Right, it comes back to the amendments to the Block Exemtion rulings, that I have posted on here before, last October, the European rulings were changed, regarding the Block Exemptions given to the vehicle manufacturers against the anti-competition rulings that apply to other walks of industry. This namely meant that the vehicle manufacturers have almost lost their monopoly on keeping information in house, and can no longer stipulate that a vehicle MUST be looked after by a VM approved dealership in order to maintain it's warranty status.However there are some stipulations that apply, namely the vehicle must be worked on by a competent garage. In the absence of any kind of regulation or licencing in the UK, this basicallt means you need to be a recognised garage, the old benchmark used to be if you were VAT registered.
The next stipulation is that the vehicle must be serviced in accordance with the VM's service schedules, namely you must carry out all the checks/changes specified in the service schedule, so you need some form of service info for the vehicle, whether it be paper or electronic info. Additionally you may need to do a Fault Code Read as this is now in most service schedules, so how are you guys who have no code reader going to do that????
The final stipulation covers the parts fitted. The parts that you use DO NOT NEED TO BE FROM THE DEALERS!!!! They must comply with an entirely new term, they must be 'MATCHING QUALITY', in other words, from a reputable make & may or may not be from the manufacturer who supply the VM.
If you fail on any one of these three key areas, then you could jeopardise the customers warranty, stick to these three golden rules & the warranty cannot be contested by the VM dealer.
If they ask for stupid things such as an invoice for the parts fitted, show them ours, as long as it's a branded 'matching quality' part, then they haven't got a leg to stand on.
AND THAT'S THE LAW, IT'S ON YOU SIDE....
Hope this helps some of you explain it to your customers.
We have done some work & have a poster available, and leaflets for you to give your customers, this may just help, as they may not believe you, but might be happier seeing it in black & white.
Unfortunately due to prepartion & printing costs we are having to charge a nominal amount for these, but if they bring you business, then it's got to be worth it.
If you want more details of these, please contact your CAF Branch or your local Business Development Executive.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Rob Drinkwater.
Business Development Manager.
Camberley Auto Factors Limited.