Subaru to stick with threeyear warranty, despite competitor moves

Holden, Ford and Honda pushing to a five-year warranty hasn’t inspired Subaru to follow suit.

Subaru is set to stick with a three-year warranty for the short term, despite a number of its competitors making the move to longer coverage periods.

Speaking with CarAdvice at the launch of the all-new Forester, Subaru Australia managing director, Colin Christie, said he’s aware of the competition, but the company is still investigating its options.

“As I said, it’s something we’re looking at obviously, as everybody has been or will be. You know I think, the strength ultimately is the regulation and that covers all the requirements that you need to meet, and we’re very actively or very aware of that, and continue to work towards anything to do with the Australian Consumer Law,” Christie said.

“It’s got to be front and centre in everything you do. We’re obviously very confident in our product. I think history suggests that if there are issues outside the warranty that we generally look after the customer,” he went on.

“And we have a very loyal customer base, so I think we’ve always had a very big focus on customer experience and making sure our customers are looked after.”

When challenged on what an ideal warranty length would be if given the chance, Christie said the strength is in the product the brand’s history of building reliable vehicles.

“Look, I think the challenge is for us… it’s less about looking at a specific time period of a warranty. I think there’s a lot of other things that go into how you actually meet the customer’s needs and how you provide the right level of experience and confidence,” said Christie.

“So I don’t think there’s a specific number. I think it’s more about how do we package a whole thing up that actually delivers what a customer wants? And I think historically we’ve been a very proactive brand in terms of working with customers if there’s issues so…”

If the likes of Subaru and Toyota were so confident in their product, offering a longer warranty shouldn’t be a problem. That rationale is backed by the fact manufacturers are bound to the Australian Consumer Law, which protects a consumer outside any manufacturer-specified warranty periods.