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Does it matter which garage does warranty work?

I bought a low-mileage three-year-old Volkswagen Polo from a Volvo dealership in Yorkshire. I was told it was covered by a warranty. As I live in Sussex I asked whether I would have to bring the car back to Yorkshire for any warranty work. I was told (not in writing) that that would not be necessary, that any proper warranty claims would be met provided the work was undertaken by a reputable Sussex dealership.

I had such a claim. The car suffered a failed fan resistor, costing about £150 to replace at a VW specialist, but the Volvo dealership is refusing to refund the cost on the grounds that the work should have been done by them. Are they right to refuse?

Asked on 2 February 2022 by Alan Judd

Answered by Dan Powell
In hindsight, you should have contacted the Volvo dealership before taking the car to another garage and paying for it to be repaired.

The Volvo dealer may have asked you to return the Polo to their premises or identified an approved local garage to carry out the repair.

The Volvo garage will reasonably argue that they are not liable for the repair because they were never given the opportunity to confirm the fault or put it right.
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