Most people don’t like dealing with car issues. I personally hate it. I’m at the car dealership right now getting an oil change and a warranty service done on my car. I bought my car new from this very same dealership. Supposedly, that’s why they’re doing my warranty service free of charge this time. I’m sure that’s the only reason…
I guess it shouldn’t really get to me because I am at a car dealership, but sometimes I just can’t help but shake my head and wonder what the hell people are thinking sometimes. Maybe I’m just complaining about it, but I don’t care. I’m sharing it with you because maybe you’ll benefit from it in some way or another.
Did you get extended warranty?
No I did not. I think all of that extra warranty stuff is just a way for them to siphon some extra money off of you. One of the reasons behind why I decided to buy a new car was because I didn’t want to inherit someone else’s car problems and I trusted that the brand behind my car purchase was reliable (Toyota).
If all that is true then why would I fork over extra money for “in case” situations? I bought this car so I could avoid most of the “in case” crap.
I do understand that some people just like having that “insurance” by getting that extended warranty. But guess what. They wouldn’t be selling you extended warranties if it wasn’t profitable for them. The only reason why they try to sell it to you is because it helps their bottom line.
Don’t get caught up in the idea that paying for an extended warranty is a way to mitigate your risk with the car. Sometimes even though you’re under warranty you might not be able to get everything you thought you had covered. They’ll usually try and find something in the fine print that says that it’s not covered under your warranty. They’re pretty good at that.
How to get the warranty that came with your car manufacturer
For my new Toyota the comprehensive warranty was for 3 years, or 36,000 miles. I had read the warranty manual that came with the new car and as far as I could tell my rear hatch was supposed to be covered under the basic warranty coverage. It included “defects in workmanship” and it seemed to me that the rear hatch not closing after normal use would fall into that defect category pretty easily.
When I brought my car in though the manager at the service center told me that I would have to pay for the service tech time. I told him that it was under warranty from the manufacturer and that parts and labor should be covered according to my warranty manual. He tried to tell me that since it was a service adjustment and not a parts change that it was not covered and that I would have to pay.
I wasn’t backing down because I had read and researched before I came into the dealership and I knew others on the forums were taking in their Toyotas with the same problem and getting their vehicles fixed under warranty. I eventually mentioned this while he was searching for the warranty info, and that may or may not have swayed him.
In any case, he was trying to find something in his Toyota warranty manual which verified that what I wanted done wasn’t covered by the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty I had from Toyota. He couldn’t find anything to show me though. Why? Because it simply isn’t true.
He was either flat out lying to me or he didn’t know what he was talking about. And this is a manager that I’m talking about here. I found it extremely strange that I had to fight for my right to get a warranty service done that was covered. Other people may have instead just paid for it thinking they really weren’t covered.
he spent about 10 minutes trying to find something in the warranty info that said my service wasn’t covered. Eventually I told him I had seen others mention online that they had done the service while under warranty. then he asked me whether or not I purchased the car with them. I told him I did, and then he said since I did purchase the car there that they would do the service for free for me because I purchased it there.
I don’t believe for a second that’s why they’re doing the warranty service for free. First of all, I was looking right at the computer screen and there was a section that said I had purchased the vehicle from that dealership. It was clear as day.
Why ask me that question when you know the answer? Maybe it’s because you know you were wrong and you wanted to find a reason to be able to go back on your mistake? This way you can make it look like you’re doing me a favor by doing the warranty service on your dime because I bought the car with you.
Why not just admit that you were wrong and just do the service like you’re supposed to do? Toyota is paying for it because it IS under warranty. I had told him while he was searching for the warranty info that I would be more than happy to talk to Toyota about the warranty service to see if it was covered. i guess he just put himself in a hole and he was trying to dig himself out of it.
I didn’t call him out on anything though. I was polite and just let it be, pretending to be thankful that he was doing me a favor by doing the service for free. It really doesn’t matter to me as long as I get the free warranty service that I’m supposed to get. I’m not about to believe that he did me a favor though.
What can you learn from this?
I learned that even when you’re trying to get a correctly covered warranty service you might still have trouble getting it done. You might still be asked to pay for the service. You should always be ready before you go in to get a warranty service done. Research it beforehand and see what others have done in the same situation. It might help you get what you deserve. Also, with all the rules and fine print in these warranties maybe you’re better off just avoid any “extended warranties” all together. In the long run I’d bet that you’d come out ahead.