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Please see article found on Carpoint today;
Extended factory warranties for Jaguar, Land-Roverwords - Joshua Dowling
Up to five years coverage available, but customers must pay
In an attempt to quell concerns about the quality and reliability of Jaguar and Land Rover cars, the Australian distributor has introduced extended warranties that increase the coverage from three years to four or five years.
The scheme, which is effective immediately, is under-written by a third party, Alliance. But unlike other third party warranties it is fully factory-backed, transferable with the vehicle and not linked to a costly fixed servicing regime.
Customers will have to pay for the increased coverage -- $2295 for one year extra or $2695 for two years extra – but they have the option of taking up the offer until the normal three year warranty expires.
The coverage will also be available on approved used vehicles up to five years old.
Speaking at the launch of the new Jaguar XJ luxury sedan, the boss of Jaguar and Land-Rover in Australia, David Blackhall, said the move was designed to ease the minds of customers -- and help improve resale values of the vehicles.
"We know the quality and the reliability of our cars are good, but there is still a lingering perception out there," he said. "One of the many things Ford did for us was get our quality and reliability on track. And certainly in the last five years or so we have seen a dramatic reduction in real world warranty claims.
"The problem is that some sections of the industry don't know this, and so our cars get marked hard by wholesalers and car valuers. So this will hopefully put their minds at ease."
Blackhall says he has been trying to introduce extended warranties for a couple of years.
When asked why customers should pay a premium if the company was so confident in the reliability of its cars, he said: "Well, it's a benefit, an added extra, and that should come at a price. Mercedes doesn't offer this. BMW doesn't offer this. Lexus doesn't offer this. And in the grand scheme of things it's a modest amount when you consider the overall cost of the car."
Mitsubishi, Kia and Hyundai offer five year factory-backed warranties free of charge and Ford has recently offered free five-year coverage as part of a special promotion.
The extended warranty deal is part of a new customer service campaign being undertaken by Jaguar and Land Rover, Blackhall said.
"There is no reason we can't be better than the Germans. Shame on us if we can't be better than they do, especially when we sell fewer cars than they do."
He said that, when a customer has a roadside assistance call, regardless of how minor the issue is, the company now rings the customer 24 hours after the incident to check how it was handled.
"The first reaction is one of shock, customers are genuinely surprised that we've followed it up," he said. "In most cases they are happy, in some cases they are not. And the good thing is that we know this straight away and are able to take action and get them help if they need it."
He said two of the five people in this division are ex-Lexus staff, while the others have worked for other premium brands.
"We've got the cars right, now it's time for us to over-deliver on customer service and provide a truly premium experience," he said.
Meanwhile, Blackhall said that Jaguar and Land Rover dealers were among the most profitable in the industry, despite the recent economic downturn.
"Our dealers have maintained good [profit] margins," he said. "We kept a relatively small dealer network and we've had some new models come through and let me tell you, they are among the leading profit earners in the [car] industry right now."
Jaguar sales are up 21 per cent and Land Rover sales are up 35 per cent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2009, according to figures supplied by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
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Published : Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Regards
Chuck
Originally Posted by CaverD3
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