Capped Price Servicing – What does it mean?

There are 3 major marketing variants used by the major manufacturers:

CAPPED PRICE SERVICING – Offered by all the mainstream manufacturers, this is simply a quoted service price, exactly the same as we do for you. So every service costs a different amount depending what work is scheduled, but you are given the price up front. We do this but without the marketing buzzwords, so call us and we are confident we can offer a better price than the dealer for your logbook servicing.

PRE-PAID OR LIFETIME FIXED PRICE SERVICING – A set service price of let’s say $260 per service is offered by the dealer for the ‘life’ of the vehicle. These offers will either essentially overcharge you for the smaller services to make up for the large service due at let’s say 100,000km where several more expensive items are due for replacement or deem the ‘life’ of the vehicle over before any major service items are scheduled (ie. around 100,000km).

FREE SERVICING – Servicing costs are built into the price of purchasing the car, similar to a $1000 cashback promotion etc. Almost always these free services will only apply for 1 to 3 years where hardly any items are actually replaced on the vehicle except the oil and oil filter, so the servicing costs would be quite low.

Does a Vehicle Maintenance Service by My Local Mechanic Void The Warranty?

When you buy a new vehicle, the dealer will most probably recommend that you have all of your auto services performed by their dealership. This is because car dealerships make a lot of money from their vehicle maintenance services and repairs.

The problem is that in most cases, items like pre purchase inspections and vehicle maintenance services will cost you much more in a dealership than at an independent mechanical shop. Dealerships however, allow you to think that you will void your warranty if you do not use their services.

In part this is true, but only if you don’t go to a reputable mechanic and follow certain conditions laid down by the Federal Government. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have clearly stated that your warranty will not be voided if you go to an independent mechanic for your vehicle maintenance services – if the following three conditions are met:

  1. The person who performs the service on your car must be a qualified mechanic. Unless you are also a mechanic, if you perform your own services, then you will void your warranty. Otherwise, a qualified mechanic is legally allowed to perform vehicle maintenance services on your car without voiding the warranty.

  2. You need to have all of the services performed to the manufacturer’s specifications. This means that all of your vehicle maintenance services must be performed at the stated times and intervals or else your warranty will be void.

  3. You need to use the appropriate parts for your vehicle. This is simply common sense, but some people are under the belief that you have to use genuine parts, but this is not a condition of the warranty. The parts must just be fit for the purpose – they must be designed to do the job and meet or exceed the manufacture’s standards.

So next time you buy a new car, make sure that you have a pre purchase inspection and then if you decide to buy, don’t be hoodwinked into paying out much more than you need to the dealership. Check out your local auto mechanic shops and find a reliable mechanic to perform all your services and save yourself a lot of your hard earned money.