A new car warranty offers peace of mind during the time you own the car, and also for whoever takes the car on second-hand. However, not every manufacturer’s warranty is the same and some could leave you with large repair bills if you don’t check the small print carefully.
Most warranties will cover things like the powertrain, fuel system, electrical components and electrical failure, plus multimedia infotainment systems such as sat nav, but won’t cover consumables such as brakes, clutches and tyres, so you’ll have to pay for car repair on these items, and you won’t be able to make a warranty claim for the after-effects of a failure, such as a car hire or hotel stay needed due to a stranded car. Also note that manufacturer warranties on a new car won’t apply to older cars, and if you want one on your aged used car, you’ll have to purchase one at additional cost from third-party warranty companies such as Motoreasy and Warrantywise.
Here’s our guide to the car companies that offer the best level of cover as you drive away from the dealership in your new car. Note, the information in this guide is subject to change. Always speak to the manufacturer concerned about its warranty to ensure you understand exactly what's covered.
Best Car Warranties in the UK 2024
- Toyota – 10 years/100,000 miles
- Kia – 7 years/100,000 miles
- Suzuki – 7 years/100,000 miles
- MG – 7 years/80,000 miles
- Hyundai – 5 years/unlimited miles
- Isuzu – 5 years/125,000 miles
- SsangYong – 5 years/100,000 miles
Toyota – 10 years/100,000 miles
It might not come as a surprise to a lot of drivers that Toyota, and its sister company Lexus, offers the best car warranty policy. Here’s how it works: like most other manufacturers, the basic cover you get is limited to three years or 60,000 miles, whichever happens first. However. Every time you have your car serviced according to schedule at a Toyota main dealer, your warranty cover is automatically extended for another year or 10,000 miles, up to a maximum of 10 years or 100,000 miles.
At 10 years, it’s a warranty period that is likely to outlast most people’s ownership of the car, and it works as an extended car warranty cover for subsequent owners up to that 10-year limit. Called the ‘Relax’ programme, Toyota introduced this in mid-2021 and it has also been applied to any car that still falls within the 10-year and 100,000-mile maximum restrictions, so even cars sold new that didn’t have this cover now enjoy its benefits. However, Relax is not a used car warranty.
Remember, though, that all of this is conditional on the car being regularly serviced by a Toyota-approved dealer. Ignore this and the cover is void.
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Kia – 7 years/100,000 miles
Kia has long been noted for its generous level of cover with its new cars. It has been offering a seven-year, 100,000-miles level of cover since 2006, which gives its new car buyers a lot of peace of mind, and far exceeds most companies’ cover of three years or 60,000 miles. As the warranty remains with the car, it also passes on to future owners for the duration of the warranty period.
As with most new vehicle warranty policies, there are exclusions with Kia’s. This includes only two years’ protection for the battery, and air conditioning components are not included either beyond this amount of time. Read the small print, however, and Kia’s warranty provision still remains one of the very best you can find.
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Suzuki – 7 years/100,000 miles
While Kia’s seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty is fairly unconditional in terms of where the car is serviced, Suzuki has observed what Toyota has been up to with its main-dealer-service-dependent warranty plans and has just been a little bit less generous. In both cases, this is actually a clever ploy to keep the revenue generated by a car’s necessary servicing work within the main dealer network, but as we’ve observed, this kind of incentivisation has huge tangible benefit for consumers, so we’re all for it.
Like with Toyota’s scheme, your brand new Suzuki comes with a basic three-year, 60,000-mile warranty agreement, and every time your have your car serviced according to schedule at a Suzuki main dealer, you automatically receive an additional year or 9,000/12,500 miles (depending on the service interval of your particular car) of cover, up to a limit of seven years or 100,000 miles. Do bear in mind that you only have 14 days or 250 miles of grace after your service interval arises, though, so you have to act fast to keep the cover intact.
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MG – 7 years/80,000 miles
MG’s excellent warranty policy is now standard on all its models as of September 1st 2019, but it wasn’t always that way, so if you’re considering a used MG 3 or MG GS from before then, it might be that it only has five-year cover, so it pays to check before you buy.
Pick an MG with this lengthy warranty policy, though, and you’ll be secure in the knowledge that all major components are included for the duration. The usual wear and tear items, like brake pads and clutch, are included and make this quite an unusual level of cover. It doesn’t include tyres, so there are limits to even MG’s generosity.
Like most car companies, MG will honour its warranty obligations so long as you use an approved repairer for any work that uses genuine manufacturer replacement parts. Also, if you keep your car serviced by an MG dealer every year, it automatically adds another 12 months of free roadside assistance and breakdown cover.
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Hyundai – 5 years/unlimited miles
Many drivers will be familiar with Hyundai’s five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty policy. It’s a key selling point for a lot of owners and adds to Hyundai’s reputation as a good value brand. In fact, if you’re a driver that routinely bangs in interstellar annual mileages, Hyundai’s cover is pretty much the best in the business. As part of this cover, Hyundai’s cars also come with two years of warranty for the brakes and clutch, and three years for suspension wear and tear.
As part of Hyundai’s push to be a superb car warranty provider, it also throws in roadside assistance as part of the deal. You get five annual vehicle health checks, too, while the company’s plug-in electric vehicles come with a warranty of eight-years and up to 125,000 miles for the battery. However, read the terms and conditions closely as any car used for commercial purposes will have a limit that could leave you liable for the cost of repairs and labour rate charges.
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Isuzu – 5 years/125,000 miles
Given how hard its D-Max pickup truck is likely to be used by many owners as a workhorse, it’s a real show of confidence that Isuzu offers this generous a warranty. It takes a lot of the hassle out of owning a vehicle when you know all of the major parts are covered for this length of time, and it include items such as the engine, gearbox, axles, power steering, and air conditioning pump.
The first three years or 60,000 miles of the warranty are underwritten by Isuzu as a car maker, while the remainder is covered by the UK importer up to the fiver-year/125,000-mile claim limit. As with all warranties, it doesn’t include MoT tests and won’t pay out if you don’t keep the car properly serviced at an approved dealer. However, the warranty will be handed on to a new owner who buys the car secondhand, so they are protected from possibly expensive repairs. and maintaining the service history will help protect the car’s aftermarket value. You also get five years of free UK and Europe breakdown cover thrown in.
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SsangYong – 5 years/100,000 miles
Until January 1st 2023, Ssangyong’s warranty was second only to Toyota’s stunning package at seven years and 150,000 miles, giving it the highest fixed mileage limit term of any manufacturer out there. On that date, however, the Korean manufacturer pared its cover right back to five years or 100,000 miles, slicing two years and 50,000 miles off the arrangement, and that’s seen it plummet right down this list.
Although not as good as before, though, that’s still pretty superb protection from unexpected labour costs and repair costs. It also includes some wear and tear components for the first year or 12,000 miles of the car’s life such as the clutch and brakes, which not all warranties include.
Another benefit of SsangYong’s cover is it includes items like wheel bearings and many suspension components. For higher mileage drivers, this is a great way to reduce ownership costs. In partnership with the RAC, SsangYong also provides 12 months of roadside assistance in the UK and Europe with its new cars, saving you the cost of breakdown insurance for a year.
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