Servicing car 'elsewhere' without voiding warranty

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Batman

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#108199 26-Aug-2012 09:42

I got a Nissan X trail under new vehicle warranty ... does anyone know if you service at local garage (the good type)

1) if they will make a fuss if you claim warranty
2) if it's possible to ensure a fuss free warranty claim in the future
3) just don't bother for the first 3 years (ie pay the dealer the exhorbitant fee for them to change oil, filter and shine the torch around)

Seriously, what (serious) maintainance is there in the first 3 years of a vehicle life!

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#677038 26-Aug-2012 10:04

I suggest first stop is to have a careful look at the written warranty conditions.

Generally non-genuine parts are not covered as well as any fault resulting from the fitting of non-genuine parts or work by an unauthorized agent. You could be asking for an argument if you go outside the dealer network.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

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#677044 26-Aug-2012 10:27

I bought a new Suzuki motorcycle, and when reading through the exclusions it makes me seriously wonder what's actually left to be covered by the warranty? The frame maybe.

I've had it service every 2 months since buying it, even though I could do it myself. When adding up the servicing cost vs km I do in a year, would probably have been better to abandon the warranty and do the work myself.

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#677047 26-Aug-2012 10:44

Every 2 months???

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#677048 26-Aug-2012 10:54

When I bought my old Harley new I had issues which required me to take it back under warranty (cracked rear fender). Id run up Shaft (the Auckland dealers at the time) and asked if it was fine for me to get the servicing done via Universal Motors (the closest harley mechanics to where I was) and they said fine, wont affect your warranty. Turn up to get the fender done and they looked up the service records and turned around and said I hadnt had it serviced by them so the warranty would be void. I ended up forking out to have them re-do the servicing (we're talking like 3 weeks after it had already been done!) just to make them happy.

Funny thing is they are now partially owned by the owner of Universal.. O.o

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#677053 26-Aug-2012 11:04

joker97: I got a Nissan X trail under new vehicle warranty ... does anyone know if you service at local garage (the good type)

1) if they will make a fuss if you claim warranty
2) if it's possible to ensure a fuss free warranty claim in the future
3) just don't bother for the first 3 years (ie pay the dealer the exhorbitant fee for them to change oil, filter and shine the torch around)

Seriously, what (serious) maintainance is there in the first 3 years of a vehicle life!

If you bought a new vehicle, wasn't some sort of servicing included in the deal?

If you live far away from the Nissan dealer, I would call them and get it in writing that it is OK to have it serviced elsewhere.

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#677054 26-Aug-2012 11:04

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.

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#677070 26-Aug-2012 12:07

Consumer Guarantees Act. You ARE covered, no matter what the "warranty" says (it's not worth the paper it's printed on) no matter who does the servicing, and no matter whether they use non-genuine parts or not. The only way for the dealers to get out of that is to PROVE that the work done by the non-dealer agent or the non-genuine part actually CAUSED any future faults.

Don't let them get away with lying about your consumer rights. In fact, if they tell you that you're not covered, then report them to the Commerce Commission for violation of the Sale of Goods act by misleading you about your rights.

People letting dealers get away with this is why they keep doing it.

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#677082 26-Aug-2012 12:19

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?

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#677083 26-Aug-2012 12:25

joker97: I got a Nissan X trail under new vehicle warranty ... does anyone know if you service at local garage (the good type)

1) if they will make a fuss if you claim warranty
2) if it's possible to ensure a fuss free warranty claim in the future
3) just don't bother for the first 3 years (ie pay the dealer the exhorbitant fee for them to change oil, filter and shine the torch around)

Seriously, what (serious) maintainance is there in the first 3 years of a vehicle life!

As scuwp says, plus:

We have always, for decades, had new cars but recent experience is with makes other than Nissan so can't comment specifically on them.

First, I can't see where you get the "pay the dealer the exhorbitant fee" from, and in any event I can't see how you are going to save much by going to your local garage. Perhaps the dealer has given you a price and you have found it to be so in comparison to your local guy, in which case perhaps you have bought the wrong vehicle.

The periodic 10,000km services for our recent cars have been 1.5 hours labour so your local guy is going to have to be real cheap if you're going to save much on labour. The parts and fluids from the dealer have, in our experience, been priced ok - a little more than none OEM, but not worth the extra driving to buy those. If you are going to get the vehicle maintained some where then the only truth is that it will not be cheap.

Every now and again something not important, such as an air conditioning pollen filter, will come up and which is not a cheap item, but our dealer always points that out so can opt out if wanted. In every case the dealer always runs through exactly what they will be doing and I suppose if one wanted to save a few cents one could choose to lube the doors, etc oneself at no risk to the warranty.

The maintenance requirement should be in the vehicle's manual or in a seperate maintenance booklet. Your dealer should be able to tell you the standard labour budget in hours, and their current rate for the periodic services.

We have found that if we have held a car after the warranty period, that the only fault to appear after that time has been fixed free with no question (it was not cheap for them to do). I suspect that we also get a better trade when we come to buy again, if they have serviced the car - usually they just walk around the outside of the car with no detailed inspection for faults, they know its history.

So while you make it out that it is all downsides getting the dealer to do the service, you may find that it is not much, or any more as expensive as getting it done elsewhere, and that there may also be downstream advantages.

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#677084 26-Aug-2012 12:28

When I bought my new Kia I was told that I have to get it serviced by an authorised dealer while under warranty and I consider that fair and reasonable because maintenance by a dodgy mechanic could very easily cause a failure and it wouldn't necessarily be easy to trace the failure back to specific maintenance activities.

Authorised dealers also have access to firmware updates, manufacturers' recall/advisory notices, etc.

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

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#677091 26-Aug-2012 12:39

alasta:
Authorised dealers also have access to firmware updates, manufacturers' recall/advisory notices, etc.

Just to expand on that we have several times when taking a car in for service, one of the service items has been some minor change/improvement (not just a check) such as a hose change or something, and which has not warranted a recall but the manufacturer has the dealer do for no charge.

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#677093 26-Aug-2012 12:42

alasta: When I bought my new Kia I was told that I have to get it serviced by an authorised dealer while under warranty and I consider that fair and reasonable because maintenance by a dodgy mechanic could very easily cause a failure and it wouldn't necessarily be easy to trace the failure back to specific maintenance activities.

Authorised dealers also have access to firmware updates, manufacturers' recall/advisory notices, etc.

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

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.

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.

What John2010 said is right though - sometimes there are actually long-term advantages to doing so, like getting free or discounted repairs way out in the future, and that ultimately it's a choice you have to make.

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#677107 26-Aug-2012 13:28

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.

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.

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#677108 26-Aug-2012 13:29

can anyone explain the 1.5 hrs labour of the 10,000km service?

i must be so ignorant after reading the service manual a while ago ... sorry but i thought they change oil and filter and have a look around ...

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#677123 26-Aug-2012 14:43

joker97: can anyone explain the 1.5 hrs labour of the 10,000km service?

i must be so ignorant after reading the service manual a while ago ... sorry but i thought they change oil and filter and have a look around ...

As far as I know the 1.5 hrs is the standard time they use for our car (which isn't anything exotic) and is what they advise a new car buyer that it will be if the potential buyer asks the costs of servicing (as far as I know any dealer will tell you the manufacturer's standard hours for service for their vehicles). I have not stayed to watch them right through a service but from what I have seen and from the service notes they give me includes things like:

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).

They will also drop me off at home or elsewhere should I want and collect me afterwards (to ensure I pay the bill :-)) - we are around 20-25 minutes return from the dealer, or give me a loan car (and that will not be some old heap - they are a dealer so only have demonstrators or up to 4-5 year old cars in the yard) at no charge for the couple of hours (or the day if I need for work - we have a longish commute).

The car comes back groomed but that is supposedly "free" as is the coffee :-).

In the end, if you have bought a new Tail X you will have spent somewhere between $45,000 to $53,000'ish, and to be frank cannot see why trying to save a few extra dollars in servicing is such a hassle in order to ensure the "investment" is protected. There is actually quite a lot of the little things one can easily do oneself (and when life was simpler I did the lot), and things like tyres, fluid levels, etc one should be doing anyway, but you won't save much if the car is going to a garage for the rest anyway - I suspect in the case of going to the dealer you'll still get charged for the standard hours and check what you've done.

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