DETROIT — General Motors is giving new-vehicle buyers the option to add two years to their factory warranty, an offer that has some franchised dealers feeling uneasy.
The optional program, which begins Monday, Oct. 15, lengthens the factory's 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper limited warranty on Chevrolet and GMC vehicles to 5 years/60,000 miles. For Buick and Cadillac models, the extension goes to 6 years/ 70,000 miles from 4 years/ 50,000 miles.
Pricing will be left to dealers. GM suggests they charge $1,000 to $2,000 based on the type and price of a vehicle. The cost would be added to the vehicle price and could be rolled into the monthly payment.
The program is the latest in a series of in-house tools and services GM offers to help dealers with operations and profits, and keep customers coming back to franchised GM dealerships.