manufacturers warranty on imports

loyatemu

OK - I know european law says that manufacturers have to honour their warranties even if you imported the car from (say) the UK, but has anyone actually put this to the test?

I'm thinking of importing a 1 year old car (VW) from the UK - it will have 2 years manufacturers warranty left on it. However I can't see any VW dealer over here being too keen to do any warranty work on it - why would they want to facilitate someone who is undercutting their business?

anyone any experience of this?

crosstownk

The warranty is European. They cannot refuse to do the work. VW dealers are not keen to do any warranty work in the first place, so you won't really get much more hassle and grief than the regular VW customer.

loyatemu

crosstownk wrote:

The warranty is European. They cannot refuse to do the work. VW dealers are not keen to do any warranty work in the first place, so you won't really get much more hassle and grief than the regular VW customer.

possibly true - but the regular customer is presumably bringing the car back to the garage he bought it from, so the garage:

knows him

already has his money

(possibly) sees him as a future repeat customer

whereas in my case I'm just some jerk they've never seen before, have never made any money from and having imported once I'm hardly likely to buy a car from them in the future, am I. Its not in their interest to make life easy for me.

But we're just speculating here - anyone have any actual experience?

crosstownk

Remember that VW pay the dealer for warranty work - and at full labour rates, but the repair times are tight and there is no leeway. It's not the best form of income for a dealer, but if they do it right they shouldn't loose.

I've hundreds of VWs on fleet (all sourced from Irish dealers) so would be a little more valuable to VW than the usual private car buyer - but do you think that makes any difference in the attitude I get from VW? - not a bit. If anything, the attitude I get is worse "sure it's only a fleet car".

This is true for other manufacturers too, but not for all.

ismynametoolong

It is Eu law that the warranty must be honoured on EU spec vehicles.
that is vehicles produced for the EU market but not necessarily manufactured in the EU.There are plenty of ways the garage can make it difficult and the most common is on the Service history. Just make sure you have a fully stamped up and verifiable service book with the car and remember under EU
block exemption law the service history does not have to be from a main dealer for that brand but must be from whats called an equal standard workshop. Once you know your rights just be prepared for the long wait when booking in for warranty repairs on an import but that cant be helped !

grahamo

I imported a Suzuki last year. I was told by Suzuki UK that I would have to pay an Irish garage for any work done under warranty and to claim the money back from Suzuki UK. This would be a pain in the ass. A lot of red tape.

R.O.R

crosstownk wrote:

I've hundreds of VWs on fleet (all sourced from Irish dealers) so would be a little more valuable to VW than the usual private car buyer - but do think that makes any difference in the attitude I get from VW? - not a bit. If anything, the attitude I get is worse "sure it's ony a fleet car".

2nd that!

Also, if you haven't already heard MSL (who "own" VW, Audi etc in Ireland) won't be around from the middle of next year - it's transferring to Volkswagen themselves - if it works anything like Opel or BMW in Ireland then it's more or less a branch of the UK anyway.

crosstownk

grahamo wrote:

I imported a Suzuki last year. I was told by Suzuki UK that I would have to pay an Irish garage for any work done under warranty and to claim the money back from Suzuki UK. This would be a pain in the ass. A lot of red tape.

That sounds a bit odd - but if it is the case I'd want it writing from Suzuki UK.

TomMc

Hopefully you will not need any warranty work, at least straight away. That way when the next service is due you can establish a relationship of sorts with a main stealer, first.

crosstownk

R.O.R wrote:

if you haven't already heard MSL (who "own" VW, Audi etc in Ireland) won't be around from the middle of next year - it's transferring to Volkswagen themselves - if it works anything like Opel or BMW in Ireland then it's more or less a branch of the UK anyway.

The transition is apparently underway at the moment and should be complete by mid 2008. Whether or not it makes any difference remains to be seen.

R.O.R

crosstownk wrote:

The transition is apparently underway at the moment and should be complete by mid 2008. Whether or not it makes any difference remains to be seen.

Seemed to work for both BMW and Opel don't you think? Fingers crossed for VW / Audi although I have no issues with my main supplier on the new car side, but maintenance is a different story.

grahamo

crosstownk wrote:

That sounds a bit odd - but if it is the case I'd want it writing from Suzuki UK.

I agree. It does seem a weird way to do business but That's the answer I got in the e-mail from them. I wonder do other car manufacturer's work that way.?

bazz26

I think if the car was an original Europe spec car and intended to be sold in Europe then the manufacturer is obliged to honour any warranty work carried out under EU law.

Jap imports are not included in this afaik as they were never intended for the European market. These are clased as "grey imports" and manufactures will usually tell you their warranty is not applicable in the EU state.

I remember vaigly reading an article a couple of years ago. A few Toyota dealers were importing a couple of brand new 3.0 litre D-4D Toyota Hi-Lux from Japan or Malaysia which were not officially offered in the EU. Toyota refused to give a warranty on them and afaik instructed their dealer network not to sell them here as they were not made to EU specifications.

crosstownk

R.O.R wrote:

Seemed to work for both BMW and Opel don't you think? Fingers crossed for VW / Audi although I have no issues with my main supplier on the new car side, but maintenance is a different story.

Totally agree with the difference with BMW since Frank Keane lost importation rights - not they were the worst before the transition.

The problem with VW/Audi is that while the importation/distribution element will change hands, the motoring public will still, unfortunately, have the likes of MSL, Belgard, Frank Hogans, Western Motors, etc, etc, to deal with. How long it takes any changes to filter down to dealer level is the key.

crosstownk

grahamo wrote:

I agree. It does seem a weird way to do business but That's the answer I got in the e-mail from them. I wonder do other car manufacturer's work that way.?

The Suzuki case is the first I've heard of a customer having to claim money back. Most manufacturers just process a warranty repair on an import in identical fashion to 'native' car.

You should ask a Suzuki dealer in Ireland what would happen if a UK Suzuki ended up in their workshop for warranty repairs. It would be interesting to see if their response tallied with that of Suzuki UK.

MercMad

ismynametoolong wrote:

It is Eu law that the warranty must be honoured on EU spec vehicles.
that is vehicles produced for the EU market but not necessarily manufactured in the EU.There are plenty of ways the garage can make it difficult and the most common is on the Service history. Just make sure you have a fully stamped up and verifiable service book with the car and remember under EU
block exemption law the service history does not have to be from a main dealer for that brand but must be from whats called an equal standard workshop. Once you know your rights just be prepared for the long wait when booking in for warranty repairs on an import but that cant be helped !

..........the problem therefore is who decides what is and what is not an "equal standard workshop". That is a grey area in itself !

Del2005

loyatemu wrote:

OK - I know european law says that manufacturers have to honour their warranties even if you imported the car from (say) the UK, but has anyone actually put this to the test?

I'm thinking of importing a 1 year old car (VW) from the UK - it will have 2 years manufacturers warranty left on it. However I can't see any VW dealer over here being too keen to do any warranty work on it - why would they want to facilitate someone who is undercutting their business?

anyone any experience of this?

A person I work with got a Focus in the UK and had warranty work done on it here. No problems what so ever.

Also what if you bought the car in Cork and where based in Donegal? Would your local dealer refuse to honor the manufactures warranty? Most dealers make their money on servicing and other work not selling it.

MercMad

Most dealers make their money on servicing and other work not selling it.

...........ermm ........no they dont ! In fact most established dealerships would prefer not to bother with servicing at all !

loyatemu

thanks for all your replies guys.

btw anyone bought off Motorpoint in Glasgow or Burnley?

BnA

I bought an 18 month old Mazda 6 in the Uk.

Since bringing it in I had two small jobs done in Muike O Dwyers (Main Mazda Dealer in Limerick) under warranty. No bother or fuss at all. They just checked the chassis number, verified that it was still under warranty and done the work.

Dwilly

I bought my 04 Audi new in the UK and moved back to Dublin in 05. There's a three year warranty in the UK but in Ireland it was only two. Audi dealer in Dublin said they wouldn't honour it past 2 years, luckily the driveshaft went just before the end of the 2 years. No trouble since.

UK dealer said they'd only honour the 3 year warranty if all the servicing was done with them, not really practical once you leave the country!

Tipsy Mac

Some distributors in Ireland only offer the bare legal minimum 2 years warrenty in Ireland despite offering 3 years in rest of Europe so I would imagine by EU law if the warrenty is transferrable it would be on the source country that the term would apply.

crosstownk

Tipsy Mac wrote:

Some distributors in Ireland only offer the bare legal minimum 2 years warrenty in Ireland despite offering 3 years in rest of Europe so I would imagine by EU law if the warrenty is transferrable it would be on the source country that the term would apply.

EU law allows for a minimum of 2 years warranty - anything above and beyond that is importer/distributor specific.

xax

Hi.

I plan to buy 2(both company cars) new cars one from the uk hopefully a 2004 Audi A3 which I intent to sell here in Ireland after about 3 months. I intend to take out a warranty on the car in the uk from an insurance company for 12 months. My question is can I pass the warranty on to the person I sell to in Ireland?

I am also buying a 2005 Mazda Rx-8 from Japan. Am I covered in Ireland by manufacturer's warranty or not? IF not am I able to take out a warranty on the car from an insurance company either in Ireland or the UK?

Thanks