What's The Catch?

"Kailand09" (kailand09)
11/21/2014 at 06:20 • Filed to: None

So a dealer near me offers a lifetime warranty with their power trains as long as you do your regular maintenance schedule with them.

The car is question could be one I get down to a great deal price wise, with 0% financing on the brand new FoST.

Anything I should be worried about with that lifetime warranty? I mean, it wouldn't be a big deal to get the regular maintenance done by them (and I did pointedly ask if it was a trap where they charge insane amounts for this... to which they gave me pricing on things and seemed legit). It could be very not legit, what say you oppo?

Also- the lady is coming around some on the manual. After some discussion, she still wouldn't prefer it or feel comfortable with it, but expressed that if it is that important to me at least it's a 4 door utility-car. She sees what it means to me, and says she understands why I want it.

So that's good. Now to just get her to test drive something manual... so she sees that she likes it!

DISCUSSION (25)

bob and john > Kailand09
11/21/2014 at 06:30

from what I heard the nissan note (or was it mistibishi mirage) have VERY forgiving clutches, so you might want to get her to test drive on of those so she get the hang of it quickly, and it would help her feel more confident in getting something else with a clutch

as for the lifetime warrenty. HA. its just that dealer maybe. so if they go under, or changes managemnet, kiss that warrenty good bye.

Kailand09 > bob and john
11/21/2014 at 06:36

Great advice, thanks!

Jobjoris > Kailand09
11/21/2014 at 06:42

No catch, not many people drive their cars for over 5 years. Then that lifetime warranty 'disappears' as it is a personal thing. As many powertrains will last those 5 years nowadays without any problem no real harm is done to the dealership/brand. Just my two cents.

The man in the iron mask > Kailand09
11/21/2014 at 06:42

Id go for another car. Say new mustang 2015 . Just my opinion, ive seen 2 or 3 people have remorse of the ST brothers here in oppo.

E92M3 > Kailand09
11/21/2014 at 06:58

Using statistics they realize 95% of people don't keep a car past 100k miles. Technology changes so fast they will eventilually want something else. Of the 5% that do intend to keep one that long, 90% of those will become totalled by 100k miles. As the car gets close to 100k miles the value is depreciated to just a few thousands dollars. In reality it doesn't take much of an accident to deem it totalled. An accident at 10 mph can damage the front bumper and both fenders which would rack up enough parts and labor to reach 50-75% of the cars total value. Now take the remaining few cars and how many transmissions will fail before even 200k miles? Maybe 1 or 2. A small price to pay when everyone of those has been strictly coming to your dealer for EVERY little service including oil changes. The profit margin on service is likely 50%. EX: If you pay $50 for an oil change, the dealer profits $25. Now sure there will be the 1 guy who drives 30-40k miles a year but that isn't the norm.

shop-teacher > Kailand09
11/21/2014 at 07:34

The last Hyundai Accent I drove also had a very forgiving clutch.

Svend > Kailand09
11/21/2014 at 07:50

There are many places the world over that do lifetime warranty if you get it serviced by them. I guess the way they see it is that they know how they service a car but other places may not do it the same way and by doing the servicing themselves they can possibly catch something before it fails. If you drive a lot locally it's good but if you take the car further afield often then something happens and for some reason need it doing elsewhere it will void their lifetime warranty. Also check as sometimes lifetime warranty (not always by any means) means upto a certain mileage or age of the vehicle (it's a little get out for them as the drivetrain starts to suffer through natural wear and tear.

Vimto > Kailand09
11/21/2014 at 08:01

I have a 5speed Nissan Note, can confirm the extremely light clutch. But its also geared VERY short. Unless you want it screaming to redline you generally shift to second before you get through an intersection, and it likes to be in 5th at 40 mph. But it would definitely be an easy car to learn on.

As for the FoST, how often do they require you to perform the maintenance? I once saw a Kia dealer that offered free tires and batteries for life but you had mandatory service every 3 months in order to keep the offer.

Takuro Spirit > Kailand09
11/21/2014 at 08:12

Just a gimmick. There's a Hyundai dealer around here that offers "Warranty Forever" so long as you always bring it to them for oil changes, brake services, and other "routine" maintenance.

Does the car NEED all that they do? No. Will you ever NEED the warranty if you keep the car forever? Maybe.

But the cost of them offering to to everyone versus the number of people who will KEEP a car long enough AND have a failure that requires use of the warranty pays for itself and then some. Trust me, they're making money on offering it, they're not doing it to be nice.

Jayhawk Jake > Takuro Spirit
11/21/2014 at 08:28

This. The chances of someone actually keeping the car and using the same dealer for repair after 100k miles is so slim that if it even sells one or two more cars a year it's probably worth significantly more than whatever it costs for some repairs

Jayhawk Jake > The man in the iron mask
11/21/2014 at 08:29

I've only seen one person express remorse of a FoST, and he was being an idiot. They're good cars

pip bip - choose Corrour > Kailand09
11/21/2014 at 09:05

it's all a big con , get you back so they can then "upsell" wipers , cabin filter , brakes , etc

i work at a GM dealer here in Oz , we do the same.

take it your friendly mech/tech simple!

FrederickLawOlmsteez > bob and john
11/21/2014 at 09:17

Or you move, or you sell the car, or the car is totaled (in an incident that wasn't your fault, of course).

Stay in Spool > Jayhawk Jake
11/21/2014 at 10:19

There are a lot more then you think tat regret it. Myself being one of those people. Currently waiting for my 2015 WRX beofre the FoST is traded in. There are more people in my ST FB group doing the same. Its a fun car but its had way to many issues for me to deal with in only 5k miles.

The man in the iron mask > Jayhawk Jake
11/21/2014 at 15:29

How do we know you're not being the idiot right now? Stop calling people like that, they are entitled to have their opinions. The remorse of the people is there. So no, they are not good cars.

Jayhawk Jake > The man in the iron mask
11/21/2014 at 15:57

Wut?

Kailand09 > pip bip - choose Corrour
11/21/2014 at 18:46

thanks i had a suspicion this was the case. this is why oppo is great!

Kailand09 > Takuro Spirit
11/21/2014 at 18:48

great points. thanks for the insight, i won't let that sway me then lol

Kailand09 > Vimto
11/21/2014 at 18:50

nice ill definitely check out the note.

no idea on maint schedule, i'd have to look into it

Kailand09 > Stay in Spool
11/21/2014 at 18:54

you i think were the one who told me before? was yours a 2013?

Kailand09 > The man in the iron mask
11/21/2014 at 18:55

is this mostly 2013 or both years? what would you recommend for that fairly new under $20k price range?

Vimto > Kailand09
11/21/2014 at 22:49

If you guys are anywhere near the Florida panhandle you're welcome to use mine.

Kailand09 > Vimto
11/22/2014 at 01:01

much appreciated. Unfortunately were nowhere near lol

Stay in Spool > Kailand09
11/24/2014 at 07:27

I have a 2014. I had very high hopes for this car when I bought it but have slowly learned to regret buying it. It much, much slower then I thought and the constant issues have made me crazy. My car has been in the shop around 6 times and it just broke 5k miles. The dealer doesn't even know what to do to fix some of my problems. They told me to keep driving and let them know when I figure out what the problem is (mystery clunking noise upfront). Dont even get me stated on the engine wiring recall. Basically this car has been a huge headache and it seems as though I'm not the only owner to have these issues. If anything maybe wait till the 2015 refresh and hopefully these problems will be fixed with the new model.

Kailand09 > Stay in Spool
11/24/2014 at 19:53

Thanks for the insight man, much appreciated. Lots to think about.