Dealerships and Warranty

[Amaroo Park]

Having read the Franchise Dealer thread I was not sure with some of you are aware of a couple of things.

Dealerships tend to like to hold a gun to the head of new car owners by saying that your car must be serviced there sao as not to void new car warranty. Commpletely wrong but there are some things you should be aware of.

When the dealer puts in the additives in your car in the engine and the fuel tank be aware that the majority of manufacturers have a little passage in the owners hand book which says "Additves are not recommended and can if component faliure occurs void warranty". If engine oil system flush is used and a week later the engine spins a bearing well you could be introuble. Most manufactures will do annalys of the oil and if any sign of flush is found you will be asked to foot the whole bill. So don't let them use any additives the can cause problems with warranty and they really do not work at all.

If you have an issue with your car and it is out of warranty or it is a dicy call, such as they try to throw bac driver abuse or lack of maintenance. The rep from the manufacturer will ask the dealer to check the service history and see how many services have been carried out by franchise dealerships. Now I know for a fact that if some sevices have been done by an independant then in most cases they will decline the job or do a part payment ie' They pay for parts and you pay for the labour.

Make sure that the dealership is using geunine manufactures parts. Some Franchise dealerships fit non genuine parts and don't tell the client. Ok you may have no problem with the parts but if they fail then you have no warranty on them and on the damage that they can cause your car. Make sure when you get the car that all that the parts are geunuine and if they are not, Ask why they fitted non genuine parts without you knowlage.

This may make sence or not, it is just observations I have from the inside looking out over the years of working in dealerships. Oh and 1 last thing. The fine print you sign at the bottom fo the repair order when you drop the car in. It has a couple of interesting lines. The first being "We will car out any reapirs that we see neccesary to make the car road worthy" Basically what that means is that in most cases they really don't have to ring and seek your approval on the work being done or additional work. The 2nd is "We take all care but no responsability with the vehicle and its contents".

Happy Motoring

[Amaroo Park]

another thing I have just thought of. Demand to have the old parts replaced (Obviously with the exception of fuel and oil filter) during service put in a plastic bag and put in the car. They are your parts after all and I am sure at some stage you will be amazed as to why the dealership has replaced those half worn brake pads.

[Airhead]

Colin,

What do you think of the extended warrenty caper? Is it worth it? Put another way, how many new cars do mechanical parts in the first 5 years, where it can't be blamed on a support system (like cooling) being at fault first?

[Amaroo Park]

Originally posted by AMoffat
Colin,

What do you think of the extended warrenty caper? Is it worth it? Put another way, how many new cars do mechanical parts in the first 5 years, where it can't be blamed on a support system (like cooling) being at fault first?

Moff if you are talking about the Extended Warranty that dealers offer with used cars or come in after the new car warranty is finished? If so they are rubbish. They stipulate that you must get the car serviced every 6 months or 10,000km. The service includes a basic saftey check, Oil & Filter change and spark plug replacement. They don't follow the manufactures schedule.

The most important thing to remeber is that it is a mechanical protection cover. What that means is that they will only cover driveline components ie; Engine,Gearbox and diff. They don't cover water pumps, clutches, oil seals, cooling systems, power steering etc.If something mechanical fails then it is covered, But it is only $1000 and you are only allowed 1 claim per year. Also in that $1000 they will not cover oils, coolants and supplies used,really not worth the paper they are printed on. If you can get out of them then do.

[Airhead]

Thanks Colin, you've just confirmed my thoughts.

[elephino]

Even when the car is 1000km old some dealerships want to blame the driver.

I had my clutch enjoy itself (glazed actually) within 1000km of getting it. Now I didn't do any big starts or slip the clutch too much, etc. And yet they said, after replacing it, that they found a couple of marks on it and that if they had shown Subaru then they would not have replaced it under warranty. I kept my mouth shut as they had replaced it but, then again, they somehow managed to get the car back to me in a worse condition than when I put it in. It had "a slight clutch shudder that will go away quickly". Pfft. A HUGE clutch shudder is more like it, and there was no way it was going away. And, as expected, they didn't believe me at first and had to go for a drive around the block to prove it.

I'm never buying a car from these people again. This is nothing against Subaru, just the dealership. It's the second car that my family has bought from there and we've had warranty problems (at the dealership end) both times.

[Amaroo Park]

Originally posted by elephino

I'm never buying a car from these people again. This is nothing against Subaru, just the dealership. It's the second car that my family has bought from there and we've had warranty problems (at the dealership end) both times.

Unfortunatly the are not really interested in fixing warranty issues. And yes I know the dealership you are talking about, they are more interested in upselling to the retail and fleet client.

[elephino]

Wonder if I should bother going back to them for my latest problem (in your inbox colinbond) or just go to my now local dealership - who selling-wise seem just as bad, but no idea on service.

[Amaroo Park]

I just confirmed something I knew the other week with a friends car. He was complaining about getting ripped off with servicing costs when his car was serviced. So I said when you go in to book the car in DO NOT sign the Repair Order and refuse to pay the additional when you go to pick the car up.

So he didn't, the service advisor didn't hassle him to sign either. Anyway he requested a 30000km service only nothing else.

When he went to pick the car up the Advisor handed him the invoice and said that will be $340. Now the service takes 0.8hr and only the oil & filter are changed. The only other charge you get is Workshop supplies and Environmental disposal levy. But they had also put fuel and oil system treatment in the vehicle and carried out an On Car fuel injector clean. So my mate informs them that he is not paying for it as they have not got authorisation on the additionals.

The Service Manager comes out grabs the Repair Order and says "You have to pay cause you oh.... errrrr you haven't signed the repair order ummmmmm, give me a minute" He goes away and comes back and say you have to pay cause we have done this work.

My mate said he will pay for the service only none of the additionals i.e. fuel and oil cleaner. After 45 minutes of arguing he got his way and got $200 dollars taken off the bill. Then I got a call from him asking if he should demand another oil and filter change on the car cause of the oil treatment. I said yes tell them also you are going to complain to the manufacturer cause it says in the owners hand book not to use additives.

The service manger by this time had tale between his legs agrees and gets it done immediately.

2 funny out comes of this though. Firstly they gave him a free set of carpet mats for the car as an apology and bribe not to call the manufacturer. Secondly was that 3 other clients hearing what was going on started to argue over the same thing.

Just goes to show cheaters never prosper