Holden offers seven-year warranty, with a catch

Just weeks after it launched its first imported Commodore and days after it posted its worst ever monthly sales result, Holden has announced the return of its seven-year warranty.

However, in the same way as the seven-year/175,000km warranty it announced last October applied only to vehicles purchased in 2017, Holden's new warranty offer also comes with strings attached.

First, the seven-year/unlimited-km new-vehicle warranty, which also includes seven years of roadside assist, only applies to Holden's two newest models — the new 2018 Commodore range and Equinox mid-size SUV.

Separately, it has also announced a five-year warranty and roadside assist coverage for all 2018 models (Spark, Barina, Astra, Trax, Captiva).

In addition, buyers of the 2018 Colorado, 2018 Trailblazer SUV and all 2017 models (new and demonstrator) will also receive three years of free scheduled servicing.

However, all these offers are available only for vehicles sold and delivered before the end of this month (March 31) "unless extended, changed or while stocks last at participating Holden dealers" and only to private or ABN buyers.

Now a full-line importer after the end of Australian car-making last October, Holden says the move demonstrates confidence in its two newest models.

However, it comes four years after Kia introduced Australia's first seven-year vehicle warranty (with unlimited-mileage and seven years of roadside assist and capped-price servicing) in 2014.

Since matched by MG, Kia continues to offer its industry-leading 7/7/7 warranty, which is full-time and not part of any particular sales campaign, while brands like Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Honda, Peugeot and Citroen offer five-year warranties.

Three-year/unlimited-km warranties are currently offered by Mazda, Subaru, Volkswagen, Skoda, Renault and Volvo.

But like Toyota, Ford, Nissan and Suzuki, Holden's standard warranty remains three years and 100,000km -- whichever comes first.

"The all-new Commodore is the evolution of an icon and the feedback we've had from customers and media that have driven it has been incredibly strong," said Holden marketing boss Mark Harland.

"We want more and more people to come and take a look at just how good these vehicles are and experience some of the great engineering work from our talented engineers - our new seven-year warranty on Commodore and Equinox shows just how confident we are.

"We've got a laser-like focus on providing our customers with peace of mind when they buy a Holden, and with extended warranties across the range and world-class new products, now is a great time to buy a Holden," said Harland.