Your vehicle warranty fact sheet! Who to Trust ?

Facts about Factory & Extended Warranties

 

Recently i was going to purchase a vehicle from a local dealership (no i wont say which one), not knowing that i own an auto repair shop they said something that concerned me. Prior to purchase it was stated that my factory warranty would be void if i had the vehicle serviced at another shop, that they offered maintenance packages and a few free oil changes to “protect me” against voiding it. I nicely told them that this wasn’t true and that there are laws in place that protect a consumers right to have a vehicle repaired any where they want and the manufacturer still needs to guarantee their product for a certain amount of time. They agreed with me and ………. i purchased the the vehicle at another local dealership that was more up front with their sales pitch.

Why am i telling you this? Well if that is their sales pitch to get people to go to their dealership for service, maybe it is working. Here are some facts that we at Feldman Auto Repair in Saint Augustine Florida want to share with you to be educated consumers in regard to factory and extended warranty’s.

  1. The Magnus-Moss Warranty Act protects the right for consumers to choose their own repair facility or make the repairs themselves.
  2. The only exception is when dealerships provide independent warranties that stipulate the requirement is the contract. Dealerships that advertise 200,000 power train warranties or lifetime power train warranties are likely creating an in house product. In this case you still have the factory warranty and will keep that if choosing to have repairs done elsewhere, but the dealership reserves the right to cancel the independent warranty if you ever get a service that is not authorized by them, or declined to perform recommended services at the time they are recommended by the dealer. A independent warranty is not to be confused with a extended “aftermarket” warranty that a dealer will try to sell you.
  3. Extended warranty’s, should i purchase one ? Extended warranties are also referred to as aftermarket warranties and are similar to purchasing an insurance policy on your vehicles performance. Like an insurance policy though all companies are not made equal. Determining factors to purchasing an extended warranty should be company reputation, value of the vehicle, price of the contract, length of the contract and transparency of stipulations. Normally an extended warranty is not worth purchasing unless buying the top package that included electronics, seals and gasket coverage. The reason why, is that a warranty company can get out of having to pay for a repair by proving that the cause of failure i from a fluid leak or electronic malfunction. Extended warranties can be brought to any repair shop that accepts them and at Feldman Auto Repair will handle the claim from beginning to end.

If you ever have any automotive or warranty related questions feel free to call or stop by and have a chat. Call 904-217-0865 with any mechanical or auto motive needs!