Manufacturers Warrenty on an Import

BnA

I imported an 18 month old car that still another 18 months of it's Manufacturers warranty left on it from the UK.

Could I have any trouble using that warranty here in Ireland. I think I might have a small problem with the steering that I reckon would be covered by the warranty. Do I just go up to my own local dealer and get them to look at it or do I need to make contact with the garage where it was origionally bought first....?

drdre

BnA wrote:

I imported an 18 month old car that still another 18 months of it's Manufacturers warranty left on it from the UK.

Could I have any trouble using that warranty here in Ireland. I think I might have a small problem with the steering that I reckon would be covered by the warranty. Do I just go up to my own local dealer and get them to look at it or do I need to make contact with the garage where it was origionally bought first....?

i have heard that uk warranty is not valid here.i think its country by country.or you can contact dealers in the north.just call your garage where you bought it from to confirm

Moanin

Have a look at this link.The manufacturer must stand over the car :

http://www.autofinder.ie/asp1/afmain.asp?lnk=511&item=1

BrianD

As I understand from a similar industry that I used to work in, the manufacturer must honour the remaining warranty if the vehicle was sold within Europe.

A dealer should have no problem honouring this. He will be able to check if the car is still within warranty from the VIN and other documentation. The manufacturer will also have a database of their cars sold etc. He still puts his claim form into the manufacturer. He may not be happy that you imported it from elsewhere but he still gets paid.

What you may find is that you won't get 'good will' from the dealer. If you have a warrantable defect the manufacturer is obliged to make good. That's fine but they are not obliged to give you a replacement car while they fix it. However, if you originally bought the car at the dealership they would sort you out with a 'loaner' while your car is in the workshop - good will to a customer. You may find yourself on the bus while the defect is sorted!

maidhc

The best thing you can do is ask the importer (.e. Toyota Ireland/Henry Ford etc), but my understanding is it is illegal to limit a warranty within the EU.

0lordy

I'm looking to buy a 2 year old UK Toyota from an independent dealer here - can anyone confirm whther there's a warranty issue, i.e. whether this will be covered by Toyota dealers here?

Also, I would like to confirm the mileage and history of the car (not that I don't trust the guy...) - what's the best approach - just a HPI check, contact the previous owner, get it checked out seperately, all of the above?

Thanks lots.

digitaldr

BnA wrote:

I imported an 18 month old car that still another 18 months of it's Manufacturers warranty left on it from the UK.

Could I have any trouble using that warranty here in Ireland. I think I might have a small problem with the steering that I reckon would be covered by the warranty. Do I just go up to my own local dealer and get them to look at it or do I need to make contact with the garage where it was origionally bought first....?

I bought a 03 Accord in Scotland - the manufacturers warranty had just expired but as I bought it from a dealer it came with a 1 year warranty. According to Honda Ireland and UK I'm covered here. The warranty excludes "adjustments" - I don't know if this is common but it may mean that your steering problem may not be covered. If I was your local dealer I'd be nice to you as you're probably going to get it serviced there to keep your warranty!

jayok

digitaldr wrote:

I bought a 03 Accord in Scotland - the manufacturers warranty had just expired but as I bought it from a dealer it came with a 1 year warranty. According to Honda Ireland and UK I'm covered here. The warranty excludes "adjustments" - I don't know if this is common but it may mean that your steering problem may not be covered. If I was your local dealer I'd be nice to you as you're probably going to get it serviced there to keep your warranty!

oohhh, don't know about that. Honda's standard warranty is for 3 years any extension beyond this is done by the local dealer. You can buy an extension in the UK from Honda themselves but this only covers the UK market, not RoI. I checked the same myself when importing and declined the Honda warranty because I'd need to get the car back to the UK for coverage.

dubtom

I heard recently, not sure where, that this scam that has been running for years where if a mechanic touched you car the manufacturer could refuse to honour the warrenty has been outlawed under euro fair play and competition rules. So basically anyone can fix a new car and the warrenty will still stand, you could assume that an imported car would go under the same rule.

jayok

On the standard warranty Honda Manufacturing will cover the car for 3 years from purchase date - provided that it is serviced in accordance with standard service by an "authorized mechanic". Now note this is an authorized mechanic, not *any* mechanic - i.e. in the case of Honda one that's been trained. Also this mechanic must used authorized parts!

So if Joe Bloggs mechanic down the backroad decides to replace your timing belt with the wrong part and the engine fecks the engine - would you expect Honda to replace your engine? No. All other manufactuers have the same stance.

However from the OP this is something different - he is outside the standard warranty (i.e. exceed the 3 years) and has purchased additional warranty in the UK. However, this is a UK warranty coverred by Honda UK - NOT Honda Maufacturing. As such I don't believe it's transferrable to Honda Ireland. It might all seem to be Honda, but it's not.

There's Honda Maufacturing UK, that covers the 3 year warranty, they sell to Honda UK, Honda Ireland, Honda France, Honda Germany, etc. When you have a standard warranty claim the dealer bills the local distributor and they pass the cost to Honda Maufacturing. However, outside this warranty, if you purchase an extended one the dealer bills the distributor and they cover the cost. I cannot see Honda Ireland covering the cost for Honda UK. They are just different bodies.

digitaldr

Honda manufacturing in the UK provide a 1 year warranty on the used cars that are sold through a Honda dealer - it is NOT a seperately purchased extended warranty. As I said in my first post I checked that this warranty would be valid in Ireland too with Honda UK and Honda Ireland and was told that it was.

knifey_spoonie

0lordy wrote:

I'm looking to buy a 2 year old UK Toyota from an independent dealer here - can anyone confirm whther there's a warranty issue, i.e. whether this will be covered by Toyota dealers here?

Yeah you should be covered ive seen claims go through, it can a bit longer as it has to be approved by toyota uk