New Car Warranty

[KraftyPg]

This is not just a Nissan thing but since so many people come here asking the question I figured it can go here.

A story in the Herald Sun yesterday discussed car servicing at dealerships as opposed to independent and or chain servicing outlets. While this may vary from state to state the Consumer Affairs in Victoria state the following:

"Services could be done independently without risking a warranty, provided work was to manufacturer specifications using genuine parts. Genuine parts are those with car manufacturer, parts maker or well-known retailer branding."

Ok that might not be news to some of us but for those people who's first question after buying a car is quite often "Do I have to pay Nissan such a high price to service my car", hopefully you can see there is a choice in Victoria at least, (although I suspect other states have similar wordings).

The main recommendation given by those quoted in the article is find a mechanic you feel comfortable with, whether it's a dealer or an independent makes little difference providing the work is done to specification.

 

[Old.Tony]

The law is similar in NSW, and many motor mechanics advertise that they can do "log book services" that meet the manufacturer's specifications.

I wouldn't put it past the manufacturer to make some claim about the servicing in order to avoid a warranty payout. They could just as easily state that "the reason for the failure appears to be inferior automatic transmission oil" or something like that, and then the onus falls to us and our mechanic to prove that we had complied with the manufacturer's requirements.

Just using Nissan as an example: they are very, very specific about the auto transmission oil that should be used. If you get your vehicle serviced elsewhere, and the torque converter lockup solenoid starts wobbling at 1800rpm, it's very easy for them to dismiss this as a warranty claim. The average person may accept it and wear the cost of the new torque converter - something that they'd count on. Those of us that read this forum know much better - the torque converters in the earlier 2009 STX models were an issue, and we'd pursue it, but we're a very small percentage of the Nissan-owning population.

I'm not trying to advocate that people should stick to servicing by a manufacturer-approved outlet - but I do think that anyone considering having their vehicle serviced elsewhere should, as part of the trade-off to get the cheaper servicing, be prepared to stand up and fight the manufacturer if a warranty issue arises. Don't just sit back and wear it when they turn around and blame the service technician for the failure and refuse to rectify the problem.

 

[KraftyPg]

The key word is "specification". If you have any vehicle serviced or maintained to specification then a manufacturer can't automatically void your warranty and that's the only point myself (and the article) were trying to make because that is the general question asked so frequently.

The unfortunate misconception is that servicing by a dealer will ensure a warranty is not void and that's crap, dealer servicing is not an open door to any warranty claim. Just like non dealer servicing is not an open door to legal battles and court cases.

 

[WoodyD40]

Good thread.

I am taking my D40 and my wifes Xtrail to the local Nissan Dealer (Berwick has a good reputation i understand), and so far i've been rather impressed with their service - and how they look after their customers. I may pay slightly more than if i went to my previous mechanic (who also did a bloody good job), but i look at it as being cheap insurance if i ever have a warrantee claim, as the local dealership has my full service history on their computers (as well as my log book filled in). I also get original manufacturer spare parts with 10% discount, as my cars are serviced there.

Also, any recall repairs get done whilst the cars are in for service. Another factor for me is that i can walk 3 minutes to work when i drop the car(s) off. So it has a great convenience factor. In fact, thats how i ended up with 2 nissans - i bought them during my lunch breaks. LOL.

But, that is my choice to use a Nissan Dealership. I respect that people need to be able to shop arround for competitive prices for services - because prices can and do vary greatly depending on where you go.

 

[the_bluester]

Agree with all of the above. In theory any person should be able to service the car so long as they use the right parts and fluids. In practice if something went wrong your savings could evaporate in the fight to get it fixed.

And some newer cars have idiosyncrasies that non factory mechanics do not always pick up on. Like not using the right low ash oil in a diesel with a DPF. It will apparently stuff the DPF in very short order (As seems to have happened to a couple of people at least on other forums) and the manufacturer will simply walk away from warranty.

In my case I have serviced my D22 myself since 10,000 km as I was really offended at a $300 bill for what amounted to an oil and filter change and an arms length inspection on the hoise to make sure nothing had fallen off. I took the risk that nothing significant would go wrong with it in the warranty period, while over servicing it to a significant degree (Oil and filter every 5000 km and everything else as per the handbook) Nothing went wrong with it during warranty so it paid off for me.