New Car Service – What Affects My Warranty?
Having your new car serviced for the first time can be a bit nerve wracking. On one hand you don’t want to jeopardise your warranty but, on the other you know it could cost you an arm and leg compared to your local qualified service mechanic. So the question is, what to do?
You might not know a lot about cars, but your car is brand new, and you want to keep it that way, so you want it looked after properly. The log book you got with your car will tell you when each service is due, either in time frames or kilometres, whichever is the earlier.
Now, logic will tell you that the dealership you bought the car from will have expert technicians who are familiar with your particular car and have access to the correct parts that might need fitting if anything was wrong. However, quite often their charges are exorbitant - after all this is a new car service, which you are pretty sure doesn’t involve any parts.
To help you decide, you generally are not obligated to have your car serviced by the dealer; however if something should go wrong, by having stayed with the dealer throughout you are pretty much covered with any warranty claim.
If you have a good relationship with your local licensed auto workshop and you know they do a good job for a reasonable price, there is nothing to stop you taking your car there. But it’s a good idea to check your warranty to verify whether there are any particular conditions that need to be adhered to, and that only replacement parts that are approved are used.
Keep in mind, another factor for consideration is that having a good service history for your car helps to maintain its value when selling it.