An automotive warranty is a guarantee provided by a vehicle manufacturer or a third party, ensuring that any defects or issues with a vehicle will be repaired or addressed within a specified period after purchase. [1] This warranty is most often an important aspect of purchasing vehicles since it provides buyers with protection against manufacturing defects or unexpected failures.[ citation needed ]
The scope and duration of automotive warranties can vary significantly, but they generally cover areas such as: bumper-to-bumper warranty, powertrain warranty, corrosion warranty, emissions warranty and others. [2] There is also an "extended car Warranty" also known as a "service contract" which is purchased separately. It often comes into effect after the expiration of the manufacturer's warranty. [3]
The specific terms and conditions of automotive warranties can vary widely based on the manufacturer, the model of the vehicle, and sometimes even the country in which the vehicle is purchased. [2]
Automotive warranty claims are requests made by vehicle owners or authorized service centers to the vehicle's manufacturer or warranty provider for repair or replacement of parts and components that are covered under the vehicle's warranty.[ citation needed ]
Automotive warranty claim involves a lot of processes which may include the warranty coverage, identification of issue, verification, documentation, claim submission, claim review and approval, repair and settlement.[ citation needed ]
Warranty claims are important for consumers because they help mitigate the cost of repairs due to manufacturing defects or other covered issues. [4] For manufacturers, managing warranty claims efficiently is crucial for customer satisfaction and maintaining brand reputation.[ citation needed ]
Filing an automotive warranty claims can be very cumbersome. The vehicle owner can make the process simpler by engaging companies that offer Automotive warranty claims processing services. [5]
Automotive warranty claims processing refers to the procedure that is followed when a vehicle owner or a dealership makes a claim under the vehicle's warranty.[ citation needed ] This claim is made to address repairs or replacements that are covered under the warranty agreement.[ citation needed ]
Automotive warranty claims processing is often offered by reliable companies that are into the warranty industry niche. The process typically involves several steps to ensure that the claim is valid, the repair is necessary, and the costs are covered as per the warranty terms.[ citation needed ] The process may involve the identification of a problem, service appointment, initial assessment, claim submission, claim review, approval or denial, repair and reimbursement, documentation and follow-Up.[ citation needed ]
The automotive aftermarket is the secondary parts market of the automotive industry, concerned with the manufacturing, remanufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of all vehicle parts, chemicals, equipment, and accessories, after the sale of the automobile by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to the consumer. The parts, accessories, etc. for sale may or may not be manufactured by the OEM.
Vehicle insurance is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bodily injury resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise from incidents in a vehicle. Vehicle insurance may additionally offer financial protection against theft of the vehicle, and against damage to the vehicle sustained from events other than traffic collisions, such as keying, weather or natural disasters, and damage sustained by colliding with stationary objects. The specific terms of vehicle insurance vary with legal regulations in each region.
In the United States, a car dealership is a business that sells cars. A car dealership can either be a franchised dealership selling new and used cars, or a used car dealership, selling only used cars. In most cases, dealerships provide car maintenance and repair services as well as trade-in, leasing, and financing options for customers.
An extended warranty, sometimes called a service agreement, a service contract, or a maintenance agreement, is a prolonged warranty offered to consumers in addition to the standard warranty on new items. The extended warranty may be offered by the warranty administrator, the retailer or the manufacturer. Extended warranties cost extra and for a percentage of the item's retail price. Occasionally, some extended warranties that are purchased for multiple years state in writing that during the first year, the consumer must still deal with the manufacturer in the occurrence of malfunction. Thus, what is often promoted as a five-year extended guarantee, for example, is actually only a four-year guarantee.
In law, a warranty is an expressed or implied promise or assurance of some kind. The term's meaning varies across legal subjects. In property law, it refers to a covenant by the grantor of a deed. In insurance law, it refers to a promise by the purchaser of an insurance about the thing or person to be insured.
Haynes Owner's Workshop Manuals is a series of manuals from the British publisher Haynes Publishing Group. The series focuses primarily on the maintenance and repair of automotive vehicles and covers a range of makes and models, with manuals for over 600 models of cars and 225 models of motorcycles.
In American English, a lemon is a vehicle that turns out to have several manufacturing issues affecting its safety, value or utility. Any vehicle with such severe issues may be termed a lemon, and by extension, so may any product with flaws too great or severe to serve its purpose.
Lemon laws are laws that provide a remedy for purchasers of cars and other consumer goods in order to compensate for products that repeatedly fail to meet standards of quality and performance. Although many types of products can be defective, the term "lemon" is mostly used to describe defective motor vehicles, such as cars, trucks, and motorcycles.
An auto mechanic is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or more automobile brands or sometimes working with any brand. In fixing cars, their main role is to diagnose and repair the problem accurately and quickly. Seasoned auto repair shops start with a (Digital) Inspection to determine the vehicle conditions, independent of the customers concern. Based on the concern, the inspection results and preventative maintenance needs, the mechanic/technician returns the findings to the service advisor who then gets approval for any or all of the proposed work. The approved work will be assigned to the mechanic on a work order. Their work may involve the repair of a specific part or the replacement of one or more parts as assemblies. Basic vehicle maintenance is a fundamental part of a mechanic's work in modern industrialized countries, while in others they are only consulted when a vehicle is already showing signs of malfunction.
AutoNation is an American automotive retailer based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which provides new and pre-owned vehicles and associated services in the United States. The company was founded by Wayne Huizenga in 1996, starting with twelve AutoNation locations, and now has more than 300 retail outlets.
A certified pre-owned car or CPO is a type of used car. It is also used in references to guns and phones. The term "certified pre-owned was conceived by corporations in order to find a more favorable alternative to marketing products as 'used,' which causes consumers to impose their cognitive biases associated with 'used' items onto prospective purchases. There is no distinction or standard as to what is the difference between a used item and a certified pre-owned one, except that it is implied the certified pre-owned has been inspected and confirmed as working. Inspection, refurbishing, certification of functioning and other methods are sometimes employed by companies, but there is no standard for what distinguishes that which is certified pre-owned from something that is used.
An automobile repair shop is an establishment where automobiles are repaired by auto mechanics and technicians. The customer interface is typically a service advisor, traditionally called a service writer.
A car rental, hire car or car hire agency is a company that rents automobiles for short periods of time to the public, generally ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. It is often organized with numerous local branches, and primarily located near airports or busy city areas and often complemented by a website allowing online reservations.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is the trade association for the United Kingdom motor industry. Its role is to "promote the interests of the UK automotive industry at home and abroad."
A vehicle breakdown is a mechanical or electrical failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that the underlying problem prevents the vehicle from being operated or impedes the vehicle's operation so significantly that it is very difficult, nearly impossible, or else dangerous to operate.
Car longevity is of interest to many car owners and includes several things: maximum service life in either mileage or time (duration), relationship of components to this lifespan, identification of factors that might afford control in extending the lifespan. Barring an accidental end to the lifespan, a car would have a life constrained by the earliest part to fail.
Technical Service Bulletins, or TSBs, document recommended procedures for repairing vehicles, issued by a vehicle manufacturer when there are several occurrences of an unanticipated problem. TSBs can range from vehicle-specific to covering entire product lines and break down the specified repair into a step-by-step process. While sometimes written by engineers employed by OEMs, the majority are authored by the first automotive technician to come up with a repair procedure. Because certain problems may have more than one cause and there is sometimes more than one way to fix a problem, there may be more than one TSB for the same problem.
The Auto Care Association is a not-for-profit trade association based in Bethesda, Maryland. Auto Care Association's nearly 3,000 members and affiliate companies, represent approximately 150,000 businesses that manufacture, distribute, sell and install motor vehicle parts, accessories, tools, equipment, materials, supplies, and services. Representing suppliers, distributors, retailers, service providers, program groups, manufacturers’ representatives, educators, and publishers, the Auto Care Association protects and advances the interests of businesses providing aftermarket products and services for all classes of motor vehicles.
The Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act, sometimes also referred to as Right to Repair, is a name for several related proposed bills in the United States Congress and several state legislatures which would require automobile manufacturers to provide the same information to independent repair shops as they do for dealer shops.
Right to repair is a legal right for owners of devices and equipment to freely modify and repair products such as automobiles, electronics, and farm equipment. This right is framed in opposition to restrictions such as requirements to use only the manufacturer's maintenance services, restrictions on access to tools and components, and software barriers.