No, you don’t, but that’s just the quick answer to that question. The dealer will have you believe that you have to take your vehicle into its service center to maintain your warranty, but unless your warranty specifies this, which it shouldn’t because the dealer can’t force you to do so, you can have maintenance work performed at any qualified mechanic. ER Autocare is a qualified mechanic, and we service numerous vehicles to keep their extended warranties active.
Your Warranty
The first thing you should do is read your warranty. Make certain any requirements are in line with the recommendations in your owner’s manual. Your owner’s manual is your vehicle’s bible, if you will, and it contains the manufacturer’s recommendations for service intervals and parts. Should your extended warranty require additional work, you might want to call the provider and find out why the warranty deviates from the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Required Service
All extended warranties require vehicles to be properly maintained per those manufacturer’s recommendations in order to remain valid. Should you fail to have recommended maintenance performed at proper mileage milestones, you run the risk of voiding your warranty. In the event you need to bring your vehicle to the dealer or another mechanic to have work performed under the warranty, you must be able to prove that you have maintained the vehicle as expected.
Proof
This is where the dealer might try to trick you into thinking you need to bring the vehicle to it for all maintenance and service. The dealer might say the visits are tracked in a computer so everything will be in the system when a warranty repair is needed, but you can still prove you had the work done. When you take your vehicle in for maintenance to a location other than the dealer, simply make sure you receive a detailed accounting of all the work performed.
It’s that simple. The mechanic can provide you with an estimate, all diagnostic reports, and a final bill that lists the work performed as well as the parts used. Store this paperwork in a file in your vehicle so you can show it to the dealer when you bring the vehicle in for work under the warranty. Provided the mechanic performed the maintenance required using recommended parts and fluids, the dealer cannot void the warranty, so don’t let it.
ER Auto Care in Plain City, OH, are vehicle maintenance experts. We know how to service your vehicle to keep it within you extended warranty restrictions. Call us today or stop by our shop on Lafayette-Plain City Road.
