Warranty Tips

New Car Warranty

Question: Do I have to return to the dealership that I purchased the car from in order to get warranty work done?

Answer: No. Any authorized dealership can perform the manufacturer's warranty work, provided they handle your franchise make. However, returning to the selling dealership has some advantages. The first is that they sold your the car and are more willing to provide you with added service value. (Free or very low cost loaners, pick-up and delivery, preferential service, and several other extras.)

Question: Do dealerships do this work for free?

Answer: No. Under most circumstances the warranty work is paid by the factory and there should be no charge to the customer. There are however some exceptions; deductibles, pro-rated parts, batteries and tires.

Question: Does the dealership get paid or do they do this work for free?

Answer: Yes. The dealership gets paid to perform warranty work. In fact they get paid fast, no credit card charges, no bounced checks and they don't have to wait for the customer's approval for the money being spent. (They do have to let the customer know what going on and get approval for the time it will take to complete the work.)

Question: How important is it to have the car serviced at a dealership and can I do the work myself?

Answer: It is a good idea to have your car serviced by a dealership. They generally have factory trained technicians and the correct parts for your car. In addition, they will have access to the latest factory information & bulletins that relate to your car. If you do all repairs and maintenance at the dealership, they will have all of your service records on file should a question arise about a prior complaint.

You can perform the work yourself if you keep very accurate records and proof of the parts used. The same thing goes when you have your car serviced by an independent repair shop or service station. Keep good records!

Lastly, most manufactures give some of their dealership's some "goodwill adjustment" latitude. This means that if you are a regular service customer and a part fails just outside of the warranty, the dealership may have the ability to make a "goodwill" adjustment or repair it at less or possibly no cost to you. If you are not a regular customer or if regular servicing records are not confirmed, you may have to pay the full cost of the repairs. This can cost you way more than you could ever save by servicing the car yourself.