Servicing car 'elsewhere' without voiding warranty

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Servicing car 'elsewhere' without voiding warranty - dealer dependant??

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Batman

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#677136 26-Aug-2012 15:12

John2010:
Lube oil and filter change, clean sump plug etc, all other fluids checked and topped up, all wheels off the car with spare out and checked (also tread depths measured and noted on customer's report, and in our dealer's case tyres refilled with nitrogen), hub area brake and suspension components checked, all brake operation checked and corrected if necessary (handbrake), all belts checked and adjusted if necessary, car on electronic tester for electrics/electronics and performance fault diagnosis, battery checked on tester, all filters (engine induction air, air con) removed and inspected/cleaned, all latches/hinges (doors, boot, bonnet lubed), road test (can't remember the distance, did check once, but much more than around the block and includes open road, gradients, braking, etc), all entertainment systems, etc, etc working, and etc, etc.

As I mentioned before, they will also at this time make any non mandatory free improvements or checks that the manufacturer has recommended.

The car's service history and any replacements, etc are entered and maintained in the manufacturer's database: among other things, such as at trade in time, this allows them to keep track of components that have age related service periods as opposed to km related ones (examples being auto transmission and brake fluids which have both age and km replacement recommendations, and things like cam belt if you get sufficient mileage up in the 3 years, labour for those things is extra for us and, for example, has been 0.5 hours for brake fluid replace, 0.25 hours for auto trans fluid replace including transmission flushing).

if indeed that is what they do that's fine! but do they actually do all that hmm ...

yeah i do remember now when i had a subaru (same multidealer) and brought it there they did do a lot of stuff to it ...

Geese

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#677139 26-Aug-2012 15:29

johnr:
IlDuce:
johnr: Every 2 months???

I commute a long distance to work, 650km a week.
The Service schedule says oil changes to be done every 3000km, which is every month, but its spread over 2 bikes.

What bike do you ride?

2009 Honda CBR125R and 2012 Suzuki GN125H.

mattwnz

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#677142 26-Aug-2012 15:41

May depend of the warrenty for the brand, but we have always used our own local garage to service new cars, and it hasn't affected the warranty. I also don't think the warranty terms specifically say you can't use your own local garage. If they do dispute it and decline cover, they may have to prove that the local garage has specifically caused damage from their service. But I think it is is far worse if you actually don't service the car, rather than use a third party provider to do that servicing. Plus you are covered by the CGA.
But the thing probably to do is to negotiate some sort of deal on purchase that gives you free servicing during the warranty period. Some brands do give you free servicing anyway for 3 years.

Kyanar

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#677193 26-Aug-2012 18:04

alasta:
Kyanar: I would disagree with the statement that this is fair and reasonable. While true that some non-authorised mechanics may be dodgy, not all of them will be. Your local mechanic might well be the best in the world, and you've lumped them in with dodgy back-alley shops.

If a third party mechanic causes a failure but it's not physically possible to trace the failure back to that third party maintenance then is it fair to expect the manufacturer to pick up the tab? That's how I look at it anyway.

If it's not physically possible to trace the fault back to a specific piece of work, then that piece of work wasn't responsible for it. That simple. The mechanic repairing something must track down a fault to what caused it anyway (I mean, if they didn't then there's good odds they don't actually fix the problem, just the symptons!) and at that time they can work out if a third party caused the issue. And if that third party was another mechanic, then it's up to the consumer (not the manufacturer) to chase up that third party for the bill.

alasta:
Funny, I bet you folks would be up in arms if a printer company told you that non-authorised cartridges would void the warranty, or if a computer manufacturer told you that installing RAM yourself instead of at an authorised service centre would void the warranty - yet when it comes to cars it's A-OK.

I don't have a problem with that, as long as the manufacturer/retailer makes the warranty conditions clear at the point of sale so that the consumer has the opportunity to decide whether or not they're comfortable with those conditions before agreeing to purchase.

Whether you have a problem with that or not, it's illegal for them to claim that. Consumer protection laws say that unless the manufacturer can trace back the fault to a third party part (and if the fault isn't obviously because of it, then I cannot see how it can be blamed - it's pretty easy to see e.g. teeth ripped off a cog) they are required to service faults for a reasonable period of time from the sale. They can't disclaim responsibility just because a third party looked at. And as it happens, I've personally managed to stop an entire ad campaign which tried to claim this.

6FIEND

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#678025 28-Aug-2012 10:11

alasta: If you're going to spend $20k+ on a new car then it seems silly to quibble over minor variances in servicing costs.

The problem is that sometimes it's not a minor variance.
Personal example: Recently I noticed that we had sustained some damage to one of our CV boots. 10yrs ago I used to get these replaced for $20 each... I had a quick look around and found a local MTA Garage that was doing them for $90 - fair enough... But in the end, I decided to take the vehicle in to the Official Dealership to get the boot replaced. Total cost. $685.

Yep - that was just the rubber boot replaced - not the CV joint itself... cost of a genuine new boot $465 and 2hrs labour.

Highway robbery.

(but of course, the car was "groomed" when I got it back, so that made it good value for money)

stevenz

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#678037 28-Aug-2012 10:26

As soon as you use genuine parts, the price will go through the roof, whether or not the actual part came off the same production line as a "generic" one that costs 1/10th of the price is irrelevant.

You should see how much OEM parts are for most motorcycles, just wow...

I always used to work on the basis of if there's a problem under warranty but it's had prior work done on it by an unauthorised agent, then as long as the prior repair is unrelated, I'd still sort it out, given the nature of the items I worked on, this wasn't often the case though.

@KnightNZ

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#678049 28-Aug-2012 10:33

From the Nissan site...

Will having my vehicle serviced somewhere else affect my new vehicle warranty?

We strongly suggest all Nissan vehicles are serviced by an authorised Nissan dealership to ensure:

full accountability in the event of a problem arising
any information in addition to servicing requirements that NNZ makes known to Nissan dealers will not be made known to other workshops
smooth handling of any warranty claim items without need for investigation into what was done during servicing (genuine parts, lubricants etc.)
If you elect to have your Nissan vehicle serviced outside the franchise during the warranty period, the manufacturer's 3 year / 100,000 km warranty coverage becomes "conditional". What this means is: If a problem arises during the warranty period, Nissan New Zealand reserves the right to inspect the vehicle. If we determine the problem is the result of, or contributed to, by servicing (or lack thereof) we will not cover that particular problem. All other aspects of the manufacturer's warranty remain intact.

Regardless of who services the vehicle, if a warranty problem arises, an authorised Nissan dealer must carry out the warranty work. All Nissan dealers are required to perform warranty work, however, it is not mandatory they supply extras such as loan cars etc. Most dealers are inclined to provide that level of support to their active service customers, however some elect not to provide this support to Nissan drivers whose only visits to their dealerships are to carry out warranty work, while having their vehicles serviced by other garages.

If you decide to have your Nissan vehicle serviced outside the franchise, we very strongly suggest they carry out all servicing items as indicated in the vehicle warranty and owner identification manual AND most importantly, they use Nissan genuine parts, fluids and lubricants during all services. Examples of problems arising are when non-genuine coolant is used in a Nissan vehicle and corrosion occurs, and if any other transmission fluid other than specific type fluid is used in a Nissan transmission there will definitely be problems. In both these instances, the manufacturer's warranty would not cover repairs required due to failure to use these fluids. Problems arising due to non-genuine filters also would not be covered.

Should you chose to have your vehicle serviced by a workshop other than a Nissan dealer please retain all documents and service invoices as these documents may be requested should a problem occur during the warranty period.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

Batman

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#678228 28-Aug-2012 15:43

ok pretty definitive statement there! :)

thanks for the discussion!

Batman

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#678229 28-Aug-2012 15:44

just by the by ... does anyone believe getting extended warranty is important in a nissan (as opposed to Audi)?

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