Back in 2003, the European Commission passed a legislation that enabled drivers of vehicles that have been bought from a manufacturer, and is still within a manufacturer warranty period, to have their vehicles serviced at independent service centres.
The ‘Block Exemption’ law was introduced as it was felt, throughout the motor industry, that there was little flexibility and options to the consumers after purchasing a new vehicle in getting their vehicle serviced. This will allow huge savings to be made as the costs of parts and labour can be considerably less at independent centres.
To ensure the vehicles manufacturer warranty is fully protected, the independent service centre must fit genuine or manufacturer-approved quality parts, and adhere to the correct service schedule provided by the manufacturer for the vehicle.
If you would like further information on this law, then please visit the European Commission site that has full details.
At Service4Service, all our service centres can fully protect manufacturer warranties. With our qualified technicians, and fully-equipped service centres with the latest diagnostic machines, we can certainly help save you time and money so you can get the best return on your vehicle.
This is new to me and very helpful. As we live quite a distance from car dealerships it has always been a hassle to get the car to them at service time. It will also save us some money!
It just goes to show that the European Commision, can get some things right.
Car dealesr have been getting away with charging over the odds, giving poor service for too long. Good on yer service4service for taking on the big guys, and letting us customers know we can go to you 4service.
Have learnt something here – I bought a new car in 2007 and presumed that I still had to go to SEAT to get the servicing done to make sure the warrenty was not invalidated. No one at SEAT told me when I bought the car that I could go elsewhere.. maybe thats the next step so the consumer knows
I can remember this being introduced but didn’t know that “the independent service centre must fit genuine or manufacturer-approved quality parts” ts well worth knowing.
I had no idea this had been introduced. I bought my car 5 years ago and throughout the warranty had it serviced at the dealership, several miles away, where service is slow, unhelpful and not at all customer focussed, rather than going to the local independent garage which is within walking distance of my home and provides much better customer care. It’s good to know that I’ll be able to use them from day one with my next car.
I will point my partner towards this article. Very illuminating.
Having been contemplating purchasing a new car, this has been my biggest bug bare having to have it serviced by the manufacturer. I have a fabulous little garage at the end of my street, and for the past 15 years he has had my little Vauxhall astra fly through it’s MOT and with hand on heart say it was the best purchase I ever made. But alas the kids are growing up now and call my old car names, they tell me they feel embarrassed when I pull up at the school gates with all the other mums in their gas guzzling Chelsea tractors and they arrive in Del Boys Bat-Mobile. So it’s either a new car or a bus pass each for my little darlings, and we will see how good the Bat-Mobile looks then.
Some great advice and tips there, Some I hadn’t even thought of. My car is only 2 years old and is serviced by the dealership.
I have always had my Fiat serviced at a local garage that is much cheaper so it is reassuring to learn that if a buy a new car it still can go to the same garage and this will not affect my warranty as long as genuine parts used. Thanks for the advice.
Having to get your car services at the dealers is very very expensive xx
Really interesting article thanks, this will be very helpful for me when i get myself a car in a few months time. Great Advice.
very helpful information
This is very interesting. I was not aware of these facts.You have to make sure all the points are adhered to.
Ive had some trouble over the past few months with my car,and only 9 months old. This article will com in handy as im a bit of a novice,and tend to believe what i hear .
I hope that The ‘Block Exemption’ law will help us save a few pennies in our household then – having a car costs the Earth!
hhmmm i hadn’t looked at it that way. very good article. will definitely bookmark this. very insightful thanks
This is really good to know, I’m hoping to actually buy a new car soon as all the offers are making it more worthwhile than second hand.
Glad I came across this article, I still thought that you had to get your car serviced from the manufacturer that sold it, and they cost a lot more than independent garages.
Luckily my last car in warranty was bought from a delaership on my street! Not bad prices but it isgood to be able to shop around.
I didn’t even know this law existed! It’s useful to know!
very interesting learn something new everyday
Well you learn something new every day! I was unaware that To ensure the vehicles manufacturer warranty is fully protected, the independent service centre must fit genuine or manufacturer-approved quality parts. Thank you for imparting this bit of knowledge, I must now check that the garage I have been frequenting has installed this type of parts to my vehicle…. so to protect my warranty! ARGH!!!!! Thank you.
I have found this article very useful and informatative
I find that small, independent garages don’t like to do these as ‘conforming’ is more hassle than it’s worth.
I haven’t heard of this before so will be having a good read and taking notes, very useful thanks.
I too had no idea. I wish i had known this a few years back
we have been paying through the nose for our fiesta :/ to be honest the repair costs etc was the main reason er were looking at selling. Knowing this though i think ill lo
ok into it abit more.
It does seem rather incredible that this information is not more widely known as I see from other comments that I am not alone in being ignorant of this fact. As you state, you still need to use a reliable service centre in order not to compromise the Warranty. Definitely food for thought as my car is about eighteen months old and there are now more options available than I was aware of. Many thanks.
Great advice.
I have learn’ t something new today this is a very good website
I prefer sticking to the dealer I buy the car from.
I am new to this, and this is really helpful information. Thanks for the post.
make sure you used an authorised dealer but shop around as some can be cheaper and some independents are ok to be used
I dont know much about car warranties so Ive found this very useful. Thank you!
always check the details on your warranty, if it says have serviced every six months, make sure you abide by it, no point in having one if you devalue it, sometimes a warranty is worthwhile, however i refused to pay a hundred pounds a month for one for a washer, as it is cheaper to buy new if a washer fails. they don’t last long 🙁
I think that people should always shop around to get value for money. I always used the Hyundai garage for my services thinking that I had to do this to keep the warranty up to date. This is untrue. I now save £200 a year by using a company that use manufacturers parts but at a cheaper price for labour.
A family member of mines has had a lot of bother over the past few weeks with her car. It is only 6 months old – this information should help get things sorted out I’m sure, I’m off to print this just now!
I can’t believe I’ve been unaware of this until now. Whilst my car was under warranty I was careful to ensure that all servicing was undertaken by the manufacturers dealership despite the additional cost, and inconvenience. My local independent service centre will certainly be my first choice when I buy a new car.
This is really useful information, never realised we could do this – might have saved a small fortune when our Volvo was still under warranty!
Thankyou ever so much for letting me know , i wasn’t aware of this until now.
I was never aware of this warranty if i had i would not have wasted so much money on getting repairs done myself. you should be made aware of this
what a great idea, i’ll consider this next time i buy a car.
great advice for someone who buys their car from a dealership. Information like this is handy to keep in the back of your mind when dealing with cars