Warranty loopholes?

[dja4260]

I perform all my own maintenance and can keep receipts of fluids to verify proper maintenance.

If I purchase a new car with factory warranty, can they DENY any warranty work because that was not performed by the "brand dealer".

I'm reading horror stories online and just wanted to see if anyone could chime in?

 

[JHZR2]

Ive heard this of Hyundai. It also seems like you can be delayed more if DIY vs "goodwill" if everything was done at the dealer.

But so long as you have your reciepts and all was sound, you have grounds to go to sourt, which is $$$ for the dealer too...

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: dja4260

If I purchase a new car with factory warranty, can they DENY any warranty work because that was not performed by the "brand dealer".


Technically, they can't deny warranty, but I can imagine they can be [censored] about it and make your life somewhat difficult, although it's mostly scare tactics.

 

[The_Jeff]

They *can* deny warranty, but not legally.

The fairly fine filter is the initial turn-down, that many people accept as a final decision. You then have to fight this.

 

[sciphi]

Doing all maintenance at the dealer helps for goodwill. Although, balance that against the much cheaper cost of DIY. I suspect that for many people it'd be a wash of doing dealer maintenance for goodwill assistance compared to DIY'ing and buying the part out of pocket.

That's if there's anything to goodwill at all. If nothing goes wrong, then all the money spent at the dealer might've been wasted unless they give a discount on a new car for being a loyal customer.

They can't deny warranty work for DIY'ing maintenance. They can make life difficult, though.

 

[wapacz]

You will want to keep a maintenance log and receipts . To prove that the maintenance has been done and the proper items have been use.

 

[someguy]

Bringing in your vehicle for regular service might you get you bumped to the front of the line if something goes wrong that's about it. Dealers make money on service and warranty claims are typically easy money so its not good business to deny them. I suspect that most people who get denied are typically at fault and they use the internet to complain.

 

[Artem]

IMO, people worry about warranty WAAAAY too much.

Lets look at the bumper to bumper warranty. Its usually very short (36k miles in my new Honda's) so if something goes bad (visor recall, bad seat rail, pixels on the CD player screen going bad) you're covered.

Drivetrain wise, same thing. I had a leaking power steering pump replaced on my 07 Civic EX under warranty. I've done my own maintenance since day 1. No questions asked.

Had a rear wheel bearing replaced on my 07 Civic Si under warranty, no questions asked about my maintenance.

My point is, unless it's engine related, you really shouldn't have any issues. Most recalls force the dealer to replace the part without question.

A car under warranty will only need oil changes. Unless you're having lube related engine work done, i see no reason to panic and start getting ripped off at the dealer over a couple of receipts.

Just my

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: Artem
IMO, people worry about warranty WAAAAY too much.

Lets look at the bumper to bumper warranty. Its usually very short (36k miles in my new Honda's) so if something goes bad (visor recall, bad seat rail, pixels on the CD player screen going bad) you're covered.

Drivetrain wise, same thing. I had a leaking power steering pump replaced on my 07 Civic EX under warranty. I've done my own maintenance since day 1. No questions asked.

Had a rear wheel bearing replaced on my 07 Civic Si under warranty, no questions asked about my maintenance.

My point is, unless it's engine related, you really shouldn't have any issues. Most recalls force the dealer to replace the part without question.

A car under warranty will only need oil changes. Unless you're having lube related engine work done, i see no reason to panic and start getting ripped off at the dealer over a couple of receipts.

Just my

Exactly, most new models will only need oil changes for maintenance even for the sometimes longer powertrain warranty. You're not required to change tha ATF, coolant etc, so most of the time even if you have an issue maintenance is not even at question.

 

[wkcars]

They can't deny warranty simply because someone did their own maintenance, but they can deny the warranty if they can prove that something was done incorrectly, meaning that it was not a manufacturing defect.

 

[MrCritical]

They can't deny warranty, but they can dish out goodwill any way they see fit. It is after all, "goodwill".