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My Car is just out of Warranty
"My car needs a new water pump," says the customer. "Lovely, just lovely, the warranty expired only two months ago.?"
What are the options available to this customer? The manufacturer has honoured the legal requirements of the warranty but what about these ?secret warranties? and ?the squeaky wheel gets the grease? stories you have heard about?
To properly answer these questions, let?s do a quick review of the basic facts. All new vehicles come with some form of standard manufacturer?s warranty. The length of a new car warranty is usually no less than three years ? some are longer, depending on the manufacturer. Standard warranties protect car owners from defects in manufacturing. The terms, conditions and limitations of each warranty will vary among car makers.
Compared to new houses or appliances, new car warranty coverage is quite generous, considering the conditions under which automobiles function (i.e., extreme temperatures, rough roads, multiple drivers). On new homes, defects such as water seepage, defective plumbing or electrical systems are only covered for two years. The standard warranty on most new, brand name appliances is usually only one year.
While the car manufacturer provides the standard warranty, it?s up to your new-car dealer to administer it. Dealers are happy to bill the manufacturer for repairs under your warranty. Despite what some car owners think, we do not get a thrill out of telling our customers that repairs fall outside of warranty. Life would be much simpler, for myself and for my customers, if I could just bill all repairs to the manufacturer. Then again, I wish that Santa Clause was real, too!
In the real world, however, all things break down, warranties expire, and customers have to pay to have them fixed. When a problem develops with a customer?s car, his/her trust in the product is shaken. If the repair is covered under warranty, the distrust may only be temporary. But if the customer has to dig into his/her pocket, the trust may never return. Dealers know that this puts any future business from that customer at risk. Customers? responsibilities under the warranty are very clear ? they must maintain their vehicles so that parts do not fail because of neglect. Every year, dealers will see at least one destroyed engine as a result of oil changes not being performed as required. The damage to the engine is no more covered under warranty than a fender that was destroyed because the vehicle hit a fire hydrant.
Warranties have expiry dates, and once they?re past, they?re past. Any additional coverage that a customer receives, beyond the expiry date, is a ?bonus? that a manufacturer might offer to keep the customer happy. Okay - back to the options. There is no such thing as ?secret warranties?. In this age of the Internet, there are very few secrets left anywhere. The ?squeaky wheel? theory, in the absence of a valid case, will also take you nowhere.
Some manufacturers may offer some form of assistance (i.e., no charge for the parts if you pay for the labour) on an out-of-warranty item, under a ?goodwill policy?. Your dealer should be able to tell you if this form of assistance is available.
Don?t be surprised if, at some point, you are told that the water pump was covered under the extended warranty that you chose not to purchase. It may be that the customer next to you did pay for this extra coverage, which explains why he?s smiling and you?re not.
A winning objective, of the customer, should be to obtain ?some? assistance with the cost of the repairs. An offer of partial assistance, by the manufacturer, is by no means an admission of guilt. The manufacturer might offer to pay a portion of a repair bill for an out-of-warranty car in an effort not to lose your future business. You may lose your offer of partial assistance if the manufacturer feels that this will not make you a ?happy camper?. Additionally, you can approach the manufacturers directly, on their customer help lines, to ask for special consideration.
In a previous column, I pointed out that customers should try and develop a strong, loyal relationship with dealerships, for situations like the one discussed in this column. When you say, ?I have purchased two cars here, I give you all of my service business, and I have sent you three of my friends who have also purchased vehicles here? ? that?s a very powerful statement that may elicit a favourable response for assistance.
When I offered this ?loyalty? position in a previous column, I received a couple of emails from readers who suggested that this was a form of blackmailing a customer into giving a dealer all of his/her business. Not so. In this example, the customer is not being denied an entitlement but, rather, is asking for a bonus. Surely, a customer of any business, a VIP customer, should see some benefits for his/her loyalty, over and above a customer who is not as loyal. Even the coffee chain that I visit every morning on my way to work offers a loyalty program ? buy six coffees and the seventh one is free.
As dealers, we administer the warranty under direction from our manufacturers ? we are sometimes the bearers of good news and other times, bad. Please do not shoot the messengers.
Ken Shaw Jr. is President of the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association and is a new-car dealer in Toronto. E-mail comments to president@tada.ca
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