Extended Warranty 101
People today seem to think that a car warranty is a privilege rather than an agreement. I wonder why this subject has so much misunderstanding surrounding it. Maybe it is because certain "professionals" in the car sales industry only tell the customers what they want to hear, encouraging this false attitude. "Don't worry about that! It will be covered by your warranty" they tell you. When something breaks down however, and it's time for that warranty to stand up to the promises that the salesperson made it falls short. The things you thought were covered are not. Some of these salespeople will even go as far as to cover repairs that do not qualify under the warranty. This kind of deceitful activity only reinforces this wrongful belief of entitlement. It is because of these things that many car manufacturers are so picky about every claim that comes in. If anything even remotely questionable comes up, they investigate it to the tee. The buyer then thinks that this is the manufacturers way of bailing on his part of the agreement when the repair they are claiming doesn't even fall into the terms of the warranty. More often than not the lack of qualification is caused by abuse, expiration of the warranty or the possibility of an uncovered part.
Look, I don't like unhappy customers. Ive been in the car business for over three decades and to this day, I swear, customers rarely read their original car warranty. When they are in the dark about what is included or not, emotions can get a little tense when doing business. I always encourage my customers to read their original warranty. Things are spelled out clearly in the warranty. Basically, a car manufacturer will pay for any defective parts or poor workmanship as like as you, the owner, has followed the maintenance schedule as stated in your owners manual. You are usually given a time frame, like seven years, that works along side a mileage limit, say the first 100,00 miles. Follow the suggested times about when you should change your oil, transmission fluid, battery checks, and so forth, and you are good to go.
Here's an overview of the covered parts and services. If they come from the car maker, they're covered by the auto manufacturers warranty. There will probably be varying coverage based on time or mileage. Anything that comes from an aftermarket manufacturer - tires, additional stereo or conversion components - are covered by the aftermarket manufacturers warranty. This will be in with the documents you get when you buy a new car. Remember to read these papers, since they tell you what is covered by who and for how long. You can avoid warranty headaches by keeping yourself informed. Maintenance products like filters wouldn't be covered, nor would things like belts and hoses, as they are expected to wear out.
When the paint on my Plymouth minivan went dull (de-laminated), I was faced with a $400 repair job. Many times people face nightmare outcomes as their warranties for the aftermarket parts not installed by the manufacturer have run out. My outcome, however, has a different outcome. I paid only $40 for this $400 job due to the following reasons. I asked and was given a goodwill-adjustment because of my owner loyalty, time in service, maintenance records, vehicle history, mileage and based upon whether any service contracts were in effect. I took the time to understand the warranty and got a written warranty disclosure. My preparedness and simple act of asking for help resulted in paying only $40 for a $400 repair. Manufactures often allow dealers or field reps to make such GOODWILL ADJUSTMENTS and I was able to take advantage of this kindness.
Some of the more common warranty terms are described here. Bumper to Bumper warranty covers all basic warranty and power train components for a set period, which varies by manufacturer. Corrosion warranty covers rust-through sheet metal damage, but excludes nicks, scratches and chips or owner negligent damage. Certain warranty coverages vary, so check the vehicle's warranty information card or the dealer for details. Safety Campaigns or Recalls are declared by the manufacturer when there is a safety concern and can occur at any time in the life of a vehicle. The owners are notified of the recall by the manufacturer and instructed to bring their vehicle into the dealer, who will check the VIN number to see if the vehicle is affected in the specific campaign. This work is completed at the dealer, and is no charge to the owner.
There is more to discuss about warranties. I may perhaps deal with it when I write about this later. I recommend that you take the effort to learn more about this. Meet the manager of your dealership and ask him to explain to you every thing that you need to know. Let me assure you that hidden warranty does not exist. Dealers earn money from the factory for the warranty campaigns they perform. It is therefore useless to blame the local dealer for not covering certain operations under hidden warranty. They would gladly oblige you if such a thing existed because warranty campaigns bring in money for them. I hope I have made this clear to you. - 21396
Look, I don't like unhappy customers. Ive been in the car business for over three decades and to this day, I swear, customers rarely read their original car warranty. When they are in the dark about what is included or not, emotions can get a little tense when doing business. I always encourage my customers to read their original warranty. Things are spelled out clearly in the warranty. Basically, a car manufacturer will pay for any defective parts or poor workmanship as like as you, the owner, has followed the maintenance schedule as stated in your owners manual. You are usually given a time frame, like seven years, that works along side a mileage limit, say the first 100,00 miles. Follow the suggested times about when you should change your oil, transmission fluid, battery checks, and so forth, and you are good to go.
Here's an overview of the covered parts and services. If they come from the car maker, they're covered by the auto manufacturers warranty. There will probably be varying coverage based on time or mileage. Anything that comes from an aftermarket manufacturer - tires, additional stereo or conversion components - are covered by the aftermarket manufacturers warranty. This will be in with the documents you get when you buy a new car. Remember to read these papers, since they tell you what is covered by who and for how long. You can avoid warranty headaches by keeping yourself informed. Maintenance products like filters wouldn't be covered, nor would things like belts and hoses, as they are expected to wear out.
When the paint on my Plymouth minivan went dull (de-laminated), I was faced with a $400 repair job. Many times people face nightmare outcomes as their warranties for the aftermarket parts not installed by the manufacturer have run out. My outcome, however, has a different outcome. I paid only $40 for this $400 job due to the following reasons. I asked and was given a goodwill-adjustment because of my owner loyalty, time in service, maintenance records, vehicle history, mileage and based upon whether any service contracts were in effect. I took the time to understand the warranty and got a written warranty disclosure. My preparedness and simple act of asking for help resulted in paying only $40 for a $400 repair. Manufactures often allow dealers or field reps to make such GOODWILL ADJUSTMENTS and I was able to take advantage of this kindness.
Some of the more common warranty terms are described here. Bumper to Bumper warranty covers all basic warranty and power train components for a set period, which varies by manufacturer. Corrosion warranty covers rust-through sheet metal damage, but excludes nicks, scratches and chips or owner negligent damage. Certain warranty coverages vary, so check the vehicle's warranty information card or the dealer for details. Safety Campaigns or Recalls are declared by the manufacturer when there is a safety concern and can occur at any time in the life of a vehicle. The owners are notified of the recall by the manufacturer and instructed to bring their vehicle into the dealer, who will check the VIN number to see if the vehicle is affected in the specific campaign. This work is completed at the dealer, and is no charge to the owner.
There is more to discuss about warranties. I may perhaps deal with it when I write about this later. I recommend that you take the effort to learn more about this. Meet the manager of your dealership and ask him to explain to you every thing that you need to know. Let me assure you that hidden warranty does not exist. Dealers earn money from the factory for the warranty campaigns they perform. It is therefore useless to blame the local dealer for not covering certain operations under hidden warranty. They would gladly oblige you if such a thing existed because warranty campaigns bring in money for them. I hope I have made this clear to you. - 21396
About the Author:
Rand Stuck is a BMW master technician with over 12 years experience. He currently manages the online parts department of a BMW parts retailer. You can find more extended-Warranty information and BMW parts at AutoWerks.
posted by X - Men @ 12:58 AM
0 Comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home