Reminder About EU Rules Relating To Car Servicing
Wednesday, 5. October 2011
Auto Express recently reminded us that since the changes to European Regulation 461/2010 (Motor Vehicle Block Exemption) you can have your car serviced at an independent garage and provided they carry out all work in accordance with the rules set down by the manufacturer your warranty will be honoured. That is fine and I totally agree but they finished off their piece by saying that you shouldn’t expect any goodwill gestures should something go wrong when the car goes out of warranty!
God they make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when they say such ridiculous things. First of all very few manufacturers will take a blind bit of notice if you complain about a faulty part once the warranty has run out, irrespective of the garage you used to service the car.
But more important is the liberal use of the expression ‘goodwill gesture’. The manufacturer often says something along the lines of ‘As you are aware the warranty was 2 weeks out of date when you made your claim but as a gesture of goodwill we will pay half the cost of repairs.
No mate, cars aren’t automatically expected to go faulty after 3 years, or however long the warranty lasts, it’s expected to last a lot bloody longer and if a part goes faulty because of poor manufacture or because it wasn’t fit for purpose you should legally have the item replaced or repaired free of charge under the terms of the Sale of Goods Act.
Forget all this gesture of goodwill malarkey, get your car serviced wherever you want, as long as it is a proper garage and conforms to the manufacturers requirements then challenge the supplying dealer over any faults without waiting for them to offer a ‘gesture of goodwill’. I need a cup of tea now! By Graham Hill
