Are You Covered?

We’ve had a larger than normal number of customers over the past 2-3 months who were actually covered under their manufacturer’s warranty but didn’t know it. One was a 2014 Chrysler Town and Country minivan that came in yesterday with a transmission related code Autozone had pulled for him. He had less than 45,000 miles so I looked it up and found he was covered by a 5 year 100,000 mile warranty. I explained this to him and told him what he needed to do with the dealer to get it checked out and resolved.

I highly suggest you check your paperwork or, if you don’t have it, call the dealer service department and have them give you the “In Service Date” and the remaining warranty info (they will need your VIN number). Warranties are based on the month the vehicle was originally purchased when new. So, if your 2013 vehicle was originally purchased in April 2013, you’re now past the 5 years and out of warranty. So, you’re asking yourself why it is important to know this info if nothing is wrong with your car, right???

We had a 2013 Chevy Cruze with a manual transmission that was making noise referred to our shop and it arrived on May 4, 2018. Our diagnostics confirmed it was an internal transmission issue and, unfortunately, GM doesn’t sell the needed bearings so in order to fix it we have to install a remanufactured transmission or a good used one (we found a good used one with 21,000 miles for them and saved them $1200). Since it was lower miles and not too old I called the GM dealer first to check on warranty. Their warranty expired on April 30, 2018!! They missed it by 5 days but had been having the issue for 2+ months. Had they known their warranty details they could have avoided a big repair bill.

It is also important to know because not all repair shops will be willing to send you to the dealer for repairs for free when they can charge you. It is also beneficial to Google your car every so often or call then dealer and ask about any recalls or extended warranties. For example, I had a young lady call me about her 2014 Ford Focus the Tuesday after Harvey flooded everyone. She had her car at a local transmission franchise (they have 4-5 locations total) and they quoted her $4000 for a transmission. By asking her a few questions I was able to guide her on several important facts. 1.) Her specific car has transmission issues and is under a recall to have the transmission software reprogrammed for FREE 2.) She was still under warranty with less than 50,000 miles on her car 3.) They sold her an RDI for $600 meaning they told her they were taking it out to inspect it and then would give her a price – they NEVER took it out but, rather, just wanted her to think they did and that it was in pieces so she was trapped. She went to the shop immediately, got her car back at no charge and took it to Ford to fix it. I spoke to her a week later and it was fixed at NO CHARGE.

Again, KNOW YOUR WARRANTY because you can’t always trust that someone else is going to be honest with you and tell you about it….unless of course you follow my advice and find a reputable, ethical repair shop and stick with them.

Thank you and God bless!