| Warranties and Recalls |
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Fortunately, new cars typically come with a warranty against defects and abnormal wear for a specific time or number of miles or various parts. For example, a new car may have a 100,000-mile or 5-year warranty on the drive train. (Remember, that’s the engine, transmission and clutch, drive shaft, and differential, transaxle, or rear axle.) Tech Tip The dealer warranty covers squeaks, alignment, and other annoyances for the first 90 days after the sale. The factory warranty covers all parts and systems except normal wear (bumper-to-bumper warranty), the engine, transmission and clutch, drive shaft, and differential or transaxle (drive train or power train warranty), and/or the car’s body (rust and corrosion warranty). You also can buy an extended warranty, like an insurance policy, from the dealer on new and used cars. Find out which warranties your car has and if they are still in effect as some transfer with ownership changes and others don’t. Does doing your own maintenance void your car’s warranty? The short answer is: No. You, the owner, can do any of the scheduled maintenance and even repairs as needed without voiding your car’s warranty—provided that you can prove you actually did it right if the question comes up. Of course, the question will only come up if there’s a problem with your car and the manufacturer or dealer doesn’t want to honor the warranty. Then you’ll have to drag out your receipts or logs and show what was done when. By keeping all this info in your owner’s manual or in a Car Journal you’ll be able to defend any questions. Of course, if your dealer notifies you of a recall notice on your car, let the dealer do the work. The manufacturer will pay it for. However, they may try to do additional work at the same time. It’s your decision to authorize or not the other work. How do you know if your car has been recalled? Or what if the manufacturer has sent all dealers a service bulletin (problem report) about your car and they forgot to pass it along to you? You can ask the local dealer’s service department every once in awhile. Or you can check online at www.alldatadiy.com for model-specific service bulletins or even shop manuals.
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