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Maruti offers 4-year warranty

Maruti Udyog Ltd announced it has begun offering customers the option of buying an additional third or fourth year of warranty coverage.

All new vehicles made by Maruti, a 50-50 joint venture between the Indian government and Suzuki Motor Corp, come with a two-year, 40,000-km warranty.

"The 'extended warranty' for the third and fourth year will be available for a nominal charge," the company said in a statement on Monday.

Under one option, customers can extend the warranty for an additional year or 20,000 km from the point the basic warranty expires. Under the other option, the warranty can be extended for two years or 40,000 km.

The cost of the third-year option for its top-selling model, the Maruti 800, is fixed at Rs 1,495, and at Rs 2,995 for the additional two-year coverage.

"The optional extended warranty is one of the measures by the company to reassure Maruti customers about the quality and reliability of their cars," the company said.

Maruti was rated No 1 in customer satisfaction in the latest J D Power survey of Indian new car buyers.

Maruti commanded as much as 80 percent of the Indian new car market as recently as five years ago, but since has been bruised by new competition, especially from South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co.

Maruti slumped to a net loss of 2.694 billion rupees in the year to March 31, 2001, even though it continues to dominate the entry-level category and hold 60 percent of the overall market.

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