My Mitsubishi Colt is coming up to a year old, apart from a few rattle it?s not had any problems. The local franchise dealer is quoting a horrific figure for the first service though.
A couple of years ago I found an excellent local non franchised garage that isn't cheap but does a fantastic job at a reasonable cost, so I'd like to use them instead. To makes sure the warranty is unaffected what do I need to make sure of?
Is there any way to get old of the Mitsubishi service requirements?
Thanks all
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Unless I'm mistaken I don't think you have any choice other than to use an authorised dealer ---- if you want to keep your warranty intact. How much are they quoting? Are there any other auth dealers within reasonable distance you could try. Why not just phone round a few dealers wherevever they are & get a quote if much lower you could always challenge the price you have been quoted.
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Unless I'm mistaken I don't think you have any choice other than to use an authorised dealer
Not quite. The SMMT Code of Practice clearly states that
"You will continue to benefit from the manufacturer?s new car warranty whilst the car is serviced to the manufacturer?s recommendations, even if this service is carried out by an independent service/repair outlet."
Your warranty carl_a will not be affected by servicing the car anywhere outside dealer network, as long as it's done up to the manufacturer's guidelines. Any repairs must be done by authorized service point though.
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[Nissan 2.2 dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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Well vOn I never realised that! You learn something everyday. I assume though that the indy must only use genuine Mitsubishi parts if any service items need replacing. I may sound cynical but I can just hear them saying 'sorry sir your car has been fitted with non genuine parts' when being faced with a warranty claim.
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IIRC, the EU 'block exemption' (?) ruling makes warranty non-contingent upon main or supplying dealer servicing,
provided schedules/processes/materials are compliant with manufacturer 'standards' & the garage is VAT
registered (I stand to be corrected on the finer points here).
Also, and no disrespect in this, the Colt is probably less susceptible to residual value attenuation when/if 'Mitsubishi' doesn't
appear with the dealer name on service stamps. 'Posher' makes get the tut-tut tratment come trade-in time when 'Joe Blogs Auto Services'
appears in the service book (..and no disrespect to 'Joe Blogs Auto Services' if it exists - I'm sure you're fine fellows, just an
illustration you understand!)
The www.vca.gov.uk website has useful info - along with contact numbers for more accurate & detailed info.
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EU law means that any VAT-registered garage can do the servicing - but they must use Mitsi parts and stick to the service schedule and lubricant recommendations. If you are keeping the car 3+ years then I doubt it will affect the value.
If you have any warranty problems then it has to go to a Mitsi agent.
I like Mitsi's but by God their dealers really do know how to charge, don't they!
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Thanks everyone for the replies.
I'll most likely be keeping the car for 6 or 7 years so its value will be very little when it comes to trade in time.
How do you find out the lubricant recommendations and what's involved with each service, just to makesure the independant is doing the same checks as a franchise ?
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i've always worried about the same issue.........and chickened out, using the main dealer until the warranty runs out.........because
sometimes you need a bit of goodwill........and the garage to be 'on your side'. If there was something wrong i wouldn't want anyone to be trying their best to wriggle off the hook, i'd want them to jump to it and put it right........
no idea if i'm right or not, but i'd presume having it done somewhere cheaper would leave you in the 'indifferent zone' as far as the garage is concerned.
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I tend to agree with Westpig.
Garages do make mistakes, and by going to the dealer for servicing, if anything does break you'll still be covered, rather than being stiffed.
Extra £100 / year vs bill for £1000 (at Mitsubishi rates) when they say the ABS is stuffed because of the "bad job" independent did on the brake pads? That's the risk you take.
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Thanks everyone for the replies. I'll most likely be keeping the car for 6 or 7 years so its value will be very little when it comes to trade in time. How do you find out the lubricant recommendations and what's involved with each service just to makesure the independant is doing the same checks as a franchise ?
They are listed in Autodata. Most independents of any size will have this. There is a facility to print off the check sheet, which the garage could give to you as well as the service stamp. Looking at the schedule it appears to be oil, filter & pollen filter, plus the usual checks. Handbrake and clutch adjustment. 1.5 hours.
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Thanks for the help Aprilia, most appreciated.
Honest John needs a guide on the site somewhere for this! (I can't find anything)
I would be quite happy to pay Mitsubishi for servicing even at a high rate if their service was good, but the two garages I've dealt with are rather poor and Mitsubishi UK HQ is even worse.
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woodbines -
do you know why most of your posts in the backroom appear as "misaligned" at the margin?
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Iam all for doing the service myself, as i feel iam a compatent person to servi ce a car, fluid and filters .its probably done by a scool leaver at the main dealers any way. No the problem is, if you dont go to the main dealer, you dont get the ammendments , recalls, adjustments, things they change, but dont tell any body.. recently had big warranty work done and some jo,bloggs stamp in my book. It could be up to the service manager, it just how he feels about it and memos from manufactures, .
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Main dealers really are expensive, but look at what you get (well what I get from Honda anyway).
You book the car in and it is on their records.
I have never had to wait for any parts
They use geniue parts
The techinians (sp) all know the vehicles they are working on
the car comes home on time spotlessly clean.
they do all the work and there will be no arguing if anything goes wrong, ie my car came in when it was supposed to, here are the records to show as such, why has it gone wrong? Not that it has ever gone wrong.
While their work is very expensive I consider it to be money well spent.
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Also check that the final year of warranty isnt a dealer warranty rather than mfrs. Thats the way they force you to stay in the network.
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