DaimlerChrysler paid $6.1 billion in warranty claims in 2006

[siko]

A new report released today found that DaimlerChrysler paid out $6.1 billion in global warranty claims in 2006. While Chrysler vehicles perennially rank below the industry average for quality, the Chrysler brand didn't account for the entire amount. The DaimlerChrysler payout also included Mercedes-Benz, Smart, and DaimlerChrysler's commercial-truck unit, but did not separate for Chrysler. It is believed that Mercedes contributed to the high warranty costs because of bugs in its Comand electronics system.

According to Automotive News, GM and Ford filled the remaining spots in the bottom 3, paying out $4.46 billion and $4.10 billion, respectively, in warranty claims in 2006. However, In the first half of 2007, Ford has managed to cut warranty costs by $700 million when compared to the same period in 2006. Toyota placed second in the report, paying out $2.37 billion in warranty costs, while Honda took top honors with only $960 million paid in warranty claims. Despite DaimlerChrysler's payout of $6.1 billion, the Chrysler group has actually cut warranty costs by 40% over the last 5 years.

[Source: LLN]

 

[Gullwing]

Mercedes covers pretty much everything under warranty. I highly doubt GM or Ford will cover cup holders under warranty when you can tell it was abused by the customer, or cover the comand unit, or climate control unit when some spills coffee on it.

 

[SDNR]

^^ Sure Gullwing, but lets not gloss over what is clearly a staggering statistic.

 

[Merc1]

Old news really since we're talking about cars probably 2-3 years old. More recent data shows Mercedes' quality is on the upswing.

M