Kia Warranty

CiaraG75

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can clear up for me whether I actually have to use a main dealer to service my Kia in order to make sure I don't invalidate my warranty. I have always had my cars serviced by a very good local mechanic and would ideally like to keep that up - however, the Kia dealer I bought my Ceed from last year tried to tell me that I would have to get it serviced by them. I'velso been told that as long as the car is serviced according to the manufacturers' requirements, by a VAT-registered garage, the warranty will be valid. I can't find legislation or evidence of any of this anywhere - can anybody help?

bazz26

According to the terms and conditions listed here: http://www.kiamotors.ie/7yw, it has to be serviced at an authorised Kia dealership.

andyseadog

working for hyundai (kia's sister brand) they say that but.

not only does nobody ever check a service history when a warranty job is being carried out (never mind a main dealer service history), most of the time we fit spurious parts to cars still in warranty.

its a rule thats in no way enforced.

bazz26

Mmm, interesting. Was this for relatively small warranty work or would they perhaps be a bit more fussy if it was for something like a new engine?

andyseadog

never ever ever check ever. ever. seen thousands spent replacing high pressure diesel pumps, flywheels, work on major engine internals. on a few jobs they might check when the last service was but thats as far as it goes really.

though dealers do slightly frown upon you coming in to get warranty work done with them if you havnt had some retail servicing done with them (because they lose money hand over fist with warranty work) but they are also obliged to do it.

CiaraG75

thank for the replies, I think I'll take my chances and stick with the local man.

crosstownk

As with any manufacturer you do not have to have it serviced with the manufacturer appointed agent but you must have service to the manufacturers specification. More importantly, you need to be able to prove that it was serviced to manufacturers specification. Proving this is obviously much easier if you have a main dealer history.

retrobill

andyseadog wrote: »

working for hyundai (kia's sister brand) they say that but.

not only does nobody ever check a service history when a warranty job is being carried out (never mind a main dealer service history), most of the time we fit spurious parts to cars still in warranty.

its a rule thats in no way enforced.

As the manufacturer supplies the parts for warranty there is no way you can use spurious parts ,I think you should check your facts !

crosstownk

andyseadog wrote: »

working for hyundai (kia's sister brand) they say that but.

not only does nobody ever check a service history when a warranty job is being carried out (never mind a main dealer service history), most of the time we fit spurious parts to cars still in warranty.

its a rule thats in no way enforced.

And as such you invalidate the warranty that you are supposed to uphold.

Not to mention the fact that you are in breach of your aftersales agreement with Hyundai and run the risk of being fired as an authorised repairer.

Then there's the ethics of the whole thing. By fitting spurious parts you are doing a disservice to customers who trust you to do the right thing.

Scandalous.

frank gooding

Ah main stealers maing the point.

You will find that a good independant will always fit proper specified OEM part to keep the waranty conditions whereas a main dealer will always charge for OEM regardless.

Irony be thy name.

Not at all suprised though.

andyseadog

better clear this up before i start a riot

As the manufacturer supplies the parts for warranty there is no way you can use spurious parts ,I think you should check your facts !

i checked my facts and i realised im still right, i was just a bit unclear. yes the manufacturer supplies warranty parts, i meant spurious parts in a serviceable sense which i'l explain better further down.

And as such you invalidate the warranty that you are supposed to uphold.

Not to mention the fact that you are in breach of your aftersales agreement with Hyundai and run the risk of being fired as an authorised repairer.

Then there's the ethics of the whole thing. By fitting spurious parts you are doing a disservice to customers who trust you to do the right thing.

Scandalous.

i dont mean in a sense of massive items, more in a sense of consumables, wiper blades, fuses, bulbs, all fluids (oil, coolant, brake fluid etc) and the likes where manufacturers expect you to purchase it all from them, but in reality its just not good idea, when cheaper better quality items are available through motor factors.

you would never see the likes of major components, or particularly filter kits being used as spurious items as the quality can very massively.

andyseadog

another good example are plugs, opening any given plug in a manufacturer supplied branded box, there is a standard NGK plug inside. Dealers can buy these exact same plugs from a motor factors for less that half the manufacturer price, make a better margin on them and still retail them to the customer cheaper than the ones supplied by the manufacturers.

thats probably the only serviceable item that works out like that.

a lot of main dealer parts are not made by the manufacturer either way, for example, the diesel filters for example are made by delphi, where the exact same ones are available through motor factors, but there is a negligible price difference.

crosstownk

andyseadog wrote: »

i dont mean in a sense of massive items, more in a sense of consumables, wiper blades, fuses, bulbs, all fluids (oil, coolant, brake fluid etc) and the likes where manufacturers expect you to purchase it all from them, but in reality its just not good idea, when cheaper better quality items are available through motor factors.

you would never see the likes of major components, or particularly filter kits being used as spurious items as the quality can very massively.

I see where you trying to come from with this but you'd want read very carefully the Ts & Cs of your aftersales contract with Hyundai. It might be small fish but you're putting your hand out to be slapped.

I'm sure staff at Hyundai Ireland read these sort of threads :eek:

Only parts approved by the manufacturer will be entertained form a warranty perspective. If the part is made by Hitachi then grand but it better have come in a Kia box otherwise it's a Hitachi part and not a Kia part. Just because the part is from the same manufacturer is no guarantee that it has been manufactured to the same standard.

andyseadog

crosstownk wrote: »

I see where you trying to come from with this but you'd want read very carefully the Ts & Cs of your aftersales contract with Hyundai. It might be small fish but you're putting your hand out to be slapped.

I'm sure staff at Hyundai Ireland read these sort of threads :eek:

i genuinely forget the phrase but im just the monkey not the organ grinder. anyhow, like i said, nothing terminal, consumables, bulbs, wipers yada yada...

having previously worked for a motor factors too i wouldnt say it specifically my place of work, or even hyundai... in fact i dont think the manufacturers are too bothered by it, 98% of your own branded parts buying goes towards them.

but i understand your point, if they wanted an excuse, that could be it.


anyway, strayed way off topic here.

OP, if you want to be 100% certain, stick with main dealers, when it comes to servicing new cars, the price difference between main dealer and indo serivces wont be much. at the same time, as long as your car has been serviced when required i should think you would still stand a perfectly good chance of warranty claims.

Anan1

OP - Have you worked out how much you'd save by having the car serviced by a non-Kia dealer? Not all main dealers charge unreasonably - my Subaru dealer does an annual service on my Forester 2.5 turbo for €200. Be careful not to toss in your warranty to save buttons.

andyseadog

Anan1 wrote: »

OP - Have you worked out how much you'd save by having the car serviced by a non-Kia dealer? Not all main dealers charge unreasonably - my Subaru dealer does an annual service on my Forester 2.5 turbo for €200. Be careful not to toss in your warranty to save buttons.

this. the price difference in servicing new and nearly new cars is very small.

getting it done in a competent main dealer might also save you money, as the mechanics will know their own brand of cars inside out so wont be dilly dallying over things so there will be a labour saving.

crosstownk

andyseadog wrote: »

getting it done in a competent main dealer might also save you money,

But you may have shattered that illusion.....................

andyseadog wrote: »

working for hyundai .......... most of the time we fit spurious parts to cars still in warranty.

andyseadog

oh fine :rolleyes:

i may have exaggerated that to make my point. apologies, but i've told you the story, i can do no more.

i'l ad my final disclaimer in that, main dealers dont want to place themselves in a position where they will be left in a tricky situation where they used unsuitable parts, 'they aint no fools boii'! so i wouldn't be losing any sleep.

ive done my best to clear the air in my previous posts

crosstownk

andyseadog wrote: »

oh fine :rolleyes:

i may have exaggerated that to make my point. apologies, but i've told you the story, i can do no more.

See that's the thing - you told the story and then some. Why exaggerate? Just tell it as it is.

But thanks for the clarification.

andyseadog

crosstownk wrote: »

See that's the thing - you told the story and then some. Why exaggerate? Just tell it as it is.

But thanks for the clarification.

i do apologise. the christmas break has seen me spend sheer days on the computer and i become a bit 'anxious to make a point' via any means. i think what it really means is i need to get out a wee bit more:rolleyes:

i shant be so misguiding in the future and roll on monday.

Wheelnut

I think there's an EU law that stops dealers from insisting on their cars being serviced by them. You only have to have it serviced by a qualified person. This means of course that a dealer could ask to see the certificates of the mechanic who did the service in the event of a warranty claim.

Also, there's a lot of rubbish talked about spurious parts. The fact is that car makers are just assemblers who make their own major bits like bodies and engines, but buy in other stuff like bulbs, tyres, filters, etc. If you buy (say) a Ford filter you are really getting someone else's filter in a Ford box. I will retract this if anyone can give me the address of the Ford oil filter factory or the VW oil filter factory or the renault oil filter factory etc.

Just stay with the major brands like NGK, Mann, Delco, Bosch, Purolator etc. These are the suppliers of the OE stuff.

andyseadog

Wheelnut wrote: »

I think there's an EU law that stops dealers from insisting on their cars being serviced by them. You only have to have it serviced by a qualified person. This means of course that a dealer could ask to see the certificates of the mechanic who did the service in the event of a warranty claim.

Also, there's a lot of rubbish talked about spurious parts. The fact is that car makers are just assemblers who make their own major bits like bodies and engines, but buy in other stuff like bulbs, tyres, filters, etc. If you buy (say) a Ford filter you are really getting someone else's filter in a Ford box. I will retract this if anyone can give me the address of the Ford oil filter factory or the VW oil filter factory or the renault oil filter factory etc.

Just stay with the major brands like NGK, Mann, Delco, Bosch, Purolator etc. These are the suppliers of the OE stuff.

thats rather interesting. id imagine kia will have to run a tight ship offering a 7 year warranty anyway.

Anan1

Wheelnut wrote: »

Also, there's a lot of rubbish talked about spurious parts. The fact is that car makers are just assemblers who make their own major bits like bodies and engines, but buy in other stuff like bulbs, tyres, filters, etc. If you buy (say) a Ford filter you are really getting someone else's filter in a Ford box. I will retract this if anyone can give me the address of the Ford oil filter factory or the VW oil filter factory or the renault oil filter factory etc.

Just stay with the major brands like NGK, Mann, Delco, Bosch, Purolator etc. These are the suppliers of the OE stuff.

Be this as it may, I wouldn't like to be bringing in a car with a seized engine due to oil starvation with a non-standard oil filter on it.

andyseadog

Anan1 wrote: »

Be this as it may, I wouldn't like to be bringing in a car with a seized engine due to oil starvation with a non-standard oil filter on it.

that too is a good point you make, and true its not work the risk of a 4 figure repair bill.

it would be difficult to prove one way or the other though, as visually both the filters will be identical in terms of branding/ logos etc.

Wheelnut

andyseadog wrote: »

thats rather interesting. id imagine kia will have to run a tight ship offering a 7 year warranty anyway.

I think the piece of EU legislation I had in mind is called "block exemption"

Anan1 wrote: »

Be this as it may, I wouldn't like to be bringing in a car with a seized engine due to oil starvation with a non-standard oil filter on it.

I don't mean a fake filter in the genuine maker's logo, I mean putting a Mann filter on a VW or a Delco filter on an Opel etc. These companies are OE suppliers to the car makers.