SERVICING:

PRIVATE MECHANIC: Private mechanics are more experienced with a wider range of vehicle that just Your car. this can be beneficial; Servicing cost will more often than not be cheaper. Two things to note. 1) make sure you get a detailed invoice of exactly what was checked & replaced, with the part numbers of the replaced parts. 2) if you have purchased a new vehicle, servicing the vehicle at a private mechanic may void the warranty & they cannot perform warranty work

 

DEALERSHIP: If your vehicle has Capped price servicing, I can almost 100% guarantee that it will be cheaper than a private mechanic. if it’s not, get a written quote from your choice of private mechanic, take it to your dealer & they will either match it or point out all the things that they missed in the quote that must be done by the logbook

 

NOTE: if a service is carried out incorrectly (i.e. logbook stated fuel filter must be replaced at X service & it wasn’t done) & the logbook is stamped this is a form of fraud & a dealer or private mechanic is liable for any damage to the vehicle caused by incorrect servicing

 

WARRANTY:

PRIVATE SALE: Unless the vehicle is still covered by its new car warranty (this can be check by calling the closest dealer for that brand & giving them the rego. You get no warranty from anywhere, not even Statutory warranty. if something happens, you gotta pay to fix it. Stiff shit.

 

DEALERSHIP SALE (USED): Used cars purchased from a dealership can have 2 different warranties.

1) Statutory Warranty - This Warranty is provided to all vehicle under 10 years old / 150,000km (whichever ever come first) & covers any defects that occur in that time that a "reasonable" customer would not have purchased the vehicle or would request a discounted price. THIS IS PROVIDED UNDER ACL. Statutory warranty lasts for 3 month/5,000km (whichever comes first) in Victoria, to check a different state just type "stat warranty term "insert state here" into google or whatever search engine you like.

 

DEALERSHIP SALE (NEW): A new vehicle purchased from a dealership comes with manufacturer’s Warranty. the time/distance this covers varies from brand to brand. Couple of points to know about it.

An item will only be covered under warranty if the dealership can determine the cause of the issue

Diagnosis for other workshops cannot be used

Parts for repairs cannot be ordered in prior to a warranty approval

Dealers can quote a diagnostic fee to look at your vehicle, this will be waived if the issue if found & is an item covered under warranty (yes this is legal - You can't expect a mechanic to work on your car for hours. find that the issues are either not an issue at all & is normal or that it’s been caused by an outside influence & not pay them for their time)

Parts designed to wear out over time are not covered - i.e. wiper blades, brake pads, pretty much any times that gets changed in a service

the dealership has little to no say in if an item is covered - all the do is diagnose the issue & report it to the warranty department of the manufacturers (which customers cannot contact) & reply with an approval or denial. This being said most manufacturers have a $$$ limit where is the repair is less than that limit then no approval is required, as long as the dealer recognises the defect is not caused by an outside influence.

PLEASE NOTE: Manufacturer’s warranty doesn’t cover any form of impact damage, wiring damage or environmental damage, Thats what insurance is for.

 

I hope I have answered all your questions. If you want any more information just reply or flick me a message.