Auto Warranty Issues: The Aftermarket Product Installation
An auto warranty is basically an agreement between the consumer and the manufacturer of a brand new car. There are also warrantees that come with used cars, but in this article it is the brand new vehicle warranty that would be the focus; that and the probability of voiding the agreement because of aftermarket products installation (extended car warranty).
Generally, when a brand new vehicle is purchased, it comes with a warranty of both parts and services. The vehicle should already be equipped with parts that the consumer knowingly accepts. Should they want to have other parts installed, most of the car owners generally request the dealer to perform the installation. These aftermarket parts can be expensive and many consumers feel they have the right to purchase the parts outside of the dealer and get another service company to install them. This is not a good idea.
When reading the auto warranty contract, there is a specific list of parts that are guaranteed. Should anything happen to any of the parts the consumer can demand a free replacement or repair. Should the consumer change these parts and something goes wrong either during the installation or a period after that, when the maintenance is performed and these are found out, the warranty can be voided.
Take for example the sound system of a brand new vehicle that comes with its own iPod port. Not all brand new car models have these. The consumer wants the iPod port and finds out that the cost of purchase and installation can be in the hundreds of dollars, they would logically try to canvas the market. The company they find has the parts and can install for a very low prices, unfortunately the company is not listed in the recognized service companies. Thinking of the costs, the consumer pursues the installation. When something goes wrong and there is damage, for example, on the dashboard or an important computer chip was damaged, bringing it over to the dealers and the official service company would only result to one thing: the warranty is voided.
Rule of thumb: when dealing with brand new cars and the new auto warranty that goes with it, follow the rules or lose it totally.