What you need to know about warranties
In many cases only the cost of the part, not labour, included, writes Brian Turner.
One of the tried and true methods many goods-and-services suppliers use to attract and retain customers is long-term warranties. First, it brings perceived quality and credibility to their offerings. Second, it keeps clients coming back because often these guarantees are tied to point-ofsale retailers.
This isn’t a new idea. Exhaust specialty shops have offered lifetime warranties on their mufflers for years, but not for pipes or labour fees. This kept their customers loyal without costing much.
In 2014, Ford began offering a 24-month, unlimited-distance warranty on most replacement parts. Fiat Chrysler mirrored this in 2015. GM offers a 12-month minimum guarantee on its products, while Honda offers a 12-month or 20,000 km plan, whichever comes first, with its replacement parts. Toyota’s coverage is 12 months and unlimited distance.
In most cases, these plans only cover the cost of the part, unless the part was installed by an authorized dealer. But Ford and Fiat Chrysler have now offered labour coverage for independent-shop installation — with certain limitations.
With credible name-brand aftermarket suppliers, a lifetime warranty on a part is common, with labour covered for a year or 20,000 km, on average. Most provincial legislation mandates a minimum three-month, 5,000km coverage on both parts and labour. It is important to remember this type of coverage only applies to manufacturing defects, not damage caused by installation or any other source.
The big problem for consumers comes when trying to decipher their repair invoices. While provincial regulations require warranties to be spelled out in writing on these documents, few have those details. And those that do often just contain a generic statement that won’t necessarily reflect the facts of longer plans offered by various parts suppliers.
So, if you’re getting a particularly large job done, you need to ask questions and request details in writing.
If you’re dealing with a reputable shop, you may decide to trust their electronic database to keep these records for you. If not, you may need to ask for the parts invoices that your shop received from their suppliers.
This may be a difficult ask, as most shops are protective of their markups, but you can simply ask them to redact that cost info on your copy.