The TRUTH about new car serving and manufacturer warranty.

Purchased a new car, and to maintain your manufacturer warranty you keep taking it back to the dealer paying and arm and a leg, and sometimes your first born to get your servicing and maintenance done? Well your first born, arm and leg are safe because taking your car to another mechanic will not void your warranty.

The cost of cars over the years has decreased significantly. The now highly competitive market has seen dealerships lose chunks of their profits. To combat the lowering profit margins, they have turned to servicing, parts and add-ons to bolster their bottom line. According to Deloittes 2014 Motor Industry Report 30% of car dealer’s profits come from servicing. With this in mind it’s easy to understand why they’ll happily have you believe that going elsewhere would void your warranty.

So not only will the staff at the car dealership have you believe that a vehicle needs to be returned to them for servicing to maintain the warranty but the language in logbooks also indicates this.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says "a manufacturer's warranty is a promise to the consumer that the vehicle will be free from defects for a certain period of time.” While a manufacturer can have certain requirements in its warranty terms such as servicing be done by qualified staff and quality parts to be used where required, they CANNOT require you to service your vehicle through an authorised dealer to keep the warranty intact.

"Provided you service the vehicle in accordance with any such requirements, the warranty will remain valid. If the manufacturer's warranty states that the vehicle can only be serviced by an authorised dealer, this may raise concerns under the Competition and Consumer Act," the ACCC has said in written guidance to the automotive industry.

Stuart Charity, executive director Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association, welcomes the ACCC’s clarification.

“Over many years, car manufacturers and their dealers have promulgated the myth to car owners that they risk voiding their warranty unless their car is serviced by an authorised dealer using parts supplied by the vehicle maker during the warranty period,” he says.

“The reality is that consumers have always had statutory rights under Australian law to ensure that their manufacturers’ warranties remain valid when the vehicles are serviced by independent workshops using fit for purpose parts and qualified technicians."

There really are only three key guidelines to follow in order to keep your warranty intact.

1. Use a qualified mechanic – It is important that you use a qualified mechanic and reputable service centre. Ensure your mechanic fills out the logbook. Getting a mate or doing it yourself will void the warranty.
2. Stick to Service Intervals – You must adhere to the time or KM intervals as specified by the manufacturer. Allowing this to run over may void your warranty.
3. Parts must be quality – It is not a requirement to use genuine parts only, but the parts do need to be of appropriate quality.

So as long as you stick to these requirements, you can keep your warranty and save yourself some coin!

At Midas we offer logbook servicing on all major makes and models. All our services come with a Midas safety check and vehicle inspection report as well as the Midas Guarantee.

Call us today to find out how much you can save! (and we won’t take your limbs or children as payment.)

References:

https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/motor-vehicle-sales-repairs-an-industry-guide-to-the-australian-consumer-law

http://www.midas.com.au/the-midas-guarantee