[ainarssems]

Quality issues aside ECP now offers lifetime warranty for a little extra cost. I guess they reckon most of the cars are not kept for long enough by the same owner so they can make money on something that's mostly covered by manufacturers warranty already and there will be few cases were they will need to cover it outside manufacturers warranty. I recently had to replace Bosch S4 battery on A6 that I bought 5 years ago from ECP, it only has 4 years warranty so was not covered by manufacturer anymore and I had to buy a new one. They offered me lifetime warranty for £12 extra so I went for it. For most people it would be of no use as most people keep car less than 4 years already covered by manufacturer and would not be bothered to swap it out when selling the car. For me it made sense as while I am thinking A6 will be replaced in 2 years time the same battery also fits in S8 and also in a lot of newer cars including the newer A6 BiTDI which I am thinking of getting in 2 years time. I have kept the old battery so it will go back in A6 when I sell it as it's still OK if you drive it every day or in summer, it's just a bit weak in cold if you leave it without running for 3+ days but conductance tester shows about 60% health and recommends to replace it. The new battery with lifetime warranty will be kept and replaced when needed for free. It would have come in handy if I had lifetime warranty at the time when I bought the old battery and would have saved me £90 now. They also offer lifetime warranty on many other parts.

I think I have seen adverts from KwikFit or Halfords for brakes for life where they replace worn or faulty brakes for free for as long as you own the vehicle. Again most people does not keep the cars long enough for brakes to be replaced more than once so they make money selling it with very little costs. But If you intend to keep it for long time it's worth considering.