Triumph Warranty 2013

[zelatore]

What other consumer goods at the 9000-pound price point are you comparing? It's one thing to warranty say a home HVAC unit for a long time - you know pretty much that it's going to do one thing and one thing only in a pretty standard environment. It's quite another to warrenty something like a bike or car that will live a very different life between owner A, who drive very easy, keeps it indoors, lives in a temperate area, etc, and owner B who flogs it to redline at every shift then leaves it sitting on the side of the road at night by his sea-side home in the sub-tropics, etc.

[Oops!]

Originally Posted by zelatore

What other consumer goods at the 9000-pound price point are you comparing? It's one thing to warranty say a home HVAC unit for a long time - you know pretty much that it's going to do one thing and one thing only in a pretty standard environment. It's quite another to warrenty something like a bike or car that will live a very different life between owner A, who drive very easy, keeps it indoors, lives in a temperate area, etc, and owner B who flogs it to redline at every shift then leaves it sitting on the side of the road at night by his sea-side home in the sub-tropics, etc.

How about the KIA Picento car From £7795 with an amazing 7 year warranty thrown in. Can survive a regular thrashing by students with no mechanical sympathy followed by grandmother using it for very short journeys to the local store every few days.

[Knoby tire]

I got a western service contract for around a grand. Its 4 years after the first 2 years. So I have a total of 6 years.

[zelatore]

I understand the Kia comparison, but can't say I really hold it against the bike companies. As stated earlier, I suppose the motorcycling public could push for longer warranties, but it would come at a cost. It may simply be a matter of perception, but 2 years seems fine to me.

(from your description, I thought you were talking about something other than cars...I was having a hard time coming up with a lot of other consumer goods in that price range to compare with)

BTW, regarding those third party extended warranties-
I've had some experience with them from the service side and it's never been positive. My dealership used to sell them - we made a ton of money on each one, but God help you if you ever actually tried to use it. The fine print was very exclusionary. We had one guy who's motor died; it dropped a valve and destroyed a cylinder. The warranty company agreed to pay only $35 dollars an hour for the work in a market wher the norm is about $100, wouldn't pay for the cost of removal or replacement of the engine beyond a fixed and very unrealistic flat rate (I think 2 hrs each way when it really need closer to 3-4 times that) and top really put a cherry on it, they would only pay for the machine work for THE ONE CYLINDER. As if you could over bore one of eight cylinders.

Yeah....we don't sell those things anymore.

[Oops!]

Originally Posted by zelatore

I understand the Kia comparison, but can't say I really hold it against the bike companies. As stated earlier, I suppose the motorcycling public could push for longer warranties, but it would come at a cost. It may simply be a matter of perception, but 2 years seems fine to me.

(from your description, I thought you were talking about something other than cars...I was having a hard time coming up with a lot of other consumer goods in that price range to compare with)

BTW, regarding those third party extended warranties-
I've had some experience with them from the service side and it's never been positive. My dealership used to sell them - we made a ton of money on each one, but God help you if you ever actually tried to use it. The fine print was very exclusionary. We had one guy who's motor died; it dropped a valve and destroyed a cylinder. The warranty company agreed to pay only $35 dollars an hour for the work in a market wher the norm is about $100, wouldn't pay for the cost of removal or replacement of the engine beyond a fixed and very unrealistic flat rate (I think 2 hrs each way when it really need closer to 3-4 times that) and top really put a cherry on it, they would only pay for the machine work for THE ONE CYLINDER. As if you could over bore one of eight cylinders.

Yeah....we don't sell those things anymore.

Like yourself I've seen some of those awful 'warranty' products and I've zero desire to get involved with them ever again.

What I had in mind when I started this thread was Triumph extending their 2 year warranty to three years - being seen to really stand behind their products, inspire real confidence in the integrity of their designs and boost residual values. For new owners it might also remove any concerns that their Triumph will implode or self-destruct at 25 months old and leave them with a huge workshop bill.

[zelatore]

I'm sure all manufacturers weigh the cost of warranty term vs perceived added value at sale. With 2 years being the 'norm' in the bike world Triumph are neither gaining or loosing sales here. The question is really very simple (at least the asking is simple): how many more bikes will they sell if the warranty was 3 years?

I have no idea...I can only guess Triumph doesn't think it would sell that many more.

Here's another example from my industry. Experienced yachtsmen know the value of AGM batteries over standard flooded units and are often willing to pay for them despite the roughly double cost. But batteries aren't sexy; they don't sell boats the way something like a fancy inlay on a table might even though the table does nothing to enhance the functionality of the vessel. So most boat builders would rather spend money on something the average Joe will see instead of the expensive batteries that would actually be useful to the boat owner.

Unless a manufacturer has a perceived reliability issue, I don't think longer warranties will help move units. Kia was a good example. In the States they started offering a 10-year warranty - that was a good marketing ploy as they were seen as cheap, throw-away cars that many people hadn't heard of and didn't trust, but the idea of getting twice the warranty of their competitors (5 years being the norm) certainly made the statement that they stood behind their product and drove people who might not have considered them to the dealership to have a look.

[Ben_]

I paid an additional $1000 for the extra 12 month warranty; it's backed by the dealership and their insurer and mirrors the manufacturer terms - likely not worth the paper it's written on but piece of mind and an easy resale were first and foremost. As far as I am aware the warranty is transferable so when I move my S3 on in 12-24 months the next owner will have a grace period to get everything checked out/fixed without being out of pocket.

Paying it forward all day everyday

[Bones1970]

I think a longer warranty would end up costing an owner more in the long run with services having to be carried out by authorised dealers as opposed to self servicing by the owner. I'm not sure how much people pay for servicing outside of Australia but here it is very expensive. Additionally i have witnessed numerous claims by friends on other manufacturers be knocked back due to the good old too many wheelstands and other such crap excuses. In the last 12 years i have only had to make one warranty claim on a new motorcycle to the value of $1600.