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Will my warranty be void?
A question that I am frequently asked by customers is, ?If I don?t service my vehicle at the dealership, will my warranty be void??
The answer is ?no?. As a car owner, you have a responsibility to maintain your vehicle, but the car belongs to you, and you have the freedom to choose where you want your vehicle to be serviced.
If any dealer ever uses the ?your warranty will be void if you don?t service at our dealership? approach, I would quickly find another dealer. You will not find, in any warranty book, any hint or suggestion that customers are restricted to a particular dealer for service.
Rather, your new-car dealer should ?earn? your maintenance business with quality service and competitive pricing.
I should clarify the terms ?void? and ?denied? as they are applied to a car manufacturer?s warranty. A manufacturer?s warranty cannot simply be voided. A warranty claim, however, can be denied if the part failure in question is not caused by defective material or workmanship.
Most vehicle components such as water pumps, window regulators, radios, etc., require no service. A dealer will not refuse to repair your radio under warranty because you missed an oil change.
However, there are actual situations where customers are denied warranty coverage while their vehicles are still under warranty.
It is the owner?s responsibility to follow the manufacturer?s maintenance recommendations. Most dealers will provide you with a copy of your vehicle?s maintenance menu during the delivery of your new car.
Most customers know that regular engine oil changes are necessary, but they often forget about other fluids that also require changing. When a service advisor recommends other fluid changes, such as transmission oil, differential oil, 4wd transfer case oil, etc., some customers feel that they are being sold excessive maintenance.
The most common ?nightmare? situations that dealers see are blown engines or transmissions that are destroyed as a result of failing to change the fluid, as required, under the warranty requirements. If your transmission blows at 96,000 kilometers, and you missed changing the fluid at 30,000 kms, 60,000 kms and 90,000 kms, you will most likely be denied warranty coverage.
In this case, the transmission failed due to the owner neglecting to perform the required transmission fluid changes. There was no manufacturing defect.
Dealers are beginning to see an emerging pattern where busy car owners become what we, in the industry, refer to as ?Express Lube Junkies?. These owners are under the mistaken belief that their vehicles are fully serviced because they remember to do frequent engine oil changes.
When these Express Lube Junkies are told that they need additional service work (i.e., a transmission oil change), they will usually respond with, ?I?m too busy today but I will return to have that work done within the next few weeks.?
A year passes, without the transmission fluid change, and the customer?s transmission blows. This type of customer usually responds with, ?Your service staff never told me that I needed to change the transmission oil or I would have changed it. I am not going to pay for this major repair.?
Many dealers are starting to record ?refused service recommendations? to protect themselves against the above accusation.
In today?s fast-paced world, unfortunately, many people genuinely forget about servicing their vehicles. To assist customers, dealers, like dentists, send out reminder notices.
No dealer enjoys telling a customer, whose vehicle is ?under warranty?, that he/she will have to pay several thousands of dollars in repairs just because that customer neglected to service the car properly.
When a major ?lubricated? component fails, you can be sure the manufacturer will request proof of maintenance before authorizing costly warranty repairs.
If you have all of your required service performed at one dealership, that dealer will have all of your service records available to prove that the necessary maintenance has been done, as per the manufacturer?s requirements.
If you choose to have work done at multiple dealers, or at non-dealer outlets, be sure to keep your receipts. These receipts are proof that you have performed the required service and, consequently, there should be no problems in having your repairs covered under warranty.
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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