Kawasaki Jet Ski’s five-year warranty – the longest warranty in the personal watercraft industry in Australia today – has celebrated its two-year anniversary, as the company reveals the extended coverage has not led to an increase in its warranty costs.
The warranty for Kawasaki Jet Skis in Australia was bumped up from three years to five years from mid-2020, at the time overtaking the three-year coverage for Yamaha WaveRunners and two-year coverage for Sea-Doo.
However, following changes to the wording in service booklets from mid-2022, Yamaha WaveRunners now specify a ‘two-plus-one-year’ warranty, with three-year coverage only applicable to watercraft serviced by authorised Yamaha dealers.
Sea-Doo has two-year warranty coverage in Australia, though it offers three-year policies during special promotions.
Kawasaki Jet Ski Australia announced a five-year warranty in June 2020. Two years on, senior executives for the company say there are no plans to turn back.
“It has cost us no more in warranty costs by increasing our coverage from three years to five years,” Robert Walker, the national sales and marketing manager of Kawasaki Australia, told Watercraft Zone at the 2022 Sydney Boat Show.
“We have very reliable watercraft, but we found if there is an issue that needs to be addressed, it happens in the first week, first month, or first year.”
Stricter regulations under Australian Consumer Law – which now include massive fines for manufacturers who don’t honour legitimate warranty claims – were pivotal in the rollout of five-year coverage, the executive said.
“We were already very fair with our warranty claims because we want to look after our customers,” said Mr Walker.
“But we made a decision – with support from the factory – that if we are going to honour a warranty claim any way, we may as well get the marketing benefit and advertise a five-year warranty.”
The two-year anniversary of Kawasaki Jet Ski’s five-year coverage in Australia comes amid changes to the Yamaha WaveRunner warranty locally.
Warranty booklets for Yamaha WaveRunners in Australia now describe a ‘two-plus-one-year’ warranty, with the third year of coverage only valid on watercraft serviced within the authorised Yamaha dealer network.
Kawasaki Australia does not insist its Jet Skis are serviced within the dealer network for customers to be eligible for five-year warranty coverage.
If routine maintenance is completed outside the Kawasaki Jet Ski dealer network, customers are obliged to show proof their craft has been properly maintained – by producing receipts for the work completed and parts used by independent repairers – before a warranty claim is lodged.
Meantime, you can read more about the recent changes to Yamaha WaveRunner warranty in Australia here.
