A Canadian automotive journalist is asked to explain the difference in warranty coverages between the US and Canada.

Q: I read with interest your recent column regarding different recommended mileages for similar repairs. I have always wondered why some North American car companies offer basic warranties of three years or 60,000 kilometres in Canada, whichever comes first, while at the same time they offer three years / 60,000 miles in the U.S.

Should they not be offering us at least 90,000 kilometres to make up the difference? I have asked car dealers this quite often but have got no answer except a smile and a shrug. My answer to them is: When you decide to get serious, let me know.

By the way, I drive a Hyundai, mainly for the above reason.
A:“…We get short-changed on warranties by more than one manufacturer, compared to our cousins to the south.

Why? Call far enough up the food chain at any of the Canadian head offices and you’re likely to hear phrases like “market forces” or “competitive positioning” or “consumer demands.”

From my own experience in closed-door meetings with manufacturer representatives, most U.S. head-office executives consider Canada a very expensive place to have warranty repairs completed. Canadian dealers, in fact, are constantly berated by these officials due to their perception of our higher warranty costs.

In our defence, we have a much harsher climate and higher road-salt use than the average U.S. jurisdiction, leading to more expensive repairs. And even our universal health-care system doesn’t keep our technician labour rates from exceeding the American national average.

As well, our widely spaced dealer groups in thinly populated areas run up the costs of distributing parts and training technicians. I also like to believe that the average Canadian car consumer is more aware of his or her rights than even the most litigious U.S. auto buyer, and this type of consumerism keeps warranty bills rising.

All that aside, however, my quick Internet survey of three Detroit and two Asian carmakers shows that for the 2007 model year, only General Motors and Kia offer longer standard coverage for vehicles sold in the U.S. than in Canada. Chevrolet offers three years or 60,000 miles in base warranty coverage on its standard car line in the U.S. while Canadians get only three years or 60,000 kilometres.

Kia offers comparable base coverage for Yanks and Canucks, but its powertrain coverage is 10 years or 100,000 miles south of the border and only five years or 100,000 kilometres up north.

Note, though, that the U.S. powertrain warranty is not transferable and applies only to the original owner. Most buyers won’t keep their cars for a decade, and this helps the manufacturer keep its costs down. In Canada, warranties must be transferable.
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