GM boosts warranties

General Motors Corp. announced Friday that it will start including a fully transferable five-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty on some of its used vehicles.

The new warranty will be effective March 5 on 2002 to 2006 GM certified used vehicles sold by GM’s U.S. dealers, the automaker said.

GM also said it will add Cars.com to its online vehicle-listing program, effectively doubling the number of certified used vehicles listed for sale on the Internet.

Troy Clarke, president of GM’s North American operations, made the announcements Friday at the National Automobile Dealers Association’s convention and exposition in Las Vegas.

The powertrain warranty covers more than 900 components related to the engine, transmission, transfer case and final drive assemblies on used Buicks, Chevrolets, GMCs, Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs sold in the United States.

Those used vehicles also come with three-month, 3,000-mile bumper-to-bumper comprehensive limited warranties.

The powertrain warranty coverage, effective from a vehicle’s original in-service date, includes a 24-hour roadside assistance plan valid through five years or 100,000 miles, whichever happens first.

GM said it will begin a similar program later this year for Saturn certified preowned vehicles.

Cadillac, Saab and Hummer operate separate certified preowned vehicle programs. Each has a six-year, 100,000-mile bumper-to-bumper limited warranty effective from a vehicle’s in-service date.

Detroit-based GM announced in September that beginning with its 2007 models, it was including an enhanced powertrain warranty of five years or 100,000 miles on all new light-duty vehicles.

The company’s basic bumper-to-bumper coverage remained the same at three years or 36,000 miles on Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac and Saturn brands and four years or 50,000 miles on its premium Buick, Cadillac, Hummer and Saab brands.

The only difference between the powertrain warranty included with the 2007 models and the used vehicles is there will be no courtesy transportation available to owners in the event of warranty repairs.

Enhancing the warranties for powertrains on the new models was an effort to boost the automaker’s reputation for quality in comparison with its main Japanese rivals.

Brian McVeigh, general manager of GM fleet and commercial operations, said extending the powertrain warranty to GM certified used vehicles made during the previous five model years is a continuation of that strategy.

“It’s just another piece, we think, that gets at this quality-gap perception and reinforces that we’re making some pretty good stuff these days,” McVeigh told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Michael Robinet, vice president of global forecast services for CSM Worldwide, an auto industry consulting company based in Northville, Mich., said GM was making “a tremendous statement” by supporting its used vehicles with such a program.

“There’s no doubt that by backing your used vehicles, it’s going to help residual values for those offerings,” Robinet said.

Cars.com lists more than 2 million vehicles available from 13,000 dealers, classified advertisers and private parties. GM certified used vehicles also will appear on Cars.com’s online partner sites, including MSN Autos, Kelley Blue Book’s Kbb.com and more than 200 local media sites.