Car warranty and dealer services

Hmmm, here comes the pub talk. 'As I understand it....'

Define 'competent person' or 'competent mechanic'
Licensed?
Experienced?
Trained?
Certified?
Has read the manual?

Here comes the can of worms.

Competent person would mean a licensed and qualified motor mechanic wouldn't it?
I can't imagine it would go well for you in a legal dispute if your "competent person' was just a mate Jimbo from the pub who was a bit handy with a spanner

[QUOTE] "I have a perfectly competent mechanic working a few blocks away"

Good question....... competent at what?

For starter it means very little, everyone is competent until something goes wrong and they can't fix it.

In automotive today a once really good mechanic is worth nothing if they don't have the knowledge, backup or equipment to support a customer and his vehicle.

I know a few really good mechanics in country areas and yes city areas, there only downfall is they don't believe in attending training courses, are not subscribed to any automotive information databases like Boyces, Autodata, TAT or Repco Autotech, and there equipment is outdated.

But they are really good mechanics.

We do a lot of training and are members of the above four databases, we get regular information on recalls, known problems to look for, how to fix and tips and tricks on these vehicles...... and regularly buy updated or new service tools and equipment.

Things have changed and if a really good competent mechanic doesn't keep up to the times they fall behind very fast.

What I am saying is what you might think makes a good mechanic might be different to what I think a good mechanic is.

A service is more than just changing the oil and a quick visual inspection....

Plus your Dmax only has to get serviced every 10,000k or six months, I'm sure you could schedule a service to coincide with a trip to the BIG smoke.

As I said, I am a firm believer in looking after the vehicle. Walking home isn't an option so the person in question is a qualified, registered mechanic. I am not interested in saving money or cutting corners on servicing

Actually the manufacturers legal requirements are in their handbook
You don't need genuine parts either heck dealers often don't use them
However you hsvr s point on Internet advice
Your local raa or whatever will give you the best info legally

It just make life a hell of alot easier for a warranty claim if you use genuine parts as opposed to aftermarket..... and why would you not use genuine parts, $14.00 for a genuine oil filter or $6.00 for a aftermarket one..... if you can't afford $14.00 extra a year for genuine maybe you should not have a new car!

We always use genuine parts on vehicles under manufactures warranty.

To comply with new vehicle warranties all you have to do is use a licensed mechanic, a business doing mechanical repairs and follow the factory service schedule.

Agree with Olcoolone. if you stick with genuine parts at least then if you end up in a dispute you are only arguing incorrect installation rather than trying to prove that the aftermarket product did not cause a problem, very difficult and costly grey area that you enter into.

Saving money was never the question

I'm with you.

I would take the vehicle to the dealer for the first 12 months and after that do all oil and filter changes myself.

The A/ C on my Colorado failed after 2.5 yrs of the 3 year warrenty and as I took it to a non GM workshop for diagnostics the GM dealer wanted me to pay for all work ( at their prices) and to make a claim on GM who would make a determination as to weather or not they would pay up.

My next ute will be a D-Max.

Jerry.

Jerry; thats a bit silly on your behalf, why didn't you take it further and it would of got fixed under warranty.

If you pay a non authorised repaired to diagnose a problem then yes you have to pay for it and claim it back from the manufacture...... if the dealer sublet the work then it has be authorised and you pay nothing.

We do a lot of work for dealers and if we find a problem on a new vehicle still under warranty we notify the dealer.

A dealer makes more money out of subletting work when under warranty then the do if they did it in house.

The only stuff that may be declined for a warranty claim is if you caused the problem and it's not the manufacturer's fault..

Ah Olcoolone its all water under the bridge now. I got so pissed off just talking with the dealer etc. etc. I just paid for it to be done by the A/C people. I learned my lesson though.

Jerry.

Hi ya The Landy,

Re: The question is do they have the expensive equipment that authorized dealerships are required to have that provide access to all the ECU codes etc?

These codes are really easy to access and modify. The plug carrying the data bus is accessible under the steering column and there are heaps of units available available to read and modify the codes.

There is even a bluetooth dongle made by Garmin that access these codes and displays relevant data on their navigators... See ECO Route.

Jerry.

To be a little bit more helpful here is a reference to Onboard Diagnostics:

http://www.diagnosticscanner.net/automotive-scanner.php

Jerry.

Jeremy.... I can honestly tell you you are so far of the money it's not funny.

If it was so easy why do you think we have 4 scan tools in our workshop....each at $7000-$14000 each.

There is stuff we still can't access and it has to go back to the dealer for programming, a lot of dealer programming is now done on-line from the manufacture.

There are so many manufactures of components and parts on one given vehicle it's beyond a joke..... each manufacturer will only provide enough information to a vehicle manufacture and each other thats needed.

It's not uncommon to have a Bosch system talking to a Denso system talking to a Delphi system and each manufacturer is very protective of the proprietary information.

AArrhh the internet makes it seem so simple.

So you have done code modifications on ECU's, what have you done?

We had to get a function modified on a vehicle's ECU for a specific job...... $9000 later and having to get it done in the USA we had to solution, this included purchasing a licence to access the software..... guess what it was on a Commodore.

Have I modified the ECU ?

Absolutely none !!

Just pointing out some of the stuff I was interested in. I guess there will be all levels of kit available just like the stuff that I used professionally and the stuff I use at home.

Jerry.

Jeremy, reprogramming automotive stuff is very hard and expensive, the only time someone will develop limited access software is if there is a need like Holden, Ford and Subaru power upgrades.... but it is limited in what can be done other than changing fuel mapping, boost, ignition and cam timing.

You read stuff on the net and it seems so simple, but it's not..... people get the impression a scan tool will tell you everything easily, we have customers who come in and we tell them we will have to use a scan tool...... there most common comments are "oh so it's an easy fix" or "as simple as that".

A scan tool will only tell so much and may not even lead you to the problem, we use data logging software and data flows more to diagnose a problem than just looking at fault codes..... I often refer to a scan tool as a street directory, it will tell you roughly where to look but it won't give the house number..... really bad if there is 356 houses on the street.

Then the rest comes down to good old diagnostics..... checking voltage, earths, resistance, loose or corroded pins, wire, plugs and sockets. We also have a big magnifying glass to look closely at boards for signs of damage.

Getting back to this Holden problem we had; in the early development stages we actually crashed 3 Holden ecu's... we corrupted the boot sector and it would not load any software or firmware..... back to Holdens for ecu replacement and reprogramming, it cost us about $500 a pop.

All noted Olcoolone. I'm of the school that preaches " If it's working then don't fix it". Modifications? I try not to ! Understanding ? Yes. So if a scan tool helps in the "understanding department" then that's good for me. Playing around with the control codes takes very specialist knowledge and understanding ... Not my field, but still very interesting stuff.

Jerry.

PS. I have given up using the name Jeremy. For 30 yrs at work they called me Jerry then the yanks called me Jeremiah (was a bull frog)
Then I gave up.

JRW.