Volkswagen’s excellent 6-year/72,000-mile warranty is ending

The very good 6-year/72,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty for all new Volkswagens is coming to an end. Automotive News discovered the news, learning that a new warranty would be put in place for all Volkswagens for the 2020 model year. That new program brings the coverage down to a 4-year/50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, which is still a solid new car warranty in the U.S.

Along for the ride with the new warranty strategy are two years of free, factory-covered maintenance for all 2020 VW owners. That means you shouldn’t have any out-of-pocket scheduled maintenance costs for the first two years of ownership. If you end up blowing a tire or bending a rim, though, expect to cough up some cash.

It’s widely accepted that the impressive VW warranty was a response to the company’s dieselgate crisis. The hope was to win back people’s trust and confidence by giving them headline-generating warranty coverage. We asked Volkswagen for comment on the change and received this company statement back:

“Volkswagen is committed to listening and addressing the needs of its customers and dealers as we look to increase market share in the U.S. The previous warranty was a valuable tool to introduce customers to the Volkswagen brand and to give them peace of mind. Our new vehicle limited warranty builds upon those benefits by still providing robust coverage and further lowering the cost of ownership with carefree maintenance for the first two years.”

At 4 years and 50,000 miles, the VW warranty is now just like a number of brands out there, most of them luxury car brands. You do still have a slight advantage over many of Volkswagen’s competitors like Honda, Toyota, Ford and others offering 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranties. Regardless, we’re sad to see the warranty go, so snap up a 2019 VW if that’s a selling point that appeals to you.