In this thread, I'd like to take on a sort of thought experiment: to see things from the dealership's perspective.
I am not in any way affiliated with any dealership, in fact, I try to avoid dealerships (their sales and/or service departments) if at all possible.
... but, I got to thinking about why dealerships behave the way they do and it seems that a lot of them practice what might be called "Defensive Service." (DS.) Dealerships probably do this because some customer will try to get them to do a repair that they aren't contractually responsible for.
Where the dealership might be defended is in the way they deal with warranty issues. I'm pretty sure that some (or many?) warranty issues that crop up are not a result of defects in assembly or design but in fact, through "abuse." I am only taking a guess here and I am guessing that statistically this is probably true. For the cheap stuff, I think most dealerships will just give you the benefit of the doubt and cover it all. Actually, the manufacturer covers it.
An example: during the blizzard of 2010, I helped a man get out of the snow by pushing his car and also recruiting help from others. He was driving a late-model Nissan Altima with only 20,000 miles on it. The guy must've went back and forth some 50 times, at least, and within a short time span. He switched from reverse to drive, instantaneously and he really floored it--back and forth he went, within seconds. At one point, he has his foot on the gas but the wheels would not spin. I thought his tranny was cooked. We waited a bit and everything seemed to work okay but that transmission took a lot of abuse. We finally got out of the snow and I advised him to replace the ATF. He said he would do so ASAP but truthfully, I think he was just being polite since I helped him for so long. I don't think he really cared and maybe because he knew he had 40,000 miles of powertrain warranty left.
Let's assume that this is indeed abuse. Of course, one can argue that it isn't, that transmission SHOULD be built such that this type of behavior is within normal operating range.
So, the question is, are dealerships/manufacturer right in denying a warranty claim from such abuse? How would they know that you abused the car? Not all abuse is obvious. They have to make a call. Some dealerships give you the benefit of the doubt, others will make you prove you didn't abuse the car.
What about dealerships who need to contend with customers who come in for warranty work but do their own DIY maintenance? I'm sure, in the back of their minds, they are contending with the possibility the warranty repair was necessary because you didn't do the transmission flush or drain and refill right or the oil change or, WHATEVER, right. They just don't know.
Anyways, I'm trying to see things from THEIR perspective. I still hate them with passion.
I am not in any way affiliated with any dealership, in fact, I try to avoid dealerships (their sales and/or service departments) if at all possible.
... but, I got to thinking about why dealerships behave the way they do and it seems that a lot of them practice what might be called "Defensive Service." (DS.) Dealerships probably do this because some customer will try to get them to do a repair that they aren't contractually responsible for.
Where the dealership might be defended is in the way they deal with warranty issues. I'm pretty sure that some (or many?) warranty issues that crop up are not a result of defects in assembly or design but in fact, through "abuse." I am only taking a guess here and I am guessing that statistically this is probably true. For the cheap stuff, I think most dealerships will just give you the benefit of the doubt and cover it all. Actually, the manufacturer covers it.
An example: during the blizzard of 2010, I helped a man get out of the snow by pushing his car and also recruiting help from others. He was driving a late-model Nissan Altima with only 20,000 miles on it. The guy must've went back and forth some 50 times, at least, and within a short time span. He switched from reverse to drive, instantaneously and he really floored it--back and forth he went, within seconds. At one point, he has his foot on the gas but the wheels would not spin. I thought his tranny was cooked. We waited a bit and everything seemed to work okay but that transmission took a lot of abuse. We finally got out of the snow and I advised him to replace the ATF. He said he would do so ASAP but truthfully, I think he was just being polite since I helped him for so long. I don't think he really cared and maybe because he knew he had 40,000 miles of powertrain warranty left.
Let's assume that this is indeed abuse. Of course, one can argue that it isn't, that transmission SHOULD be built such that this type of behavior is within normal operating range.
So, the question is, are dealerships/manufacturer right in denying a warranty claim from such abuse? How would they know that you abused the car? Not all abuse is obvious. They have to make a call. Some dealerships give you the benefit of the doubt, others will make you prove you didn't abuse the car.
What about dealerships who need to contend with customers who come in for warranty work but do their own DIY maintenance? I'm sure, in the back of their minds, they are contending with the possibility the warranty repair was necessary because you didn't do the transmission flush or drain and refill right or the oil change or, WHATEVER, right. They just don't know.
Anyways, I'm trying to see things from THEIR perspective. I still hate them with passion.
