Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has extended the warranty on UK versions of the Crafter large van.
This means that any VW Crafter bought on or after 24 April 2018 is now covered for unlimited mileage during the first three years of its life.
This generation of Crafter is the reigning Parkers van of the year, and this upgrade is yet another reason to seriously consider what was already a very impressive machine.
Up until this point, the Crafter’s warranty cover only lasted until three years or 60,000 miles – whichever came sooner.
While the three-year limitation remains – and three years is largely the industry standard – the Crafter’s warranty no-longer expires once it hits the 60,000-mile mark.
Instead you can travel as far as you like within the first 36 months, and VW will continue to warranty the majority of the Crafter’s mechanical and electronic components.
Doesn’t Mercedes offer the same level of warranty cover on the Sprinter?
Bingo. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter – including the brand new 2018 model (read the review by clicking here) – does indeed have a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty as well.
And up until this latest generation, the Crafter and Sprinter were one and the same van, so the rivalry between these two models is, if not fierce then certainly keen.
VW obviously hasn’t come out and as much, but to us it’s upgrade of the Crafter’s warranty to match the Sprinter’s looks very much a like a move to head off objections from high-mileage operators, who might otherwise turn to the obvious competitor from Mercedes.
Is the VW Crafter’s unlimited mileage warranty a manufacturer warranty?
The first two years are covered by the factory, with the third year a VW Van Centre guarantee.
Regardless, it ‘protects against the failure of most mechanical and electrical components due to manufacturing defects.’
In otherwords, ‘wear and tear’ items – such as tyres and brakes – are not covered. But this is exactly what we would expect.
You can find full details of the Crafter’s warranty cover, along with terms and conditions, on the official VW vans website.
Source: parkers.co.uk