The choice of workshop
As a rule, car manufacturers specify that their vehicles should be regularly inspected in a workshop. This can be the case either after a certain number of kilometers driven or after a certain time interval, such as one or two years. During a visit to the workshop, the vehicle should then be checked according to the manufacturer’s specifications and, if necessary, some spare parts should be replaced at regular intervals. The car owner is faced with the choice of workshop and must decide whether to take his vehicle to an independent workshop or to a workshop with a service contract.
The Motor Vehicle Ordinance
Up until a few years ago, the manufacturer’s warranty requirements tied buyers of new cars to the manufacturer’s own service network during the warranty period and had to visit an authorized workshop. However, that changed in 2002 with the EU GVO 1400/2002. Since this ordinance, manufacturers have been prohibited from obliging customers to visit a manufacturer’s own authorized workshop. Many car owners are not aware of this fact and the manufacturers and dealers do not make it public in order to prevent customers from moving to other workshops.
The new car guarantee
If you take your vehicle to an independent workshop, you may be wondering how this affects the guarantee. In principle, it applies to all manufacturers on the European market that the new car guarantee does not expire if a proper and regular inspection is carried out and this corresponds to the manufacturer’s specifications. Since the manufacturer and the dealer do not have the option of binding the customer to their own service network for maintenance, it is ultimately up to the vehicle owner to decide who should carry out the inspection.
It is important to note that
However, the question of choosing a workshop should always be checked on a case-by-case basis, because there are exceptions that limit the freedom of choice. For example, there are discounted contracts that tie the buyer to an authorized workshop for several years for a monthly fee, which will take care of all the necessary wear and tear repairs. In this case, the GVO 1400/2002 does not apply in the sense that the buyer is obliged to visit the manufacturer’s own workshop. This can also be the case with certain leasing contracts. In a warranty case, the seller is always the first point of contact to decide whether he himself or someone else will repair a possible defect during the warranty period.
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