Extended Warranty- I smell something fishy

[high_octane]

Hello everyone !

I just had a BIG message composed about my concern when the server went down after clicking on submit ! But nevertheless I shall cut short and explain in brief :

I recently purchased a Wagon R from a reputed dealer in b'lore.
Here are the details :

Date of Delivery (DoD) : 28/Sept ( I had asked for this date as its auspicious being Vijayadashami)
This is also the same date mentioned in car manual, however its written in pen by the dealer.(the significance of this later)

Extended Warranty for 4 years. Warranty expires 4 years from the DoD.

Extended Warrany Expires: 23/Sept 2013 (and not 27/Sept).

Why?

DoD mentioned on Extended Warranty booklet (which comes from Maruti and has the date printed on a slip stuck to a page) is 24 Sept 2009 (and not 28 Sept 2009) even though DoD on the manual says 28/09 (but mentioned in pen)

Explanation 1 given by the dealer : car registration and number plate done before DoD so that the customer doesnt have to leave the showroom on the day of delivery with a temporary reg. sticker slapped on his car( in the interest of customer). Reg. done on 25/09 (26 was a sat and was a holiday because of some festival and 27 was sunday, so RTO closed) so, invoicing had to be done before that, ie 24/09. Maruti, itseems takes the date of invoicing ( DoI) as the DoD and hence the DoD is mentioned as 24/09 on the extended warranty.

Ridiculous explanation/Maruti's Policy 1 : How does the warranty start even before the customer has laid his hands on the car. When the actual DoD is 28/09, how can the warranty begun on 24/09 itself.

Explanation 2 given by the dealer : In Delhi (maybe guys from Delhi can confirm this), DoI and registration done on the DoD itself as the RTO guys go the showroom to get these things done.

Ridiculous Explanation 2: Delhi is not the only place where Maruti sells cars and Maruti is not dumb enough to overlook the fact that in other cities (like in my case) that DoI can happen even before the actual DoD. So just because DoI and DoD is same for Delhi customers, Maruti cant base their policy on DoI for all the cities. As far as I know, any warranty should start from the day the customer gains posession of the commodity (physically). Why should the customer be held responsible for the period during which he doesnt even have the physical possession of the car (in my case from 24/09 to 28/09).

Explanation 3 from the dealer : Normal warrany (2 years) ends on 27th Sept 2011. (I dont recollect why he said this)

Illogical explanation 3 : Then isnt the extended warranty supposed to start from the day my default warranty gets over ? ie from 27th sept 2011 to 27th sept 2013 (total 4 years).

Final comments by the dealer : this is a policy from Maruti. If possible he will talk to the showrooms GM and try to get a warranty for the remaining 4 days (ie from 23/09/2013 to 27/09/2013) which will be exactly similar to the warranty given by Maruti, but obviously it would be valid only in the workshops affiliated to the dealer).

Its been almost a week and no reply from the Dealer.

I had also called up Maruti Regional office in B'lore around 4 days back. The concerned person there didnt have any idea about this discrepancy so he said he would mail this issue to the higher-ups and would get back as soon as he hears from them. I called him again 2 days back asking him about the status and he said he hasnt still heard from them. Now common sense says that if you dont get a reply when you mail, you simply call !
I dont know how Maruti can show such laxity at times like these and make the customer wait.

I would like team-bhp to help me understand if I have been on the right track or there is some fundamental flaw in my understanding with the way things work !
I dont know if the dealer is wrong somwhere or Maruti itself has created this weird policy! (though I would like to believe its the former)

I am tired and frustrated as I have been breaking my head on this issue since the past few weeks. I would like to know your views before I make any further contacts with the dealer/Maruti.

Pls help !

[sterlingjames]

Originally Posted by high_octane

Hello everyone !

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I am tired and frustrated as I have been breaking my head on this issue since the past few weeks. I would like to know your views before I make any further contacts with the dealer/Maruti.

Pls help !

having been in the trade(auto) i know how much of a scam this extended warranty is! in its entire history, there hasnt been many cases where you can get maruti to honor a warranty claim even if it was genuine. they will quote the innumerable fine print and wriggle out of it ALL THE TIME.mysuggestion to you would be to get the policy cancelled and get yourself a refund.
despite my knowledge of all this,i was also taken for a ride when i bought my Ritz(on 17th september 2009).
it is now a common knowledge that dealers have become more and more greedy and take more from you with their hidden charges.apart from the poor pre-sales process, there are quite a few things you need be ready for if you decide to buy a maruti.
1.when there is a discount offer, if possible negotiate for a cash-only discount. the general dealer offer will be cash+accessories. dont accept it. believe me, the accessories prices are inflated by almost 40% and most of these are sourced from the aftermarket only and you can get more for the same money you pay if you fit it outside. so try to negotiate.
2.don't ever try to trade-in your old car at the dealer point, you will always find out that you could have got a better price with local used car dealers(plan a park-and-sale. this will get you the best rate.)
3.check for finance options with the banks on your own first and negotitate for the best rate with them. DONT ever tell the bank executive the dealer choice because the moment they find out they try to collude with the dealer salesman and 'in-build' your discount to offer you a 'competitive rate' and then you lose out your cash discount!
4.next is the insurance/registration.
if you take a dealer point insurance the premium is higher than what is available in the market(negotiated price).also, watch out for the registration charges.
if any of you had cared to notice, the registration figures quoted will never match with the govt.prescribed life tax(viz.8% of the ex-showroom price in tamilnadu)amount. there is always a Rs.5000/-difference there.
when enquired,they will claim that the excess is for registration expenses(petrol, RTO commissions etc.)

in my own case, after a few weeks of taking delivery i was surprised to see an extended warranty book couriered to my house for signature and return. when checked with the dealer salesman, the guy cooly says that all customers are enrolled for the extended warranty program (included in the registration charges)whether they like or not, which i flatly refused to accept and told the fellow to cancel and refund the Rs.2400/-which was charged for the same.
since then it has been 2 months and there has been no refund from the dealer and any attempts to call the dealer has been futile(the regional office is no better).
i would have been happy if the dealer had tried to sell me the extended warranty but this was quite high handed! to top it, the salesman has blocked my phone number and each time i have to borrow someone else's number to reach the crook.
this phenomenon is now common with most dealers irrespective of brand, so be a little wiser when you plan your next car purchase.

[akhilesh51]

There are two things I wish to clear before I respond to initial thread:

1. Extended Warranty is not as useless as people make it out to be. While there are lot of small prints in the booklet mentioning various exclusions, It still covers for lot of important aspects of cars. In Tata, we have seen people benefitting upto 1.25L due to extended warranty. Secondly, Dealers are usually more than happy to entertain extended warranty if it does not violate any terms, because they get paid for their work in full by company and also keep the customers from moving to local garage. So, Yes there is lot of fine print, but believe me dealer is more than happy to honor extended warranty.

2. Extended Warranty is OPTIONAL. No dealer can force a customer into buying this without full knowledge. It is not just wrong but also illegal and dealer could get into major trouble.


As for the above mentioned thread, Dealer is at complete fault here. They have tried to keep customer concerns in hindsight to aid personal convenience. As I look at it, Dealer executive had to get car registered and was anyways preparing documents for registration and thought might as well finish documentation for extended warranty to save on time on the day of delivery.

HE IS VERY MUCH WRONG HERE. and you have all the rights to corner him and demand explanation. I am sure if need comes he will not honor his words regarding extra 4 days. IMHO, he is not in a position here because extended warranties are approved by external agencies who would reject claim as soon as car is out of mentioned period. So, executive is only relying on the probability that your car would not break down in those four days which is wrong and could cost you a lot for no apparent fault of yours.

Secondly, Extended Warranty has nothing to do with date of invoice, in fact not even date of delivery. A customer can chose to buy extended warranty upto 6 months after actual sale of vehicle. And extended warranty applies 2 years or 1 year after the expiry of original warranty. So, for obvious reasons, Extended warranty can not start before expiry of original warranty and original warranty can not start before date of delivery.

Something is certainly fishy here and you must round up the sales people at said dealership and demand explanation or simply cancel current extended warranty, get refund, and get extended warranty from another dealer.

[high_octane]

Thanks a lot both Sterlingjames and Akhilesh .

@sterlingjames : I think you havent read my message completely but I can fully understand the frustration you are venting out regarding your experience.
But on the contrary, I have seen many from team-bhp itself, recommending extended warranty and I think like any other warranty, if somebody makes a claim, it will be honoured because afterall we have paid for it.

@Akhilesh : Thanks for that explanation, it was really helpful !
" Dealer is at complete fault here." That's exactly what I had been thinking, until the AGM at the showroom presented his theory of extended warranty starting from the date of invoicing. Though I knew what he was saying was outright ridiculous, I didnt want to respond without having the full information about the way these things work.

But I have one query: I haven't heard of anybody taking extended warranty after few months of purchasing the car (the 6 months period you mention).
Is this mentioned anywhere on Maruti's website or is there anywhere I can get more info on this (ie purchasing extended warranty within 6 months of the actual purchase).

Like you said, I think the dealer has finished off the formalities in one go in order to save on time on the day of delivery and quite sadly has overlooked the difference it could make to the customer.

I am going to call the dealer tomorrow and will ask him about this. But meanwhile, I would like to confirm about the extended warranty period having no relation with the date of invoicing so that I can really demand an explanation without any fear of being mis-informed ! So if you guys have more infomation to support this, please message in !!!!!!

Also I shall call the Maruti regional office on Monday( as today I was a little busy and sunday is a holiday for them) and really take him to task about the un-necessary delay in getting back.

[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by sterlingjames

having been in the trade(auto) i know how much of a scam this extended warranty is! in its entire history, there hasnt been many cases where you can get maruti to honor a warranty claim even if it was genuine. they will quote the innumerable fine print and wriggle out of it ALL THE TIME.

I would like to differ here. I opted for extended warranty on my Esteem and have benefited enough out of it. Initially while paying the extra money I was sceptical whether I had taken the right decision or not but I do not have any regrets today. The M.A.S.S I go to has been very accommodative and understanding. To throw some numbers out, I have claimed free replacement of parts (including major ones like steering box) more than 3 times and the money I have saved out of this is at least 3 times the money I paid for extended warranty.

I would have benefited more but for the fact that I opted for extended warranty only when the car was 2 years old and hence the price I paid for that was higher that what I would have paid had I taken it at the time of buying the car.

[adnaps]

Extended warranty is not entirely a waste. I have a 1.5 year old swift vdi and I had purchased the extended 4th year warranty at the time of purchase. Last week during the 50K service (normal warranty had expired at 40K) a strut needed to be replaced. Initially MASS told me that struts are not covered , however I showed them the warranty document and they refered the issue to Maruti and the cost was waived. Most people would assume that MASS was trying to con me, but my impression was that it was a genuine error from their side. The MASS could off course be faulted for not having the read/interpreted the rules properly.Extended warrant is like Insurance, you might never use it. By purchasing the warranty you are only attempting to mitigate a risk. Whether an individual purchases the extended warranty or not is purely an individual's choice depending on the individuals appetite for risk.

There is no doubt that the extended warranty should be effective from DOD and the manufacturer and the dealers should be forced to comply. May be the issue needs to be refered to a Consumer Court.

[sterlingjames]

i see a common link for all honored warranty claims being done at a MASS. i am sure the MASS guys are more customer centered, as their business is built on relationships rather than on advertising, facilities and infrastructure. has anyone benefitted from a direct dealer workshop?
also the individual parts mentioned by rr zen and adnaps are items that can also be claimed directly with the OE supplier(sona steering for steering box and Gabriel for struts at their outlets) that's why i felt the ext.warranty was not entirely essential.

[high_octane]

@rr_zen : I didn't know once could opt for extended warranty at a later date after purchasing the car. Thanks for that information !

@adnaps : I am just feeling even more frustrated regarding the whole issue as the AGM of the dealership actually tried to convince me with a false information ! Should I think they did it knowingly ??? or were they genuinely not aware of it.
But I think I will call the dealership again today to find out about the status of my query. Thanks for that feedback, I shall definitely put forth this thought to them.
too bad Maruti's regional office is closed on Sundays !

[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by high_octane

@rr_zen : I didn't know once could opt for extended warranty at a later date after purchasing the car. Thanks for that information !

Yes. You very well can.The only difference as I quoted in my earlier post is that extended warranty is cheapest to buy along with the car or immediately after purchase of the car.

[GTO]

I am tired and frustrated as I have been breaking my head on this issue since the past few weeks.

C'mon, take a chill pill . You've smartly opted for the extended warranty and are now covered for 48 months. Why sweat over a mere 4 day difference? The extended option was probably registered into the MUL system on the 24th of September.

Go ahead and enjoy the new car experience. Don't let such a minor difference get to your head.

[high_octane]

Hi GTO, I know what you are saying. But I simply dont understand how they could make a simple error like that. You know when the delivery is, why register the warranty 4 days early ? its all about doing one's job properly. Now to add to it, if something goes wrong on those 4 days after the current expiry date, it will be even more frustrating !
I know its a never ending head-ache...like my dad said, when he heard about this, "Lets just not take the car out during those 4 days :-) "....But I am just sick and tired of dealers always trying to take the un-suspecting cutomers for granted. On top of it, they try to cover up their mistakes by quoting policies which dont even exist (like what they did to me by saying delivery and invoice date is the same).

[high_octane]

hello everybody

Tried calling Maruti's regional office today many times, but there was nobody to answer the phone. So called up the Maruti toll free number and was fortunate to find a lady who was well versed with technicalities related to purchasing the car. She told me that Maruti DOES consider the date of invoicing as the date for the begining of extended warranty and hence the dealer was indeed right. But since I told her I wasnt aware of this and was neither informed to me by the dealer, she told she could register this as a complaint wherein both maruti and the dealership would take up this matter and see if I could really be given that extension of 4 days.
like GTO said, I will stop worrying about it and if they give me that extension well and good otherwise also its fine
thank you all for the feedback....it was really informative !

[akhilesh51]

Originally Posted by high_octane

But I have one query: I haven't heard of anybody taking extended warranty after few months of purchasing the car (the 6 months period you mention).
Is this mentioned anywhere on Maruti's website or is there anywhere I can get more info on this (ie purchasing extended warranty within 6 months of the actual purchase).

Here is a link to a website of RKS Motor, a Maruti dealer which i found through Google search:

Maruti Extended Warranty

One can clearly notice that extended warranty can be bought upto 730 days post the invoicing of car albeit with a premium on initial price.


@mods : The website address mentioned is purely for information as requested by forum members and feel free to edit/delete link if found to violate any rules.

[sgiitk]

I personally think that whole extended thing is a scam. Most extended warranties only cover the drive train (excl. the clutch). Let is say you do say 12,000km a year (or even 20,000 a year). How many drive train failures have you seen before 150,000km. Zlich is my guess.

So why the extended warranty is there in the first place? It is a mutual benefit scam of the manufacturer and dealer. A low mileage driver will often extend the service interval to once a year / 10,000km. This way he is forced to go to the dealer every 3/6 months and get charged for the (unnecessary) and (often) oil change. I have stuck to 10,000/ 12 months for the last fourteen years and never regretted it.

[mahadev_kc]

There is nothing fishy in extended warrenty. I got a two years of extended warrenty on my Palio 1.6 Sport, and during which I've got benefitted to twice the amount I paid. Once for induction coil, clutch master cylinder and starter motor overhaul and these extended warranty claims handled very well and I'm extremely happy with TATA on this. Till today, I've not had bad service TATA-FIAT A** except an instance where the washing quality was not good at Manipal Motors, Bangalore.