[ehkewley]

This may be common knowledge to some, but I thought I'd share what I've learned about dealerships and warranties.

I had a miserable 30 minute chat with Hyundai Consumer Affairs after my Dealership decided that I live in a 'severe usage' area because my town has "a great deal of stoplights" and the salt / ice issue blablabla. They wanted to charge $320 about for a transmission flush and a radiator fluid flush for 30k miles. I asked if this was for every 30k and they said yep. So that's about $960 over the course of my warranty. I know dealerships are not great, but up until this point I had zero problems with them.

HCA states that the dealership is the ultimate authority on warranties. They also claim that the book is a guideline and "they know best". I pointed out that the book never even mentions severe usage for the radiator fluid, and that the transfer case fluid (awd) needs to be replaced at 30k if i'm in a sever usage area. Why didn't they recommend that too? Well they called the dealer while I was on hold and along with the stop lights crap they also informed me that they didn't think that they should have to replace the transfer case fluid every 30k even though the manual says so. So they get to have their cake and eat it too. lovely.

So then I said.. isn't there a potential conflict of interest here? If I choose to skip out on their recommendations and then have them deny me warranty when something breaks? THE HCA person said that they couldn't comment on that statement.

After that I asked. OK hypothetical question.. Say that I purchased my santa fe new, and never went to the dealership for repairs. I changed the oil myself and went to the trusty mechanic for the suggested maintenance and skip out on the severe usage because I didn't feel I lived in that area. What would happen if something broke and I went to the dealership? HCA stated that I'd be bound by the same restrictions, and it would be my responsibility to find out whether or not I was in a severe usage area.

So to sum things up, Dealership gets to pick things at random that need to be fixed. They skip some things, perhaps because the $$ to labor ratio is too low. They can and will refuse warranty at their discretion, and if you turn down suggested fixes, they very well may turn down warranty claims.

I talked to another Hyundai owner, and they suggested telling the dealership to pound sand, and try a few others in his area that should be more lenient. I'm not sure what they plan on saying, but at 35K miles and no signs of transmission failure, I'm taking a calculated risk of avoiding the dealership premiums and voiding my warranty.. at least for the transmission. I do plan on changing the fluid at 60k, but it won't be enough for the current dealership that I go to.


** EDIT **

Dear mods.. I was not trying to put any profanity in my subject line.. Honest Abe! I was referring to H - E double-hockey stick in the literal sense. I was damning my warranty as I felt that it had sinned and therefore belonged in the underworld... left to burn for all eternity with my letter from santa and BP stocks.

 

[bnelsonr]

Well that sucks.....

I have an appointment in the morning to check my front rotors. Applying the brakes lightly at 60 mph there is a rumbling sound and slight vibration. First thing they asked was if I had the brakes lubed at 7500 miles. I said no. They they start in for not having it done. I haven't checked the manual yet but have read posts on the subject.

The bottom line is I bought the Santy in Aug. 29, 2009 new, 32miles. At 3100 miles I had the same problem & they turned the rotors as they were out of round. I would have thought they would have lubed them at that time. It now has 12,100 miles on it. I will find out in the morning what the deal is.

Bruce

 

[ehkewley]

QUOTE (bnelsonr @ Aug 4 2010, 07:32 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=347197

Well that sucks.....

I have an appointment in the morning to check my front rotors. Applying the brakes lightly at 60 mph there is a rumbling sound and slight vibration. First thing they asked was if I had the brakes lubed at 7500 miles. I said no. They they start in for not having it done. I haven't checked the manual yet but have read posts on the subject.

The bottom line is I bought the Santy in Aug. 29, 2009 new, 32miles. At 3100 miles I had the same problem & they turned the rotors as they were out of round. I would have thought they would have lubed them at that time. It now has 12,100 miles on it. I will find out in the morning what the deal is.

Bruce

from what I understand you have to request those.. pretty sleazy eh?

 

[lovemysantafe]

QUOTE (ehkewley @ Aug 4 2010, 12:53 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=347145

Dear mods.. I was not trying to put any profanity in my subject line.. Honest Abe! I was referring to H - E double-hockey stick in the literal sense. I was damning my warranty as I felt that it had sinned and therefore belonged in the underworld... left to burn for all eternity with my letter from santa and BP stocks.

Don't worry. I figured out what you were trying to say. We won't hold it against you. :grin:

 

[looney]

you can take your car/truck anywhere you want for service... i use firestone, and still follow the manufacturer reccomendations for service. i save my receipts in case a dealer has a problem. if you do services yourself, just save the receipts for the parts. as far as the warranty, they have to honor it if you properly maintain your vehicle, regardless of whoever services it...

 

[pen411]

Odd, I replied to this thread but my post is missing..

If you are in the US, then your warranty is covered by the Magnuson-Moss Act, which basically prohibits tie in sales. Meaning, unless the warranty provider has demonstrated to the FTC that their product will only work with a specific item, they cannot require it's use to keep a warranty in force.

The following are examples of prohibited tie-in sales provisions.

In order to keep your new Plenum Brand Vacuum Cleaner warranty in effect, you must use genuine Plenum Brand Filter Bags. Failure to have scheduled maintenance performed, at your expense, by the Great American Maintenance Company, Inc., voids this warranty.

Source: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/adv/bus01.shtm

 

[ehkewley]

QUOTE (pen411 @ Aug 7 2010, 08:34 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=347869

Odd, I replied to this thread but my post is missing..

If you are in the US, then your warranty is covered by the Magnuson-Moss Act, which basically prohibits tie in sales. Meaning, unless the warranty provider has demonstrated to the FTC that their product will only work with a specific item, they cannot require it's use to keep a warranty in force.

The following are examples of prohibited tie-in sales provisions.

In order to keep your new Plenum Brand Vacuum Cleaner warranty in effect, you must use genuine Plenum Brand Filter Bags. Failure to have scheduled maintenance performed, at your expense, by the Great American Maintenance Company, Inc., voids this warranty.

Source: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/adv/bus01.shtm

Thanks for the info! I'll look into this.

 

[spennce]

I had the same experience. I live in colorado and understand severe usage. My wife however drives it to work and back mostly 40 to 60 miles per hour and we rarely go into mountains with her car.

Took in for 30,000 mile service and he said it would be $499. Said Tranny had to be flushed and coolant flushed. I told him that wasn't part of the 30,000 mile check but at 60,000. He said colorado was considered servere usage and that was how they were trained.

I asked for documentation and he couldn't provide any. He did tell me they wouldn't warranty the transmission if it wasn't flushed every 30,000 miles.

Obviously Hyundai is doing this simply to make a lot of money. I'm sure a class action lawsuit would slow down this behavior but don't have the energy to pursue.

 

[canderson]

QUOTE (spennce @ Aug 17 2010, 07:48 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=349915

He said colorado was considered servere usage and that was how they were trained.

There's definitely an assumption built into that that Hyundai can't back up. Big difference whether you're living and commuting those 40~60 miles from Longmont to Denver or Nederland to Denver, for example. Am curious - what dealer are you using?

 

[PoMansAWD]

QUOTE (spennce @ Aug 17 2010, 09:48 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=349915

He did tell me they wouldn't warranty the transmission if it wasn't flushed every 30,000 miles.

I would think a call to Hyundai consumer affairs would debunk that rather quickly and would bring that to the attention of the service adviser that told you that load of khrap. That's what sucks about dealerships. They are independently owned and operated business. They are not Hyundai. They just sell them. They'll tell you anything they want in regards to service. Yes they can and will muddy the waters in regards to warranty coverage because they are first line of defense (so to speak) for coverage. In the end, it's what's in your owner's manual that's the written requirements. All you have to do is show that to the service adviser that's giving you a hard time and watch them back pedal.

Joel

 

[tedrik]

QUOTE (ehkewley @ Aug 4 2010, 02:53 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=347145

This may be common knowledge to some, but I thought I'd share what I've learned about dealerships and warranties.

I had a miserable 30 minute chat with Hyundai Consumer Affairs after my Dealership decided that I live in a 'severe usage' area because my town has "a great deal of stoplights" and the salt / ice issue blablabla. They wanted to charge $320 about for a transmission flush and a radiator fluid flush for 30k miles. I asked if this was for every 30k and they said yep. So that's about $960 over the course of my warranty. I know dealerships are not great, but up until this point I had zero problems with them.

HCA states that the dealership is the ultimate authority on warranties. They also claim that the book is a guideline and "they know best". I pointed out that the book never even mentions severe usage for the radiator fluid, and that the transfer case fluid (awd) needs to be replaced at 30k if i'm in a sever usage area. Why didn't they recommend that too? Well they called the dealer while I was on hold and along with the stop lights crap they also informed me that they didn't think that they should have to replace the transfer case fluid every 30k even though the manual says so. So they get to have their cake and eat it too. lovely.

So then I said.. isn't there a potential conflict of interest here? If I choose to skip out on their recommendations and then have them deny me warranty when something breaks? THE HCA person said that they couldn't comment on that statement.

After that I asked. OK hypothetical question.. Say that I purchased my santa fe new, and never went to the dealership for repairs. I changed the oil myself and went to the trusty mechanic for the suggested maintenance and skip out on the severe usage because I didn't feel I lived in that area. What would happen if something broke and I went to the dealership? HCA stated that I'd be bound by the same restrictions, and it would be my responsibility to find out whether or not I was in a severe usage area.

So to sum things up, Dealership gets to pick things at random that need to be fixed. They skip some things, perhaps because the $$ to labor ratio is too low. They can and will refuse warranty at their discretion, and if you turn down suggested fixes, they very well may turn down warranty claims.

I talked to another Hyundai owner, and they suggested telling the dealership to pound sand, and try a few others in his area that should be more lenient. I'm not sure what they plan on saying, but at 35K miles and no signs of transmission failure, I'm taking a calculated risk of avoiding the dealership premiums and voiding my warranty.. at least for the transmission. I do plan on changing the fluid at 60k, but it won't be enough for the current dealership that I go to.


** EDIT **

Dear mods.. I was not trying to put any profanity in my subject line.. Honest Abe! I was referring to H - E double-hockey stick in the literal sense. I was damning my warranty as I felt that it had sinned and therefore belonged in the underworld... left to burn for all eternity with my letter from santa and BP stocks.

The dealerships ARE NOT the ultimate authority on warranties-although they'd like you to believe so. There's a reason for the severe/normal guidelines in the warranty book. If they tried to tell me any different and it resulted in a negative effect on my warrantee-I would take legal action and make it NEWSWORTHY!! I'm sure they would back off. The dealerships ultimate goal is to make as much money as possible with as little effort as possible. I worked as a car salesman for a few years and observed firsthand what They DO NOT DO when your vehicle is in for scheduled maintenance and what they CHARGE you for!! my .02 cents.

 

[Don67]

QUOTE (PoMansAWD @ Aug 17 2010, 11:35 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=349937

They are independently owned and operated business. They are not Hyundai.

QUOTE (tedrik @ Aug 17 2010, 12:00 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=349942

The dealerships ARE NOT the ultimate authority on warranties

Good points. Dealerships are merely licensed by Hyundai to carry out warranty work, and like any independent business they present a wide variety of ethics, competency, employee training and supervision, etc.

A bad dealership is like a pirate, using its "factory authorized" status as a license to steal. But a good dealership is your advocate. When I asked about towing and transmission service, my mechanic asked me how long I planned to keep the vehicle. When I said it was a lease he inspected the fluid, gave it an "all good" report in writing, and told me to save my money because Hyundai is not in the business of denying warranty claims, especially when the transmission fluid was inspected and found to be good. He did, however, recommend rear brake lubrication, which as anyone in this forum knows is good advice with the Santa Fe.

As for complaining about poor service, I generally save that for the businesses I like and want to help improve. For the true jerks, however, I just quietly take my business elsewhere and tell everyone but them. :59:

 

[ehkewley]

I'm basing my information on what Hyundai Consumer Affairs told me. If they claim that they trust the dealerships word and use them to rely on areas that are or are not considered sever usage, then I'm not going to trust them to know what's "best" for my vehicle just to keep a warranty intact. You may claim that they are not the authority, but I'll most likely take the word of HCA over hearsay.

I spoke with an HCA service rep and manager. If you feel I'm wrong, don't hesitate to call and find out for yourself.

 

[ehkewley]

QUOTE (PoMansAWD @ Aug 17 2010, 11:35 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=349937

I would think a call to Hyundai consumer affairs would debunk that rather quickly and would bring that to the attention of the service adviser that told you that load of khrap. That's what sucks about dealerships. They are independently owned and operated business. They are not Hyundai. They just sell them. They'll tell you anything they want in regards to service. Yes they can and will muddy the waters in regards to warranty coverage because they are first line of defense (so to speak) for coverage. In the end, it's what's in your owner's manual that's the written requirements. All you have to do is show that to the service adviser that's giving you a hard time and watch them back pedal.

Joel

I did call them, and that is what they told me as well. HCA themselves told me that the manual was more of a guideline. I even caught them in their own BS when I asked why they went for what the manual said for some things, but not for others.. such as the transfer case. They called the dealership (while I was on hold), and the dealership told them that they didn't feel it was necessary. So following the manual is bunk, and following your own guidelines is bunk. You can assert your own opinions about how this is wrong, but like I posted previously.. call and ask for yourself. I posted this as a warning with facts.

Worst case scenario a dealership is a jerk and denies you for not taking their premium services. Best case scenario the dealership accepts the warranty claim.

 

[cookiedough]

30K for tranny or coolant change is bogus. Owners manual states 60K and that is what should be done. Unless you tow a lot, like every week, and beat the heck out of the engine, 60K is fine. Don't let any dealer tell you any differently, they are in it for the money. Simple as that.
I had a similar instance at my selling toyota dealer on my 09' corolla I just traded in on the 2011 santa fe 2 days ago. At around 26K, my front breaks ONLY when going in reverse being stopped first of course, only when first applying the brakes the front brakes both sides would make a loud clicking noise when first applying brakes ONLY in reverse. The front brakes never did this the past 2 years until a few months ago still well under 3/36K warranty. My selling dealer **** me off stating who performed your safety inspection on the brakes/pads, etc. at 15K service interval. I said NO ONE since NO problems at 15K, just the past 2-3 months it started acting up and at 15K they were fine. Dealer at toyota **** me off again after I stated I wanted the brake calipers looked at ONLY and not the 30+ point safety inspection they wanted to charge me around 40 bucks to do. They wanted their money no matter what even though the brake pads/calipers were clicking when applying brakes ONLY in reverse the past 2-3 months at 26K miles. Fricking dealers want money is all. So, the heck with them, I traded in the car for a santa fe but not for that reason only though. got a good deal on the santa fe and the misses wanted a bigger/higher up vehicle although gas mileage is sure to suffer and an extra 15 bucks per week in gas money which sucks.