Which are the best new car warranties?

Which brands have the best new car warranties in Australia?

Manufacturers have become much more generous with warranty provisions over the past decade. But not all is as it seems.

There’s a lot of talk when it comes to the length of vehicle warranties, and the truth is the warranty game has changed vastly over the past decade, and all mainstream brands have pulled up their socks.

Whereas the industry once regarded a three-year fixture as the norm – one still employed by some European brands including Porsche and American pick-up brands like RAM and Chevrolet – the expectation from new car buyers is now at least a five-year/unlimited kilometre provision.

Car brands have clearly listened. Kia was a pioneer of sorts in this field, introducing a seven-year warranty in 2014 and winning over a legion of new buyers since.

Around 2020, many mainstream brands followed suit, upping their warranty provisions to a five-year/unlimited kilometre fixture.

With the advent of more Chinese brands in Australia, many manufacturers are now pushing for six- or seven-year warranty provisions.

The latest (as of this month) was Hyundai, which matched its Korean stablemate Kia in extending to a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty – on the proviso that customers service their vehicles through the official Hyundai Australia network.

At the time of writing, the longest new car warranty fixtures are subject to similar clauses. As always, the advice here is to check in with your manufacturer website for terms and conditions.

Nissan currently offers the longest official new car warranty on its vehicles: a 10-year/300,000km fixture, though this agreement requires owners to service through the Nissan network as well.

In terms of electric cars and hybrid models, manufacturers usually offer a separate warranty on a vehicle’s high voltage battery. Once again, check with the manufacturer for specific terms and conditions, but more often than not it extends to an eight-year/160,000km provision.

Without further ado, here’s a list of new car warranty provisions across the 60-odd brands sold in Australia.

Which brands offer a 10-year warranty in Australia?

Currently Nissan, MG and Mitsubishi are the brands boasting the longest warranty provisions in Australia. In the case of Nissan, it’s a 10-year/300,000km fixture, while MG boasts a 10-year/250,000km warranty term and Mitsubishi a 10-year/200,000km term.

In terms of the longest standard warranty (not dependent on servicing through the manufacturers network, that mantle actually rests with Chinese brand Jaecoo, which boasts an eight-year/unlimited kilometre fixture.

A grey silver Jaecoo Omoda 9 hybrid

Image: Jaecoo Omodo 9 hybrid

Keep in mind that some warranties differ for commercial buyers and hire cars. There are manufacturers including Mahindra and Renault which offer different warranty durations for different models.

Which brands offer a seven-year vehicle warranty in Australia?

Chery
Deepal (160,000km provision)
Geely
GWM
Hyundai
JAC
KGM SsangYong
Kia
LDV (200,000km limit, electric models covered by a separate five-year/160,000km fixture)
Skoda

Which brands offer a six-year vehicle warranty in Australia?

BYD – six years/150,000km
Isuzu (150,000km limit)
Leapmotor (150,000km limit)

Which brands offer a five-year vehicle warranty in Australia?

A five-year/unlimited kilometre new car warranty is now considered the norm for Australian consumers, so unsurprisingly, this is a position occupied by most manufacturers.

At the time of writing, the following brands offer a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty: