Volkswagen boosts warranty to five years… but not for long

Volkswagen is the latest manufacturer to extend its new-car warranty period in Australia from three to five years, albeit temporarily.

The Australian arm of the German carmaker is offering a five-year, unlimited-kilometre coverage on all its models purchased from today until December 31, with selected models also available with sharp driveaway pricing.

Volkswagen vehicles are normally covered by a three-year, unlimited kilometre warranty.

The temporary warranty offer is similar to ones initiated other brands, such as Holden and Honda, both of whom went on to offer five-year warranties permanently.

Volkswagen Group Australia managing director Michael Bartsch said a permanent move to five years would be determined by customer feedback.

"From the 80,000 customer surveys that VGA conducts annually, we see strong response to our driveaway pricing and finance offers,” said Bartsch.

"Customer reaction to Five Year Warranty will be informative."

A permanent move would leave just Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota as the only mainstream manufacturers to still offer three-year terms.