I just got a shock minutes before writing a check for a new Chevy
Malibu.  The Warranty Officer (whatever his title was, he was a
different person than the saleman) explained to me (on video tape with
my permission) about what was NOT COVERED by the standard 3 year, 36k
milte "bumper to bumper" warranty.  The clause that disturbed me was
that GM would only warrant items that GM determines to be factory
defects.  The examples he cited made me sure that I would NOT want to
shell out $15k only to have GM decide that when I get the "check
engine" light, it is somehow not a factory defect.  I would have to
shell out much much more to get "full coverage".

Suprised, I went to another dealer and posed the same question to
their "warranty officer", who basically confrimed it.  He used the
example of the switch that controls the cycling of the a/c compressor,
which, in a car in south Texas as opposed to Illinois, might get 5
times the wear and, should it go bad, GM might decide it was not a
factory defect in Texas, but would be in Illinois.  He said it would
then depend on whether or not the particular dealer in question would
go ahead and fix it for customer good will.

I went to a Ford and Dodge dealer and posed the same examples used by
the two chevy folks, and both the Ford and Dodge warrantly officers
told me that no additional warranty coverage was necessary because, at
least for the first 36 months, or 3 years, everything is covered.  If
I get a "check engine" light, or if a switch malfuntions during the
warranty period, they fix it - period.

So, are there any knowledgeble folks here who can speak from
experience concering RECENT new car STANDARD warranties between Chevy,
Ford, and Dodge.

Obviously, I didn't buy the Malibu, and, I wonder what is going on
with the GM standard warranty.  Why did they feel the need to get that
session on video tape - that is the first time I have run into this
and I have bought a lot of new cars over the years.