Manufacturer’s Handbook Service
Something your dealer probably didn’t mention about your new car is that you don’t need to have your new car serviced by your dealer to maintain statutory warranty.
Here are the facts about your new car’s statutory warranty.
- A KDS service will NOT void your statutory warranty.
- A KDS service strictly follows all the procedures recommended by your vehicles manufacturer.
- A KDS service only uses high quality service parts Its your car and you DO have a choice.
- KDS will give your vehicle handbook the stamp of approval.
Once your service is complete, our qualified technicians will stamp your vehicles handbook as a record of regular maintenance. This can be very important when it comes to achieving a higher resale value for your car.
Other Facts About Warranty Issues: Manufacturers Log Book Servicing.
What the ACCC says about new car statutory warranties
Can you get your car serviced by someone other than the business or an authorised agent of the business that sold the car without voiding the warranty? The short answer is ‘yes’.
Though there are some conditions:
New vehicle warranty
Where a problem arises with the vehicle that is covered under the warranty, the vehicle should be taken to the dealer for repair. Those repairs should be done for free of charge under the warranty.
New and used vehicle servicing
In relation to general servicing, motor vehicle dealers are entitled to insist that any servicing performed on cars they sell is carried out by qualified staff, according to the manufacturer’s specifications, and using genuine or appropriate quality parts where required. Provided these conditions are met, regardless of where you choose to get your car serviced, your warranty will remain intact. So shop around.
Qualified and Licenced Technicians
Qualified and Licenced Technicians are a party or parties, other than an ‘authorised dealer’, who is capable of performing car servicing. Some servicing venues display qualification certificates, but if you’re not sure the staff are qualified, just ask.
Manufacturer’s specifications
If an independent agent implies that it can perform general car servicing to manufacturers’ specifications and does not perform that function satisfactorily, then you have rights and remedies against the agent regardless if whether the agent has factory qualifications or not.
Genuine or appropriate quality parts
The issue here is not who manufactured the part/s, it is whether the part/s are fit or appropriate for the purpose intended. If a part is non-genuine, but is interchangeable with the genuine part, it could be seen as being fit or appropriate for the purpose and would therefore not void the manufacturer’s warranty. However, it must also be noted that should the part/s installed fail or not perform satisfactorily, the consumer then has rights against the fitter and/or manufacturer of those replacement parts. If the non-genuine part fails, and causes some other damage to the vehicle, the dealer and vehicle manufacturer will not be liable for damage caused by the failure of that part.
The above information is extracted from Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Consumer Express publication, April 2005, Issue 1445-9671.
What is statutory warranty?
Statutory Warranties are implied by law and give consumers a minimum level iof protection for goods and services. Statutory warranties are different to Express Warranties. A dealer or manufacturer may give an Express Warranty which will have its own conditions which you should review. However, these conditions cannot override Statutory Warranties. Further information on warranties is available from the ACCC.