Manufacturer warranties and service history

enigma48 on 21/11/2018 - 17:59

Hi all,

So I've been in the market for a new-ish van and settled on a 2015/2016 Hyundai iLoad. They have 5 year/160000km manufacturer warranties.

tl;dr version: Are full service histories critical for getting major warranty work done? (e.g. engine/turbo dies)

longer version:

First dealership: van looks great, a couple service stamps are missing but they can get those (it was a trade-in from a supplier of theirs).. then: oops, we can't, but trust us the warranty will be fine. Hyundai Australia disagrees. I walked away and my deposit was refunded (I'd put the service history as a condition of sale).

Second dealership: they're sure they have the full history - van was owned by a state police service. Oh, wait: they serviced the van in-house so zero invoices/paperwork/service stamps.

Third dealership: I decided against it (too much $ for too many kms and they wouldn't negotiate price) but again no full history ("it'll be fine!")

First private seller: my bad; I missed the small details ("yeah it was written off but the damage is minor, the warranty will be fine, it's worth a look.."). Cancelled that visit.

I extended my budget originally to get something with warranty - easier to re-sell if needed, less risk, and vans depreciate slowly.

Am I crazy? Is a full history rare? I know Hyundai couldn't refuse to fix a door lock within the warranty period (unrelated to engine/servicing) but has anyone been knocked back from a major warranty repair because of a poorly documented service history?

Automotive

Comments

  • brendanm on 21/11/2018 - 18:23

    Yes missed servicing will definately affect engine warranty. It's the first thing Hyundai will ask to see if you have an issue. As you said, an unrelated item like a door lock, service history will not matter.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/11/2018 - 19:05
    +1

    If I'm not in a financially dire situation, regardless of how rare it is, I would never consider a vehicle if it has

    1. Write off

    2. Missing log book

    3. Suspicious logbook

    4. Missed/ very late service intervals

    5. Repaired transmission (ex clutch replacement)

    6. Captiva badge

    • enigma48 on 21/11/2018 - 19:10

      That's fair enough - mind if I ask why? (e.g. Have you been able to get an engine-related factory warranty repair done despite write offs/log book issues so none of that matters to you anymore?)

      • [Deactivated] on 21/11/2018 - 19:25

        The warranty is a fail safe. I hope to never need it.

        If the vehicle is written off, the last thing in my mind is what-if scenarios because it is not really an if anymore. It is a when.

        Not every writeoff collision needs to be high impact but if you see what a buckled wheel can do to your drive, imagine a vehicle that has been in a high impact and has everything slightly buckled.

        As for service intervals. If the owner can't even get the vehicle serviced on time, I don't care much to know how the vehicle is treated.

  • BertieBrown on 21/11/2018 - 19:09

    Yeah, if you want to rely on the warranty you will need to have the relevant ‘min’ service requirements met. I think Hyundai service books include stamps for optional services but they’re not mandatory for warranty AFAIK, or at least they weren’t when I had a little Getz. Which, story-time, I took to Hyundai cause the shitty mech we used to use put a generic oil filter in, which pooped itself, and Hyundai swapped it out for an OEM, no charge, which was amazing imo. But yeah, if something goes wrong Hyundai will want to know that the van was maintained, which if there’s no signature on the books means you have to consider that it wasn’t. :/

    • enigma48 on 21/11/2018 - 19:16

      Yep. 0 service history + "we promise it's been serviced! but no paperwork, soz" = no guarantee it's ever been serviced. Of the course the sales guy will promise the services have been done, but I'll have zero proof. I can take their word for it and it's likely happened. (but…)

      One dealership had a fair point: if they've done one service and I do the next 2, then to get out of a warranty claim, Hyundai would have to say the van had never been serviced in 45000km.. which is unlikely and my claim would likely be ok (the oil would have been thick as hell by then - I know someone who works at a dealership who's seen a new owner blow their engine after 30000km who didn't know they had to service the car)

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