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Interesting BUT the eu directive doesnt say that. I will quote from wikipedia, (yeh I know),
Block Exemption Regulation is an exemption in a business line or industry, which debars organizations in the industry from some business activities in order to create competition. The regulation is highly known in the automobile industry due to the effect caused by the BER regulations from the European Commission. [1] [2] BER has changed the automobile industry in the last decade. [3] Prior to 2003 automobile owners in the EU region risk nullifying their vehicle warranty when the vehicles were serviced or repaired in workshops not belonging to the vehicle manufacturer or its dealers. This barrier was broken in October 2003, when the European Commission (EC) passed a law allowing vehicle owners the freedom of having their servicing and repairs done at their chosen workshop. [4]
According to the UK Department of Business Education & Skills, the empowerment created by this law provides competition in the automobile industry as vehicle owners now have the opportunity to repair and service their vehicle at alternative workshops to the automobile manufacturers. BER provides automobile users the flexibility and benefit to reduce the amount spent on servicing, thereby providing consumers more choice and better value for money.
Says it pretty good, having work done cannot void your warranty and if work is carried out,(repairs), and its under warranty.........
Edited by expatsFL on 04/10/2012 at 20:19
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where did my message dissappear too?
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Even franchised dealers need to get approval from the manufacturer before they do the work for some jobs. Even if it was OK for an independant garage to carry out warranty work (which it is not - your earlier post is nonsense) I bet they never seeked approval before doing the work.
Sorry but you are stuffed.
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BUT the EU directive doesnt say that does it, and in what way is my post, taken direct from wiki, nonsense. Are you saying wiki is nonsense, or you dont understand it.
No approval is needed at all, its YOUR RIGHT, to take your vehicle and have work done, WHERE YOU LIKE, as long as they are competant and carry out the work in accordance with makers specs. Also makers have to share info about workshop practicies/tools need etc.
This covers repairs and servicing with or without warranty and any work carried out during a warranty period doesnt void said warranty. its quite plain and in black and white.
Google the entire directive and read it.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:129:0052:0057:EN:PDF
BER has changed the automobile industry in the last decade. [3] Prior to 2003 automobile owners in the EU region risk nullifying their vehicle warranty when the vehicles were serviced or repaired in workshops not belonging to the vehicle manufacturer or its dealers. This barrier was broken in October 2003, when the European Commission (EC) passed a law allowing vehicle owners the freedom of having their servicing and repairs done at their chosen workshop. [
Simples
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Well it may be that I've missed it but I can't see anything in the BER link that you've supplied nor in others that I've looked at that says independents have the right to repar vehicles & then charge the manufacturer on their warranty.
My understanding of BER in respect of repairs & maintenance is that the manufacturer cannot invalidate the warranty should the customer elect to have repairs done outside of his franchised network. It doesn't mean that the manufacturer has to pay for it.
In fact some wording I have found specifically refers to "repair and maintenance work that is not covered by warranty carried out only within the authorised repair networks" being not allowed, suggesting (but not saying, I grant you) that the manufacturers can specify that repairs paid for by their warrany must be carried out by their network
Unfortunately i think you are trying to make the BER wording suit youir particular circumstances, but good luck & let us know what the eventual outcome is
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Seems that you have had some work done and then tried to make it fit into a warranty claim. Whatever the BER states the obvious thing would have been to check with the manufacturer first to see what their stance was.
It may well be that you are correct in your assumption that the warranty work can be carried out by an independent repairer but you now have to fight hard with a large conglomerate over who will pay for it. May well come down to who blinks first or who has the most money! Good luck.
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Are warranties still split into two with a manufacturer warranty folowed by a further one or two years so called dealer warranty? My last two Citroens were warranted on that basis. IIRC because the dealer period extended beyong the period required by (EU wide?)consumer law it was legitimately conditional on servicing etc being done by a Citroen franchise.
If the OP is trying to get the manufacturer to pay for work allegedly covered by the warranty but done outside the dealer network then he's on a hiding to nothing. As others have even dealers need to get manufacturer approval for warranty work over a cost threshold or where wear/tear might be a factor.
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What is it with the word "approval". it isnt mentioned anywhere.
My car broke down, a garage said they could fit a non Citroen part as none was available for at least a day, we had a ferry to catch, hotels all pre paid. 2 dealers in the area said they couldnt fit me in for 4 days. Do you think for a millisecond that the warranty would pay for 4/5 days car hire and hotels AND rebooking of hotels and ferry.........! Yeh right.
So we were forced to get the car fixed, fit a unipart, (which comes under as an acceptable part), and got on with our holiday. Citroen warranty just left us stranded by the road side at 7 pm. Nothing, no help, advice, just call our warranty at 0800 the following morning and then they told us we would get a response...." 24 to 48 hrs later".
No car, hundreds of miles away from home. Ferry booked and paid for, in 4 hrs time, 2 pre paid hotels booked.
What would you do?
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Now the whole story comes out, why not tell us the facts to start with.
Bottom line is still the same, only an official dealer can carry out warranty work BUT if you had discussed this with Citroen before having the work done they may have accomodated your requirements to get going ASAP.
With regards to alll warrantires being 1 year manufacturers and 2 years dealer that is not the case with all makes. It is for Ford but some give a full manufacturers warranty for all 3 years, Hyundai do it for 5, Kia do it for 7
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So now tell the whole story i.e. where did you break down, what part failed and how much did it cost to fix? Did You have breakdown cover and was it used? Answers may well be the same but at least you will get one based on the whole facts not just the ones you choose to highlight.
If after all that you still feel aggrieved then I trust your next purchase will not be a Citroen?
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Because its not part of the problem is it. Your wrong, the whole point of the directive is to allow you, the vehicle owner to choose who does ANY work on a car, whether servicing and/or repairs. And that includes warranty work. The directive is quite clear on that fact as it states several times that if any work is done, outside of a dealership, then any warranty is not voided, so your wrong. No "permission" has be be sought, you can use virtually any garage you like, they have to be competant, and have to use a recognised part if an original one isnt available...say Unipart etc.
The problem with Citroen was the "we'll get back you in 24/48 hrs" bit. So I did "discuss" it with the warranty people, in fact the garage that replaced the starter motor, (OWL Motors of Southsea of whom I cannot praise enough), even called every dealership around and none had a replacement S Motor either.
So Skidpan, you'd just bunk up in the back of the car and wait I guess, Oh and then have to pay AGAIN for ferry and AGAIN for hotels, ASAP aint 24/48 hrs is it and "we cant get you in for 4 days mate", aint ASAP is it. Be real. Your also wrong on warranties as well, read the directive matey before posting.
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Sorry but again you're reading something that isn't there
The directive is quite clear on that fact as it states several times that if any work is done, outside of a dealership, then any warranty is not voided
No one is disputing this.
What everyone is disputing is that this does not say that work can be completed without authority (from the manufacturer) by an independent & the cost subsequently charged to the manufacturer.
Obviously you disagree but please show us the evidence why you think this is so
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The being abroad bit is quite an important part of the story. I've taken Citroens abroad under warranty but fortunately never had a problem other than a silencer on a Xantia.
I suspect the cause was inadequate design, lack of support leading to flexing and metal fatigue but would have been uphill to prove even in UK. PAid my EUR200 and got in with my holiday.
Had foreign cover through britannia as well which would have dealt with hire etc had we been put off road. In event we were just stuck on a campsite for a couple of days while the local garagiste sourced a part.
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From the Whatcar website in the section about servicing and warranties:
"If your car needs a repair or some warranty work carried out, however, this must be done at a franchised dealer"
What do they know, no doubt you will disagree.
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Thats whatcar I guess and as far as I know, they dont make any/many laws.
So skidders, seemed you dodged/ignored my ?? What would you do.
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What would you do.
Take it on the chin. You cannot expect Citroen to pay for a repair done under warranty outside of their franchised network.
As everyone else has already stated, BER means that work carried out outside of the deadler network is not justification for voiding the manufacturer's warranty. It does NOT mean you can have warranty work carried out wherever you wish.
If Citroen had been given a reasonable window of opportunity to carry out the repair work and not done so, then you would have a case. You don't.
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What would you do.
Take it on the chin. You cannot expect Citroen to pay for a repair done under warranty outside of their franchised network.
As everyone else has already stated, BER means that work carried out outside of the deadler network is not justification for voiding the manufacturer's warranty. It does NOT mean you can have warranty work carried out wherever you wish.
If Citroen had been given a reasonable window of opportunity to carry out the repair work and not done so, then you would have a case. You don't.
Totally correct, could not have put it better myself.
Other than taking it on the chin there are 2 other things you can do:
1 Present Citroen with the bill and hope they take your predicament into consideration and possibly contribute to the repair.
2 Take out a claim in the small claims court. You will loose because the BER does not allow for warratny repairs to be carried out by independants but surely its worth another £200 to find out for definite if you don't believe us.
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