It’s always exciting purchasing a brand new car – that new car smell, learning where everything is and all that new technology, getting the setting of your seat correct and the mirrors, settling yourself in for some good driving times!
Then the question of servicing comes up – you had heard that you have to go back to the dealer for the servicing in order to honour the new car warranty. But is this really a thing? Well, the simple answer is, NO! The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 prevents the practice of exclusive dealing by attaching conditions to the sale of goods that restrict the buyer’s freedom of choice to deal with whom or in what they choose.
Essentially this means that a vehicle manufacturer cannot specify that you must have your car serviced by a particular dealer or group of dealers as part of the warranty conditions.
Nor can a manufacturer void a warranty simply because a vehicle owner has chosen to have a vehicle serviced outside the dealer network.
So What You Need to know
- While car dealers may try to make you believe otherwise, you don’t have to take your car back to the dealer for servicing.
- The ACCC is clear on the point – any qualified mechanic can service your car and fill out the logbook as long as they’re using quality parts.
- Going to an independent servicing and repair shop will not affect your car warranty.
What this means is you are legally entitled to shop around for the best servicing deal without compromising your new car warranty, provided you service the vehicle in accordance with any such requirements, the warranty will remain valid.
Entitled to make profit margins, Car dealerships may rely on servicing, car parts, finance options and insurance to make those margins, even if you have “free” or “Fixed” priced servicing agreement, you will still end up paying on extras.
“You are legally entitled to shop around for the best servicing deal without compromising your new car warranty”
Similarly, Logbooks can be very misleading and one could understand why a consumer could be confused as to where they could get their vehicle serviced.
Some manufacturer service books have spaces for “authorised dealer” stamps – we looked at a new Ford Ranger’s Service Logbook and it has a “tick box” for an “authorised Ford Dealer Service Department” – Mazda also asks for a “Dealer Validation Stamp” and Hyundai asks for a “Dealer Signature” – none of these things are necessary to validate your warranty but certainly the logbooks insinuate it is the case.
Likewise, there is no obligation to use genuine parts. Often the problem with genuine parts is they are usually significantly more expensive than aftermarket parts. The upshot is, as long as you use quality parts, it will not affect your warranty.
Lack of Maintenance:
A vehicle manufacturer can however refuse a warranty claim where there is evidence of lack of maintenance, inappropriate work practices or where a non-genuine replacement part has failed or caused other damage. It is worth noting that non-dealers can only do the servicing they cannot do warranty work.
A complicating factor, with technology the way it is, almost every manufacturer has its own dedicated electronic test equipment that is specific to its range of vehicles. Such tools are required to interrogate the car’s computer, find intermittent faults and now more commonly to flash in computer software upgrades to overcome specific issues. Such equipment is very expensive, but it is believed to only be available to dealers. Thankfully, the aftermarket scanner manufacturers have improved the technology, so it is now available to all service providers. The only exception is software upgrades, but a good responsible aftermarket repairer will inform you of this.
Good reputable independent auto service people pride themselves in keeping up to date with technology and equipment and knowing how to use it. Good maintenance of your vehicle is not just about price, it is also about trust of your repairer.
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