Car Warranty Comparison: Every Brand Ranked

Warranty is free insurance. When something breaks in the first 5-7 years, the manufacturer pays, not you. But warranties vary massively between brands, and the details matter more than the headline number.

Every Brand Compared

* Conditional. Read the next section before celebrating.

Notice the pattern? Chinese and Korean brands tend to offer the longest warranties, which helps build buyer confidence as they establish themselves in Australia. European premium brands typically offer shorter standard coverage, reflecting a different ownership model where extended warranties and service plans are often available as paid extras.

The Dealer-Servicing Catch

Two of the headline-grabbing warranties on this list — Mitsubishi's 10 years and MG's 10 years — are conditional. You only get the full term if every single scheduled service is done at an authorised dealer, on time, for the entire warranty period. Miss one, use an independent mechanic, or skip a service interval, and the warranty drops back to the brand's base level.

Why this matters: dealer servicing usually costs more than independent servicing. Mitsubishi's 10-year capped-price servicing program covers 10 services across 10 years/150,000km, but you're locked into the dealer network for the entire warranty period to keep the headline figure. Same logic for MG's 10-year claim, which only applies to vehicles first registered on or after 1 July 2025 and only for personal use.

Also note: MG's base warranty is 7 years for passenger vehicles and 5 years for light commercials, not 10. The 10-year figure is the dealer-serviced ceiling. Kia and GWM's 7-year warranties, by contrast, apply regardless of where you service the car (as long as services are done correctly with appropriate parts, per Australian Consumer Law).

If you trust your local independent mechanic and service a brand-new car there, your effective warranty length is the lower number. Factor that into the comparison.

Why Km Limits Matter

A "5-year warranty" means nothing if you hit the km limit in year 3. If you drive 30,000km per year:

• Kia (unlimited km): Full coverage for all 7 years.
• Toyota (unlimited km): Full coverage for all 5 years.
• BYD (150,000km): Runs out in year 5 at 30,000km/year. Fine.
• Tesla (80,000km): Runs out in year 2.7. Over a year early.
• Mitsubishi (200,000km, dealer-serviced): Runs out in year 6.7. Falls back to 5y/100,000km if you service outside the network — that's 3.3 years.
• MG passenger (250,000km, dealer-serviced): Runs out in year 8.3. Falls back to 7y/unlimited if you service outside.

High-km drivers should prioritise unlimited km warranties. If you drive a lot for work, Kia's 7-year unlimited (no servicing strings attached) is the best deal in the market.

EV and Hybrid Battery Warranties

Separate from the general warranty, most brands offer extended battery coverage for EVs and hybrids:

Hyundai and Kia's lifetime battery warranty for the original owner is remarkable. If you buy a new Ioniq 5 or EV6, the battery is covered for as long as you own it.

What Your Warranty Actually Covers

• Covered: Manufacturing defects, faulty parts, paint defects, electrical issues, engine/transmission failures
• Not covered: Wear items (brakes, tyres, wipers, bulbs), accident damage, modifications, missed services
• Grey area: Aftermarket accessories, non-genuine parts, independent servicing. Under Australian Consumer Law, a dealer cannot void your warranty just because you serviced it at an independent mechanic, as long as the service was done correctly with appropriate parts.

Extended Warranties: Worth It?

Dealer-sold extended warranties cost $1,500-3,000 for 2 extra years. They're a profit centre for the dealer, not a favour to you. Most of the time they're not worth it if you're buying a Toyota or Mazda (reliable enough to not need it). They might be worth considering for European cars where a single gearbox repair can cost $5,000+.

Better approach: buy a brand with a long factory warranty and skip the extended warranty entirely.

We display warranty information for every car in our database. Compare any car on CarSorted and see the warranty details on the spec sheet.