New Car Keep Warranty Own Maintenance

[OriginHacker21]

I have a new 2013 Honda Civic with the new Maintenance Minder system. The manual says to follow that exactly - doesn't even recommend oil interval but just to follow the MM. I purchased the 100,000 mile extended warranty because this is my first new car. However, I've already had some unsavory dealings with the $tealership and want to do my own maintenance.

Maintenance Minder: http://owners.honda.com/service-maintenance/minder?year=2013&model=Civic-Sedan

From what I'm reading on various forums the B1 service (2nd oil change) is around $250 - they do a ton of inspections and take apart the brakes to justify the $250. The 3rd oil change is even more expensive with a 30k service.

I don't get it, I got my Sunfire to 246,000 miles just by changing the oil, power steering, transmission, and brake fluid & brakes myself. Is all this other stuff necessary? I don't mind doing the maintenance minder but I can pay 1/10th the amount at a local mechanic or free if I do it myself.

Question: Do I have to follow the MM at the dealership to keep my car in warranty? I've changed my own oil for 9 years and have local mechanics that I trust and charge 1/10th of a $tealership. But I'm very worried about keeping the car in warranty.

Tried to do some searching on this so apologies if already asked/answered.

Thanks,
-Paul

 

[pbm]

NO.

Your warranty stays intact as long as you keep receipts for oil, filters etc...My s-I-l bought a CPO mazda6 and they try to pull this same nonsense (Money maker for the dealership). She has an extended warranty and they try to tell her she has to have the dealer do the maintenance to keep it effective. It's Be-es...

 

[RF Overlord]

No, you do not have to go to the dealer...well, not unless your extended warranty requires it. Just keep every receipt no matter how trivial.

Yeah, most of those specified-interval "services" at the dealer do nothing but inflate their profit margin.

 

[glock19]

I don't know about all maintenance but for oil changes you can definitely do them yourself. The trouble is that you assume the burden of proof when you do it yourself or take it to a shop. You'll have to provide records and receipts to prove to the dealer that you were actually maintaining the car before they'll do any warranty work. I prefer to get everything done at the dealer so they cannot deny me warranty work or a fix if they mess something up.

 

[RF Overlord]

Getting warranty-mandated work done at the dealer isn't necessarily a bad thing, IF they do only what is required. The problem is that most dealers add on those other useless things for no other reason than to jack up your wallet.

 

[bdcardinal]

The aftermarket warranties may require it. The MM act does not apply to them because you agree to the terms when you buy it. I had one on my Volvo and the caveat was that you had to be a "certified mechanic" to work on the car. When my angle gear went out they wanted to see proof a "certified technician" worked on it and I showed them my ASE certs and asked if that was good enough.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: OriginHacker21
Question: Do I have to follow the MM at the dealership to keep my car in warranty?

Not for the manufacturer's warranty. For an aftermarket warranty, possibly - read your contract.

Originally Posted By: OriginHacker21
Tried to do some searching on this so apologies if already asked/answered.

Read up on the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, P.L. 93-637.

Originally Posted By: glock19
The trouble is that you assume the burden of proof when you do it yourself or take it to a shop. You'll have to provide records and receipts to prove to the dealer that you were actually maintaining the car before they'll do any warranty work.


Not true according to the MMWA; the burden of proof is on the manufacturer to prove the vehicle was not maintained correctly. While this is what the Act actually says you may have to take the stealership into arbitration or a court to get this to happen. Extended warranties are not from the manufacturer directly (altho they are frequently bundled in the sale) but may require a 'certified technician' to do all maintenance - but this would have to be explicitly stated in the contract.

I've never had to take a vehicle in for warranty repairs where anything was ever called into question and I have always done my own routine maintenance.

 

[KrisZ]

I would get the warranty refunded and be done with it.
With my Mazda 3, bought new, after few years I literally could not wait for the manufacturer's warranty to be over so I could buy oil and filters in bulk instead of one change at a time to show dates.

Now other than my maintenance log in the owner's manual, I don't keep any track record of oil and filters. I still keep bigger items like coolant, belt and ATF changes, but even those are a waste of time as I don't plan to sell this car anytime soon.
Even if I plan to sell it in few years, most people will not pay extra money for immaculate service record, so why bother unless it's your "thing"?

 

[Lyman]

Good advice here guys. I bought a brand new Harley in 2004 with the extended warranty. I did all my own service to it. I also had to take it to the dealer for warranty work. They asked who had been doing the maintenance on it as they had no record of it ever being in the shop. I told them that I had done it all and asked if they would like to see my records. They told me no that wouldn't be necessary. The work that they ended up doing covered the expense of the warranty by far.

 

[jimbrewer]

Hmmm....That's quite a lot of maintenance....I don't think my Ford requires a thing except cabin filters and oil changes until 100K.

Does Honda offer an extended maintenance plan in addition to its extended factory warranty? Ford does. I passed on it, because it basically entailed agreeing to pay full price in advance for your oil changes in exchange for a promise to replace shock absorbers windshield wipers and brake pads as needed. (Oil changes are customarily on perma-sale at the dealers for about $39). If Honda has one it might be a better bargain.

I thought the Ford extended factory warranty "ESP" (available on the cheap through the internet was a good deal. If Honda makes you jump through those kinds of maintenance hoops, I'd bag it and get a refund on the warranty.