Car servicing /warranty (NRMA)

[snajper]

Hi ,

My car still has 4 1/2 years worth of Honda factory warranty and is regulary serviced by Honda dealer. I find them very expensive and was thinking about getting my car serviced by newly openned NRMA car service centre in Liverpool.

The law states that Honda is not allowed to void your warranty if you service the car by a proper mechanic. What are your thoughts. Should I stick with the dealer or take it to NRMA.($80 -$100 less for minor service)

[Nibbler]

I too have had shoddy service from my local dealer so will in future be using my local mechanic.
In general, I think you'd have to be very unlucky to have a genuine warranty claim on most modern cars, and as you say, as long as it's serviced accoring to the book, they should not be able to deny a claim.
I keep most of my cars for quite a long time (10yrs or 200K) is a general rule for me, and as long as you can demonstrate a regular sevice history at trade in time you should do alright with a trade in price.
However if you update more often (2-5 yrs) a dealer service history may help the trade.
Nibbler

[blk05gli]

get servicing done by your local/trusted mechanic/workshop and make sure the book gets stamped.

[jnancarrow]

get servicing done by your local/trusted mechanic/workshop and make sure the book gets stamped.

Yup. Find yourself a good mechanic who does what you want and stick with them. For my X-Trail, the local mechanic (Lanyon Service Centre - Canberra) was legendary. They were more than happy for me supply my own oil (fully synth thanks) WITHOUT tweaking the price up (a lot will :thumbdwn:). They also cleaned and oiled my K&N filter without asking or charging and were always prompt and professional.

Compare that to a dealership I went through (for a Ford) where they busted ball joints, cracked door seals and forgot to replace hose clamps :o

Joe.

[jnancarrow]

The law states that Honda is not allowed to void your warranty if you service the car by a proper mechanic. What are your thoughts. Should I stick with the dealer or take it to NRMA.($80 -$100 less for minor service)

Yup, that's an anti-competition and price-fixing thing. As long as the mechanic is qualified and uses the correct parts, Honda MUST honour your factory warranty. Extended warranties are a COMPLETELY different kettle of fish, they normally mandate that the car be serviced by a dealership. They're allowed to do this as the warranty is beyond that which the law requires, so they're allowed to tack conditions on.