[BlackLeaf]

Hi

A friend is thinking of an Ampera (we'll be able to be "charging buddies" at work ) but isn't having much luck finding out about the warranty.

Could an existing owner help out please - does the lifetime warranty cover everything, including all the bits that are likely to go wrong (e.g. that bearing bit in the drivetrain which was made out of plastic instead of metal?)

Or are those bits - and presumably the battery - only covered by the eight year EV warranty.

I can just envisage people claiming in twenty years' time for a battery ...

Or in five years time - will GM still honour the warranty given they aren't selling the Ampera now? Can anyone advise whether a brand new purchase would be a good idea? I've had a read of the newby thread so have pointed my friend at the best deals ...

Thanks in advance!

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

Given the warranty experiences of Kevin Sharpe I would say your guess is as good as mine!

 

[AndyG]

I might be wrong (I own a Volt) but I thought it was a 100'000 mile lifetime warrantee.
http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/owners_services/warranty_assistance/vauxhall_lifetime_warranty.html

 

[BlackLeaf]

Yeah, that's what he (and I) were wondering. There is sufficient wriggle-room in the T&Cs on their website (Andy's URL) for them to possibly say "sorry, battery is wear & tear item; planetary bearing is EV-specific and we only cover the ICE components" etc.

Given the low sales, it seems as though GM could adopt various tactics to avoid providing the warranty cover (e.g. withdraw the ability to actually have the thing serviced in accordance with their EV-specialist requirements ... or as that might be illegal, perhaps just keep one EV dealer open on the Isle of Muckle-Flooga)

 

[Lee Dalton]

As I understand it, the lifetime warranty is as good or bad as any other 'lifetime' warranty, in that they will undoubtably squirm and try to get out of as much as possible.
I work on the principle that as long as the vehicles are serviced on time and at dealers, you have every chance of being covered, just as with an ICE car.

 

[Robwiz]

The lifetime warranty appears to cover all non-consumables for the life of the car or 100,000 miles. It isn't transferrable though – only valid for a new purchase.

 

[hopbackguy]

The lifetime warranty appears to cover all non-consumables for the life of the car or 100,000 miles. It isn't transferrable though – only valid for a new purchase.

....that's my understanding, but the battery warranty is separate, and is 8 years or 100,000 miles.

 

[Derekosb]

As far as I remember its described as a drivetrain and battery warranty so covers more than just the battery.

 

[hopbackguy]

As far as I remember its described as a drivetrain and battery warranty so covers more than just the battery.

I think it's just the battery, according to the web site. The power train is listed under the Lifetime Warranty cover..

 

[Russ]

I also think only the battery has the 8 year warranty.
I purchased a Vauxhall fleet car second hand and it was explained to me that I do have the 8 year battery warranty (now only six) but only have a one year Vauxhall warranty over all the other parts.

If that damn plastic bearing cage in the gearbox is going to go I hope its soon!

 

[daved]

Just picked up my new Ampera, but reading through the warranty booklet it only mentions 1 year warranty for the car & drivetrain and 8 years for the batterry, whats that all about?

 

[Nick]

Two warranties (three if you count corrosion):

1. Lifetime (100,000 miles) for first owner only - shortly to be discontinued for new purchases.
2. Battery 8 year / 100,000 miles transferable.

http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/vehicles/vauxhall-range/cars/ampera/ownership/maintenance.html

 

[BlackLeaf]

Mmm, that tallies with what the dealer was saying. The bearing is the worrying bit ... not covered by the 8 year warranty and looks like lifetime warranty could be a fight ...

 

[Nick]

Mmm, that tallies with what the dealer was saying. The bearing is the worrying bit ... not covered by the 8 year warranty and looks like lifetime warranty could be a fight ...

Why do you think a gearbox bearing failure would be a fight? I struggle to think how that might be considered a service part or normal wear and tear.

 

[BlackLeaf]

An unhappy history with car dealers (*); the Lifetime Warranty reading as more of an insurance policy; the limited number of Amperas sold; the likelihood servicing will become restricted all combine to make me suspect that in 2-3 years time that bearing will be unavailable from the parts counter and getting a warranty repair will take more persistence than on a more mainstream car.



(*) Full details available on request

 

[Derekosb]

As far as I have read the plastic bearing failure was only on some early cars and the failure was such that the part was re-designed to make the bearing carrier out of metal. It is no longer a problem afaik.

The defective part has been covered under warranty whenever it has shown up and the incidents regularly discussed on the american forum. I would not (and I am not) be concerned over the bearing issue.

There are of course many other items that may go wrong on what is a highly sophisticated piece of engineering.

Derek

 

[hopbackguy]

Its a known weakness on earlier cars that may or may not fail. This situation is hardly unique to the Ampera, there are any number of cars from other manufacturers - even BMW - where a well known problem emerges in the first year or two of availability. If the problem is well known, theres optimism that you would have a good case for at least partial recompense should it fail outside the guarantee period.

 

[AndyG]

Its a known weakness on earlier cars that may or may not fail. This situation is hardly unique to the Ampera, there are any number of cars from other manufacturers - even BMW - where a well known problem emerges in the first year or two of availability. If the problem is well known, theres optimism that you would have a good case for at least partial recompense should it fail outside the guarantee period.

Not if its a Nissan, ask @Edd Beesley …...

 

[hopbackguy]

Sure, its 'optimism', not certainty ;-) But the first point I was making is that very many cars turn out to have a potentially expensive weakness emerge in the first year or so of their manufacture, its not a thing specific to the Ampera, the Leaf or electric cars. ZF gearboxes in Jags and BMWs come to mind (personal experience). It wouldn't put me off buying necessarily, if I really wanted the car

 

[Antony Powell]

Hi All

The experience I as a Motortrade repairer ,have had with Vauxhall's "lifetime warranty" is that each part has a different lifetime so some parts will be out of warranty long before others.

Vauxhall will as any other dealer would do their best not to cover under warranty for example the Vivaro van injector issue - seizure of the injectors was sometimes blamed on a poorly fitted windscreen change when it was actually a design issue on which the screen had no bearing at all.

Tony