veh warranty

[fuggy]

if i take my vehicle and have it serviced other than by the authorised dealer, would this invalidate the warranty ? the reason that i am considering this is that the last time i found that i had been charged for a supervisor checking that the work was done correctly . therefor two lots of labour charges. the vehicle is a mazda 6

[redcrx]

Not sure about mazda but Ford allow vehicles to be serviced by independant garages without invalidating warrenty but the parts used must all be genuine ford parts.

[Birt]

Hi Fuggy

The recent block exemption rules applied to the Motor trade allow vehicle owners to get their cars serviced anywhere they like (as long as a vat registered garage!). The parts do not have be sourced from Mazda (for example) however they do need to be Original Equipment specification and quality. Most motor factors now sell parts that are supplied to them by the aftermarket arm of the same people who supply the dealers. So the parts are EXACTLY the same except for the part number on them (this is also the same in some cases). A dealer cannot legally void any warranty given by the manufacturer. If the cause of the particular fault is a part that is not standard or is not of the same quality as the original part then that is not covered by the warranty. (make sense?) .
If for instance you have the service done by an independant garage then you have a fault like the wiper motor not working the dealer cannot void the warranty on the wiper motor just because the spark plugs do not say Mazda on them. Some dealers do try it on and i await with baited breath the first one to be sued under these laws as it will teach the rest of the dealers that they are not anything special and in fact are pretty poor when it comes to quality of service. Remeber the dealers are franchised, most are not owned by the manufacutuer in question. If you have a problem with any particualr dealer regarding warrnaties then contact the Manufacturer customer care. If no luck with the first person you speak to then ask for the next person up and so on. These manufacturers rely on people taking the word of the first person they speak to. It is chjeaper for them not to pay anything so wil try it on.

[fuggy]

thank you both. have either of you come accross this double charge before?

[Toureman]

Renault Dealers do a "double charge" but they charge for "diagnostics" in other words they charge for finding out what is wrong and then charge for repair.

Different to your "double charge" but still a rip off.

[fuggy]

my dealership are capable of miracles. i deliberately filled the washer bottle to the top, they still managed to get screenwash in there. they must have done because there was a charge on the invoice.

[Andyvon]

Hi Fuggy!
I don't know about the rule changes mentioned above but I'm sure they are right. I do know that until recently it mattered very much what the small-print of your particular warranty said. Fiat were awful. If anyone else even looked at the car then it invalidated their warranty. It was also invalidated if the service interval was just one mile over that in the book. It was obvious they would invalidate the warranty at any chance they could and I believe other firms did the same.
Many firms were fine though so it depends on the company. I don't know about Mazda or your dealer. I would check the small-print of your warranty very carefully though and don't give them a chance to jump on anything.

[Birt]

The double charging is not right. Im sorry to say i think you have been ripped off by them. It is their resposiblity to ensure the work iis done correctly not urs.

No manufacturer can legally void their warranty. The vehicles they sell have to be fit for their intended purpose and use. If they are not then they are liable. This only applies to the inital 12 months warranty given with most cars. Dont be fooled into thinking it applies to the 3/4/5 year warrantys given by some . Only the 1st 12 months is the true manufacturers warranty.