Capped-price servicing for Hyundai Australia

HYUNDAI is set to become the latest car-maker in Australia to introduce capped-price servicing on each of its models as an incentive for customers to have their cars serviced at authorised dealerships.

It will join fellow mainstream manufacturers Toyota, Holden, Ford, Nissan and Mitsubishi in offering a variation of the idea on its Australian model range.

According to Hyundai Australia director of after sales Nick Aravanis, the company is in talks with its dealer group to start the initiative by the end of this year.

“Its about us adding value to the whole ownership experience. As a company we need to be able to provide not only the value at the product level but also the value at the ownership level,” he told GoAuto.

Mr Aravanis said the plan would offer owners more clarity on running costs, since there is currently no centralised charging structure among its dealers, and change the perception that independent and non-genuine service centres offer better value.

“You'll find that many dealers are very competitive (with independents) but you can't push that fact because there is no fixed price, it varies all over the place,” he said.

It is unclear at this stage how many scheduled services the scheme will cover – most rival programs cover a set amount of years and kilometres travelled – but Mr Aravanis confirmed to GoAuto that it would cover Hyundai's entire model range, with no exceptions.

“The idea is to ensure that we provide similar value for anyone buying an entry-level vehicle or one of our top-spec vehicles, there should be no differentiation,” he said.

The servicing incentive will join Hyundai's already comprehensive five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is offered across its entire line-up with the exception of the iLoad van, which instead has cover for five years or 160,000km.

Hyundai Australia has not revealed what it will charge customers for each of its models or whether there will be exemptions on government and rental fleets, as per most rival schemes.

The Toyota and Holden plans each last three years or 60,000km (whichever comes first), while the Mitsubishi program has the same kilometre count but lasts four years. Both Ford and Nissan offer six-year terms with 105,000km and 120,000km limits respectively.