By Staff Reporter

Most motorists will be stressed about the plight of their cars during the lock down. No doubt one of the issues will come from motor plans or service plans that will be expiring during the Covid-19 lockdown or just after that. These are the motoring companies that have extended these plans.

All vehicles

Mitsubishi Motors South Africa

“We have therefore extended all active Manufacturer Warranties by 21 days so that owners can still have their vehicles repaired as per the policy documented and disclosed in the warranty and service book should relevant repairs be required during the lockdown,” says Nic Campbell, General Manager of Mitsubishi Motors South Africa (MMSA).

This includes the 5-year service / maintenance plan provided that the maximum covered odometer distance has not been reached and all maintenance and services were done at accredited MMSA outlets and are up to date.

“If the limit has been reached during the lockdown, each case will be considered on its own merit,” says Campbell.

For emergencies, please send an email to lockdownqueries@mitsubishi-sa.co.za.

Audi South Africa

Previously we reported that the Audi Freeway Plan (AFP) will offer a one month grace period for valid contracts due to expire over the next few months. Audi South Africa has made things even better for the consumer by including a complimentary (additional) three months to the AFP (in place of the one month period previously offered). This applies to contracts expiring between the period: 27 March – 30 June 2020 (both days inclusive). The three month grace period applies to AFP Extension Contracts.

The extension of support is based on a period of time (three months from date of expiry within the prescribed period) and is not based on the mileage perimeters of the vehicle.

All new Audi vehicles are sold with the Audi AFP which includes service and maintenance cover for the first five years and/or 100 000 kilometres (whichever occurs first). With an AFP Extension Plan, Audi vehicles are then covered for an extended period of up 10 years and/or 300 000 kilometres.

For any queries, please contact the Audi Customer Interaction Centre on 0860 434 838 or email: support@audiforum.co.za.

Mahindra South Africa

“Customers who are not able to service or repair their Mahindra vehicles during this time, and who may have reached the end of their service plan or mechanical warranty period between 1 March and 30 April, will receive a complimentary extension of two months,” says Rajesh Gupta, CEO of Mahindra South Africa.

This extension not only includes service plans and the standard mechanical or powertrain warranties, but also applies to vehicles that were due for a service in this period. These vehicles may be brought in for up to two months after the lockdown ends for their required service, without affecting their warranty.

Mahindra has also kept its Customer Care division operational during this time. Customers, who may have any queries or concerns, are invited to call (012) 865 0171 or send an email to customercare@mahindra.co.za to receive rapid feedback and support.

In addition, Mahindra South Africa has confirmed that nine of its large dealerships in key points have remained open to service and support emergency and essential services.

The dealerships are located in Gauteng (Springs, East Rand, Autosphere, Menlyn and Hatfield), Mpumalanga (Nelspruit and Middleburg), Western Cape (Kuilsrivier) and the Free State (Ficksburg). The locations were chosen based on the past sales of Mahindra vehicles, such as the Pik Up, to emergency services, the police and military and local security companies.

Ford Motor Company of SA

Ford SA has added a two-month extension to the service plan for all vehicles where the contract expires between 1 March and 31 May 2020, but the owner was not able to complete the last service due to the national lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is valid on all Ford Protect Extended Product as well as all Ford Inclusive Service Plans (Ford Protect Extended Warranty is excluded), and is applicable from 1 June until 31 July 2020, to ensure that customers are able to complete the required services once dealer operations resume,” Neale Hill, MD of FMCSA, has stated.

In addition, 23 Ford dealers in the major centres in South Africa have received permits to repair emergency and essential service Ford vehicles during the 21-day coronavirus lockdown. This applies to emergency medical and response teams, safety and security services and companies granted government permits in the grocery supply chain. Ford’s AA Roadside Assistance is available to assist qualifying customer breakdowns.

In the event of an essential service Ford vehicle needing repairs, the closest dealer should be identified from the list below, and this information sent along with the vehicle’s VIN number, and details of which essential service is represented to dlawre30@ford.com. The local dealer will then make contact to set up an appointment.

Designated dealers: Motus Ford Paarden Eiland (Cape Town), Motus Ford Diep Rivier (Cape Town), Motus Ford George (George), Novel Ford (Paarl), BB Ford (Menlyn), (Pretoria), Kelfords Ford (Somerset West), Westvaal Numbi Ford (White River), Action  Ford Krugersdorp (Krugersdorp), Barloworld Ford Pietermaritzburg (Pietermaritzburg), Barloworld Ford Pinetown (Pinetown), Barloworld Ford Tyger Valley (Cape Town), Motus Ford Culemborg (Cape Town), Motus Ford Kempton Park (Johannesburg), CMH Kempster Ford Hatfield (Pretoria), Consolidated Auto (Boksburg), Eastern Cape Motors Port Elizabeth (Port Elizabeth), Fed Auto Ford Kokstad (Kokstad), McCarthy Ford Silverlakes (Pretoria East), McCarthy Ford The Glen (Johannesburg), Barloworld Ford Alberton (Alberton), Barloworld Ford N1 City (Cape Town), Paul Maher Auto (Johannesburg) and Nelspruit Ford (Nelspruit).

Finally, Ford SA has announced that the company has begun production of protective face shields at its Silverton plant for donation to medical and essential personnel battling COVID-19. Over 57,000 material kits have already been ordered and production capacity has been ramped up to meet demand with Ford supplier companies approached to help fund a minimum of 500,000 face shields. Ford has also invited general public and businesses across South Africa to support this initiative to help address the critical shortage of personal protection equipment. Ford is working closely with the South African government to facilitate distribution across the country to ease critical shortages of personal protection equipment that is essential to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Thank you Ford SA – Ed.

KIA Motors South Africa

KIA Motors South Africa has said that service and maintenance plans, as well as its warranty, will not be impacted by the South African government’s measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 infections.

“The measures we introduce today ensure that none of our customers will be compromised by the national lockdown,” says Gary Scott, CEO of KIA Motors South Africa. “To the extent that COVID-19 results in a breach of the normal service interval conditions, we will ensure that our customers can continue to enjoy the peace of mind that comes from having an industry-leading warranty and prepaid service and maintenance plan.”

KIA Motors South Africa will assist customers as follows:

• Customers whose original KIA manufacturer’s warranty expired in March 2020, or is set to expire in April 2020, will see the warranty term extended until the end of June 2020 as part of KIA Motors Corporation’s global warranty extension programme, the ‘KIA Promise’. Customers will be contacted via SMS and/or e-mail immediately after conclusion of the national lockdown.
• For customers with a prepaid KIA service- and/or maintenance plan, KIA Motors will relax the maximum service interval parameters (mileage and time interval) so that customers are not negatively affected by the national lockdown.

Customers are encouraged to book a service at www.kia.co.za, or at their preferred KIA Motors dealership as soon as possible after the national lockdown concludes, to ensure that all necessary work is completed timeously.

Isuzu Motors South Africa

Isuzu Motors South Africa has extended its service and maintenance plans by two months to ensure customers are not negatively impacted by the lockdown which is currently in place.

The two-month extension is applicable to customers who have the standard service plan or are on the Isuzu Mobility plan.

Isuzu’s five-year/90,000 km service plan is included in the purchase price of all Isuzu D-MAX bakkies or Isuzu mu-X sport utility vehicles, with service intervals scheduled every 15,000 km or annually, whichever comes first.

Isuzu Mobility on the other hand offers tailored maintenance solutions. Through Isuzu Mobility, customers have the option of extending the standard service plan up to a maximum of six years or 200,000 km from the date of first registration and can access this service through an Isuzu dealer.

Isuzu Motors South Africa its close to 80 dealers around the country are ready to carry out the required maintenance after the lockdown period. 

Volkswagen South Africa

In the event that the new vehicle warranty or the EasyDrive Plan expires or has expired during the period from 27 March 2020 to 30 June 2020, Volkswagen will extend the warranty or maintenance/service plan periods with an additional three months. These periods will end three months after the expiry of the new vehicle warranty or the Volkswagen EasyDrive Plan. The mileage restrictions will not be extended.

Vehicle services that are affected by the lockdown period also receive either a grace period of 1 500km or 1 month after the scheduled service, and these will not be extended.

This extension applies to all vehicles in the Volkswagen range.

Emergency vehicles

Isuzu Motors South Africa

The company has extended service interval to essential service vehicles. In addition, Isuzu SA will provide a grace period of one month to Isuzu customers, supporting the servicing of vehicles, without affecting their warranties. Customers can also make use of corrosion inspection after lockdown up to Friday, 15 May 2020 regardless of mileage and the age of the vehicle.

Emergency vehicles only

Toyota South Africa Motors

However, up to 167 Toyota and Hino dealers across the country are on standby to support the operation of essential services during the 21-day lockdown. These include food delivery services, medical support services, selected municipal services and emergency services. Taxi-industry suppliers responsible for transporting essential-services providers such as bank personnel, supermarket or hospital staff also eligible for support.

Boasting the widest dealer network, all calls for support services during lockdown are logged through the Toyota Customer Care line (0800 139 111).

“We are proud to announce that we have already supplied vehicle parts and made repairs to some 70 essential-services vehicles (by COB on 3 April 2020)…,” says Leon Theron, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors.

We expect other motor companies to follow with similar announcements. We will keep you updated.