Do dealers like warranty work?

[phil1979]

Genuine question...

I have bought a 2 year old Alfa, which has a 3rd year of 'dealer warranty' left, following the previous 2 years of manufacturer warranty.

Since I bought the car, I have jotted down a snag list of things I would like to get ironed out, hopefully under warranty.

Now, my local Alfa dealer is not the one where the car was purchased from.

So, my question... do they actually want this kind of work? Do they simply bill Alfa UK, for example, in which case they make something out of it?

Or is it a case of a begrudging sigh, and do the minimum work they can, and try to fob off other things that they feel should not be covered by the warranty?

Just trying to gauge what sort of resistance I might face when I call up the local Alfa dealer with a list of fixes...

Cheers

Edited by phil1979 on Thursday 9th February 14:51

[Wafflesmk2]

When i worked for fiat, 2 years were fiat warranty and year 3 was an independant company for some reason.

It was a lottery for what was and wasnt covered at times, labour rates were reduced and it was a bit of a chore tbh.

This was about 5 years ago so things may have changed.

Either way, warranty work is always at a much cheaper labour rate than it is to a normal customer.

[phil1979]

Wafflesmk2 said:

When i worked for fiat, 2 years were fiat warranty and year 3 was an independant company for some reason.

It was a lottery for what was and wasnt covered at times, labour rates were reduced and it was a bit of a chore tbh.

This was about 5 years ago so things may have changed.

Either way, warranty work is always at a much cheaper labour rate than it is to a normal customer.

Thanks.
When you say warranty work is always at a much cheaper labour rate than it is to a normal customer, cheaper to who? Fiat corp?

[eybic]

Yep, cheaper to Fiat. They will have a retail labour rate and a warranty labour rate.

[phil1979]

Got you.

So, I guess the dealer would want the work, rather than it go to another dealer in another town, regardless of the reduced rate that they would ultimately receive?

[Bisonhead]

They hate labour work! When I worked at Nissan wa offered a leggy 3 month dealership warranty on used cars. We sold a Pathfinder for £11k, no tax, no extras...as cheap as we could do it. Guy called up a day later saying the AC wasnt working. Turns out there is a pipe that is a common fault but to remove it you have to lift the body off the chassis. Ended up costing the dealership £1450!

Woops!

[sday12]

I've had (BMW) dealers that have loved warranty work, replaced everything no questions asked. (£7K in 12 months).
Others play hardball, don't seem to want the work, say it's not covered etc.

Depends on the dealer's policy towards it, either it's a staple, or it gets the way of better paying 'regular' work.

[crocodile tears]

Bisonhead said:

They hate labour work! When I worked at Nissan wa offered a leggy 3 month dealership warranty on used cars. We sold a Pathfinder for £11k, no tax, no extras...as cheap as we could do it. Guy called up a day later saying the AC wasnt working. Turns out there is a pipe that is a common fault but to remove it you have to lift the body off the chassis. Ended up costing the dealership £1450!

Woops!

ouch!

[eybic]

If the dealership is busy with retail jobs then you might struggle as retail will be their priority but if they have spaces then there is no reason for them to turn business down.

[Wafflesmk2]

phil1979 said:

Got you.

So, I guess the dealer would want the work, rather than it go to another dealer in another town, regardless of the reduced rate that they would ultimately receive?

We used to like it if it was easy.

It's more money in the pocket to charge a retail customer than to do warranty work.

You could spend 5-6 hours on a warranty job and get much less at the end of it, compared to the same job for a customer of the street.

If it was easy, simply work with a reasonable pay off, dealers like doing them (clutches on the 1.2 punto for clutch judder were an easy way of rolling money in), however something like a full wiring loom on a fiat ducato LWB was a bd and not liked.

[phil1979]

Thanks for all the replies thus far.

Another question...

Is there an etiquette to getting work done? Should you do as I'm currently doing, running the car for a few months, and going to them with a snag list, or is this frowned upon?

As you can guess, I've never had such a new car before, so not sure how far one's luck can be pushed, especially as the second owner of said vehicle.

[Wafflesmk2]

phil1979 said:

Thanks for all the replies thus far.

Another question...

Is there an etiquette to getting work done? Should you do as I'm currently doing, running the car for a few months, and going to them with a snag list, or is this frowned upon?

As you can guess, I've never had such a new car before, so not sure how far one's luck can be pushed, especially as the second owner of said vehicle.

It doesnt really matter, tbh its better to get everything sorted at once, rather than taking it back every few weeks for a new job.

[onesickpuppy]

phil1979 said:

Thanks for all the replies thus far.

Another question...

Is there an etiquette to getting work done? Should you do as I'm currently doing, running the car for a few months, and going to them with a snag list, or is this frowned upon?

As you can guess, I've never had such a new car before, so not sure how far one's luck can be pushed, especially as the second owner of said vehicle.

What kind of stuff are you listing out of interest? - not every fault you find will be covered under warranty I would imagine.

[JonnyFive]

phil1979 said:

Thanks for all the replies thus far.

Another question...

Is there an etiquette to getting work done? Should you do as I'm currently doing, running the car for a few months, and going to them with a snag list, or is this frowned upon?

As you can guess, I've never had such a new car before, so not sure how far one's luck can be pushed, especially as the second owner of said vehicle.

That'd be a good way of doing it.. But don't do what some people do;

'I'm booking my car in as it's under warranty and so I won't be paying anything to have these things fixed bla bla', you just come across as an idiot. Where as being polite about it, seeing if the stuff can be sorted for you is nice and you don't mind helping these people out.

Will you be using the dealer you're going to for servicing etc or just warranty work?

[angry jock]

The 3rd year warranty on an ALFA is exactly the same level of cover as the first 2 years. You automatically get the 3rd year warranty if the car has been looked after and serviced to schedule. I notice that you mention a snag list. Are these things that have actually failed on your 159 or niggles?
In answer to your question though, dealers love warranty work!

[phil1979]

The snag list is as follows:

• Whistling above 60mph on driver's side. Either door/window seal,or mirror. Well known problem, apparently.
• Passenger heated seat not working.
• 'Tappetty' noise on tickover, and mild acceleration on low revs, which wasn’t present on my old GT diesel – Alfa forums suggest a sticky injector, which others have had cured by the dealer.
• Passenger-side window washer jet stopped working - can't seem to find the fault myself (no, it's not frozen!)

Edit - in answer to an above question, if the dealer is good, I would take it back to them for servicing, as I notice they are offering 2 years warranty on any of the service items (for cambelts etc, this would be quite reassuring)

Edited by phil1979 on Thursday 9th February 15:39

[angry jock]

I would go in and speak to your dealer. There is nothing there that they should have a problem rectifying for you.
I would also suggest getting it done in one go rather than trying to space it out. Even if it means waiting a bit for a courtesy car. Good luck getting it sorted!

[Ecurie Ecosse]

OP - I had lots of nightly things fixed in the third year of the warranty on my 147 GTA. Have a chat with the dealer.

[phil1979]

Thanks.

As it happens I can scrub one of them off the list... I fixed the heated seat... seems someone moved a fuse in the box, putting it in the slot next to it by mistake. All toasty warm now!