subject: Why Do I Have To Pay Out Of Pocket For A Repair If My Vehicle Is Still Under Warranty? [print this page] So whats the big idea here! Since my vehicle is less than three years old and certainly fall within the warranty allowed km, why does my service advisor advising me to pay for a diagnostic fee? The problem is much simpler than you think, it is due to mis-communication. When you purchased the vehicle from your sales person, he or she probably failed to explain that warranty coverage on your vehicle is not quite as literal as bumper to bumper. No manufacturers warranty today that will cover items such as brakes, windshield or tires. These are considered to be wear and tear items, or expenses that will have to come out of your pocket as part of your vehicles regular maintenance. If you are bringing in your vehicle for obvious warranty related repairs, such as power window failure, why do you still have to face the potential diagnostic fee?
Take a moment and think about this scenario from the dealerships perspective. Your power window may have failed due to a faulty part, which will be covered 100% under the manufacturers warranty both parts and labor. But what if you have recently tinted your windows and the technician got some soap water into the power window motor causing it to fail pre-maturely then it is a completely different story. This scenario does happen from time to time, the responsibility in this case should have fell under the tinting company instead of the manufacturer. Your service advisor at your local repair shop is just trying to be courteous by explaining the potential cost, since there is no way of telling the cause of the problem before removing your door panels. If the cause of your power window failure is due to soap water, you will be facing a diagnostic fee or the time spent by the technician locating the source of the problem.
So the next time you are bringing in your new vehicle for repairs, dont be alarmed by the potential diagnostic fee, it is a common practice amount dealerships service department. As long as the part in question failed not due to human error or other causes you will be covered 100% both labor and parts.
