Saab suspends warranty coverage on its US vehicles

The not-so-pleasant news continues. Saab Automobile, which declared voluntary bankruptcy on Monday, has suspended warranty coverage on all of its vehicles in North America, according to a report. The suspension came into effect the same day the company’s bankruptcy petition was approved by a Swedish court.

Effective December 19, “warranty coverage is suspended indefinitely for all new Saab vehicles sold. During this period, the warranty booklet must be removed from the owner information packet,” Saab Cars North America said in a statement to Automotive News, which carried the report.

The suspension covers new-car warranties as well as powertrain and emission warranties, parts warranty (including safety belts and airbags) and items such as towing, goodwill and recalls/campaigns, among others. All new 2011 Saab models were last covered by a 4-year, 50,000-mile warranty that included roadside assistance, and no charge scheduled maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles.

The Swedish automaker also told its North American dealers that new vehicles must be sold “as is.” According to a Saab spokesperson, the company now has less than 3,000 light vehicles in its US inventory.

General Motors, which owned Saab from 1989 and handled Saab sales and covered warranties until February 2010, has however stated that it will honour warranties on all models sold when it owned the Swedish company.

“In the event Saab cannot or will not fulfill its obligations to administer the warranty programs with its US and Canadian dealers through Saab Cars North America or otherwise, GM will take necessary steps to ensure that remaining warranty obligations on Saab vehicles marketed by GM in the United States and Canada will be honoured,” GM said in a statement.

© 2011 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Wed, 21 Dec 11 04:23:56 +0000.

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