You DON’T have to Service your car at a Main Dealer!

This is a question we hear a LOT - “Do I have to have my car serviced by a dealership to keep my new car warranty?” The answer is NO. Rest assured new car owners, in order to maintain your new car warranty you don’t have to return to the expensive car dealership’s service centre.

 Local service garages ARE cheaper than main dealers. Your main dealer service centre may offer you freshly supplied patisserie, organic coffee, tea water and luxurious leather chairs but you often pay more for these privileges. We know this first hand after undertaking a new car service for a local owner - After spitting out their organic coffee with shock at a price that was quoted for a service, we were able to save them over £250 for exactly the same service!!!

 Your RIGHT to REPAIR (and Service)

There is a lot of confusion out there when it comes to servicing a newer car. The reassuring bit is that you don’t need to worry. The law has been pretty clear on allowing car owners to make their own decisions on servicing for many years now. There are some car dealerships out there who will mislead you into thinking that only they can service your car without affecting the warranty. This is rather naughty as legislation gives you the “Right to Repair.”
No manufacturer can force a buyer to have their car serviced by the official dealership network. They can’t refuse to honour a new car warranty just because the car was serviced somewhere else. The legislation requires all car manufacturers to offer at least a two-year unlimited mileage new car warranty on all their new cars (from date of registration), regardless of any change of ownership.

One thing that the car manufacturer DOES have the right to do is to set a servicing schedules, which is something that all our staff at Richards Auto Services avidly adhere to.

The great news is that many manufacturers offer new car warranty terms that are much longer than the minimum two-years. Some manufacturers even offer 5 and 7 year warranties but again, the good news is that we can help you maintain your new car warranty with the right service plan for any make and model.

The 6 essentials for new car warranty servicing

So, you now know that you have the right to take your car to any local garage or mechanic for servicing. But to validate your new car warranty you must ensure that your garage, like us covers the following criteria

1. Your garage is VAT registered
2. It only uses main dealer or manufacturer specified parts and lubricants
3. They follow your car manufacturer’s service schedule
4. Your servicing is done within the given dates
5. Your car’s service book is stamped or your digital service book is updated by the garage
6. They provide an invoice or receipt for the work done as proof

Car repairs might be the exception

If your car requires repairs under its new car warranty, the manufacturer has the right to insist that this work is undertaken by its official dealerships. This is entirely fair and very reasonable since the manufacturer is paying for this work, and not you. Otherwise, if you are paying for the work then YOU have the right to choose who does the work.

Bought an extended warranty?

Car dealers sometimes offer you extended warranties for both new and used cars . These are not usually provided by the manufacturer and are really an insurance policy. The requirements may be different so you may actually be tied to your original dealer for servicing.

In summary, you CAN choose your local garage

New Car Warranty Experts – local garages know as much as the main dealers about maintaining your car within warranty guidelines.

Save Money – The manufacturer’s parts may cost the same but the labour costs and huge profit margins will be substantially lower!

 Trust – You know your local garage and we will always treat you like a person, not a number on a database.

 Flexibility – As we are independent garages we can work around you.

We Can Check Your Service History – You don’t need a main dealer to do this, we also have all the tools to check your service history and tell you what your car needs.

Every Make & Model – If you are a 2-car household and want both of your cars serviced at the same place that’s not a problem. Your cars may be by different manufacturers but we can complete both services to manufacturer standards. Keeping your new car warranties valid at a fraction of the price.

If your car is one, ten or 100 years old in need of a service please get in touch.