Warranty . . . whuzzat?

[Mike Arman]

All this talk about warranties has me confused . . .

The problem is a difference in perception between car sellers and car buyers.

Car sellers regard cars as "units" to be sold, and at the highest possible
price above cost. That's ALL they are interested in. They are not
interested in racing heritage, fine engineering, quality sound systems,
fuel mileage, or ANYTHING that does not result in their selling more units.
They of course will tell us whatever we want to hear in their efforts to
sell more units, even if what we want to hear is total BS.

Car buyers, on the other hand, frequently form emotional attachments to
their vehicles, and these attachments can be very strong indeed - ask any
Harley rider about switching to a Yamahondazuki, for example. (Advise you
do this from a safe distance.)

Car maufacturers and car sellers offer warranties because they HAVE to in a
competitive market, not because their products are so good that they will
last 10 years or 100,000 miles - and most new car buyers don't keep them
that long anyway - notice that the warranty is not transferable to the next
guy in line (except for more money).

Warranties are an expense item to both the manufacturer and the seller, and
it is in their best interests to minimise the number of repairs they have
to pay for, and transfer as many as possible of those costs to the buyer,
by fair means or foul.

My question to car dealers is this - if your products are so good, why do
they NEED a warranty?

Personally, I'll stick to used cars where I am buying just the car, not a
bunch of fluff and BS. Besides, I have always found that automobile
warranties are stiffer and scratchier than other brands of toilet tissue,
even the Sears catalog.


Best Regards,

Mike Arman