Koker stated. "It is imperative that members of the industry collaborate to reduce warranty costs to keep companies competitive.
"OESA proposes that suppliers work with the car companies and each other, to provide insight into best practices that can reduce warranty costs," De Koker added. "The objective of this OESA group is to share best practices that reduce warranty costs for the benefit of the entire industry."
OESA anticipates releasing a publication that outlines a process the automotive value chain should consider to systematically reduce warranty potential during product development. Through this activity, suppliers exchange experiences working with various OEM warranty systems and collectively increase individual company knowledge.
Formed in August 1998, OESA provides a forum for automotive suppliers by addressing issues of common concern through peer group council; serving as a reliable source of information and analysis; and providing an industry voice, when appropriate, on issues of interest. With nearly 400 members having global automotive sales exceeding $300 billion, OESA represents more than 60 percent of North American automotive supplier sales.
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August 10th, 2005 by admin
To keep up with the luxury SUV market Hummer has extended their manufacturer’s warranty
Great news for Hummer owner’s looking for extended warranty protection. Now that all 2006 Hummers will be coming with a standard 4 year/50,000 mile warranty plan Auto Advantage Inc., an industry leader in Hummer warranties has reduced the pricing to warranty them for an extended term. This price reduction affects the Hummer H1, H2, and H3 models. The 2006 H1 Alpha which is already available for sale is the first model to come with the new, longer manufacturer’s warranty coverage.
Though Hummer owners all rave about their ownership experiences, they will also tell you that these vehicles are one of the most expensive vehicles on the road to maintain and have repaired. That is why Hummer extended warranty sales have soared over the past few years. Now with the new reduced pricing, warranty sales are expected to increase over the next year or so by about 40-50%.
July 25th, 2005 by admin
Chryler, Dodge, and Jeep cut the term of their manufacturer’s warranty coverage for 2006 models
If you want to get the 7 year/70,000 mile manufacturer’s Powertrain coverage on your new Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep you will have to buy a 2005 model. Starting with the 2006 models the coverage will be limited to their 3-year/36,000 mile warranty.
Most people do not realize that extended Bumper-To-Bumper Wrap Around protection is also available to complement Chrysler’s 7 year/70,000 mile manufacturer’s Powertrain coverage. They generally think that when the 3-year/36,000 mile Bumper-To-Bumper coverage ends they are just plain out of luck. Incorrect, an extended warranty is available for both the 7 year extended Powertrain coverage as well as the 3 year Bumper-To-Bumper manufacturer’s warranty.
July 18th, 2005 by admin
Buick extends their manufacturer’s warranty
Buick has announced that for the 2006 model year all models will come with a 4 year or 50,000 mile manufacturer’s warranty. This makes Buick and Cadillac the only models to have better than General Motors standard 3 year or 36,000 mile coverage.
The question that frequently comes up is do I still need to purchase a extended warranty or vehicle service contract. The answer in our opinion is a resounding yes. These vehicles are jam packed with high tech electronics in addition to the normal powertrain items. These items usually fail sometime after 50,000 mile threshold. Statistics have shown that more than 89% of the auto warranties purchased pay out more than the amount they were purchased for.
The bottom line is an auto warranty is always a good investment.
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July 15th, 2005 by admin
Some reasons to protect your vehicle…
When you own any vehicle, it is very likely you will have a number of mechanical breakdowns. However, if you purchase an extended warranty, you will be protected from the high cost of mechanical repairs.
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