The law states that you can use any VAT registered garage as long as you have the car serviced within the specified times and have the correct work done.

If Kia are telling you that you must have a Kia delaer do the worj then they are wrong.

Kia, like all manufacturers cannot insist that Kia delaers carry out your services. The law states that any VAT registered garage can carry out the work but must do it to the manufacturers schedule and used manufacturers approved parts and lubricants.

The Kia service and warranty book clearly states that stamps in the book will not be sufficient on their own at the time of any warranty claim. You must be able to produce itemised receipts detailing the work done and materials used. Without them no warranty.

Guess there have been too many instances of people having a stamp made that looks like a dealer stamp.

We normally use main dealers for servicing. The cost savings using an independant are minimal and there is nothing worse than an arguement come warranty claim time. With Kias there is also an annual body inspection required for the rust warranty. Most (if not all) delaers include this with a service but since this inspection can only be carried out by an official Kia dealer you would need to visit one if you had the mechanical service carried out elsewhere. That would wipe out any cost saving since they all charge about 1/2 an hour for the inspection.

As is always the case buyer beware and don't believe a dealer.

I also saw a nissan qashqai with 26000 miles 13 plate in a car supermarket with no stamps in the service book. what would you expect nissan to say?

QQ Servicing interval is IIRC along the lines of....'Annual or 18,000 miles whichever comes first'. So thats quite poor ownership. Good call to walk on by unless it was spectacularly cheap that is. My QQ had 7,800 miles on it when we bought it. From the documentation and verbally confirmed some time well after the sale, it had been owned by the dealer principals wife.

With the Kia 7 yr warranty, Kia make the rules and anything not done within the network will count as going against the spirit if not the the letter of the warranty.

That is not true. Kia, like all manufacturers have to abide by the EU Block Excemption Directive. They cannot decide to change the rules to suit their longer warranty.

If they could Hyundai and Toyota who both give 5 year warranties would be doing exactly the same.

But I still say that within warranty any cost savings are minimal when set against the possible hassle when having to prove that servicing has been carried out exactly to the schedule.

My indie told me although in theory he can service a car still in warranty, he knows from experience that the burden of proof of correct servicing demanded by manufacturers in the case of a claim where an indie is involved is usually so high as to be not worth the hassle. All service invoices traceable for all parts used must be produced, if they didnt come from a dealer, they are often rejected, then detailed proof of all procedures and other evidence are often demanded, which the indie just doesnt have time to get involved in.

If Kia are anything like Hyundai they will unsurprisingly make it very difficult to have the car serviced outside the dealer network. Hyundai insist that you produce a VAT receipt for the work and an itemised list of every part and fluid used to Hyundai spec AND that you produce a completed official Hyundai service sheet that lists every item that is inspected, checked, replaced. I guess you can get those sheets and the Hyundai part numbers somehere but quite a chore. The independent could order the parts from a Hyundai main dealer and fit them but then the cost goes up. I bought a 5 year, 5 services plan to go to 100,000 miles for £1,100 when I bought the car. Just had its 3rd service which was priced at £470 on the paperwork.

www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/56306/mot-warran...s

HJ's word on Kia 7 year warranty!

Kia are not exempt from Block exemption - correct

After initial warranty period it is a no charge warranty from Kia for the balance of the 7 years - their rules so they can play the ball any way they like.

I'll E-mail HJ and ask him to comment here.

The EU ruling only applies to the manufacturer's original warranty

The Kia 7 year warranty is all manufacturer backed thus as I and other have said the EU ruling applies to all 7 years.

Honest John refers to "Extended Warranty" but does Honest John consider years 2 and 3 of a Ford warranty (which are dealer backed) to be "extended warranty" and be covered under the EU rules or are Ford in this instance exempt. I guess it could be a difficult call since its standard on all new Ford cars, you don't have to buy or even activate it.

Had a reply from Kia. here it is.

“The simple answer is that we're subject to the same European legislation as all other manufacturers.

It‘s important that any car is serviced in line with the manufacturers recommendations to ensure its long term and efficiency. Only defects that can be directly attributed to poor servicing could be rejected under the terms of our warranty.

Using an approved Kia dealership has many benefits including the reassurance of Kia trained technicians, that they’ll only use Kia genuine parts & lubricants, and are authorised to carry out warranty repairs.

If however you’d prefer to use an alternative garage, we’d recommend:

• The garage completing the service is VAT registered

• The service is carried out correctly as details in the owner’s manual

• Only genuine Kia parts and lubricants as recommended by Kia or equivalent quality are used

• The part numbers used should be detailed on the servicing invoice

• Service records in the owner’s manual must be stamped and date

Don’t forget though, all Kia cars need a body work inspection for the paint and anti-perforation warranties. This check must be completed by a Kia dealer.”

So as I previously said, service where you want to but ensure you comply with the above if you want your 7 year warranty.

Edited by skidpan on 15/10/2014 at 16:02