What Car? Q&A - Warranty work at an independent garage

Q: My car went for a service at a non-franchised garage recently. While the work was being carried out, a component was found to be faulty. As the car was still under its warranty, I decided to have it replaced.

However, when I sent the warranty claim to the manufacturer, they informed me they would not pay the bill because the work had not been authorised. I thought that under EU guidelines you could have your car serviced at a non-franchised dealer without affecting your warranty. Is this true?

A: You can get your car serviced at an independent garage. As long as they use the right parts and follow the service schedule, your warranty will not be affected. However, manufacturers will want to check that any warranty claim you make is valid, so any such work that may be required still has to be authorised and carried out by a franchised dealer.

Extended cover from a third-party warranty provider might well allow you to have this work done by an independent garage, they try to keep their costs down after all, but a manufacturer’s will not.