Skoda adopts seven-year warranty permanently in Australia, matching rival Kia

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After trialling a seven-year warranty for a promotional period in Australia, Volkswagen Group brand Skoda has announced it will adopt the extended warranty as a permanent addition to its ownership offer locally, matching rival brands Kia and MG and besting Volkswagen’s five-year coverage.

The added peace of mind of an extra two years of new-car warranty – that covers every aspect of the vehicle – is another step in Skoda addressing the Australian public’s opinion of European car ownership following affordable service plans and subscriptions. 

Skoda’s warranty will cover all new and dealer demonstrator vehicles sold in Australia from 1 September 2022, and apply retrospectively to vehicles purchased between that date and this announcement (08/09/22). 

Additionally, those who purchased a Skoda from 1 September 2017 will be able to extend their factory warranty to seven years, matching a new car buyer’s warranty. Skoda says the extra two years of warranty is worth between $1150-$1670 depending on the model.

Skoda Australia brand director, Michael Irmer, said: “seven year’s warranty is full cover without common exclusions such as infotainment systems or starter batteries. We remain intent on becoming a leading brand in the sphere of lifetime ownership experience in Australia.”

How does Skoda’s seven-year warranty stack up?

In terms of time and distance, Skoda’s warranty matches Kia and MG’s seven-year/unlimited kilometre coverage. Unlike Kia (that covers infotainment systems for three years) and MG (that covers 12-volt batteries for two years), Skoda’s warranty covers every part of the vehicle, save for tyres. 

Mitsubishi advertises a 10-year/200,000km warranty – called ‘Diamond Advantage’ – though this stipulates that the vehicle must be serviced at a Mitsubishi main dealer. 

This isn’t the case for Skoda; taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic will not void the warranty providing they carry out the job by the book.

Compared to other European brands, Skoda’s warranty is one step above related carmaker Volkswagen’s five-year guarantee in Australia. 

Another brand under the Volkswagen Group umbrella innovating in this space is Audi. Its standard warranty is five-years/unlimited kilometres, but by purchasing service packs a new-car warranty can be extended to nine years, at a cost of course. 

Skoda continues to offer five- and seven-year new car service packages as well, priced from $2100 for smaller vehicles such as Kamiq and Fabia up to $2900 for RS variants of Kodiaq.