Waging Warranty: 10 ways to avoid a dispute on a warranty claim

Over the years I’ve heard from hundreds of people — almost always owner-operators, but also some drivers and small fleets — who feel they’ve been treated poorly by carriers, governments, dealers, or manufacturers. Often at their wits’ end, they don’t know where to turn. Sometimes I can help, sometimes not.

First, let me make it clear that I’m not a crusading advocate, that I’m not here to help the downtrodden or the victimized. I’m a journalist, and my very full-time job is to inform, not to resolve disputes or to be used as an instrument of revenge. People who expect that I’ll write an exposé to tell the world about their misfortune are disappointed. I won’t, especially when, with just a little investigation, it becomes clear that the complaint is without merit, maybe even vindictive.

By far the most common complaint that lands on my desk revolves around warranties. They’re a source of grief for truckers, manufacturers, and dealers alike. Yet many disputes, I’ve learned, don’t have to be become matters of war.

Theoretically, a warranty spells things out in black and white, but sometimes there’s a gray zone where what’s obvious to you seems invisible to the other side. You can take it to a judge to sort it out, but don’t go there unless all your options are gone, because the only winners will be lawyers.

I’m monitoring a situation right now that was perilously near to a suit as we went to press, and it represents an object lesson in how things can go wrong. A veteran trucker bought a new truck some three years ago, and he says it’s been in the shop way too often. It came with a warranty but he never asked to have the conditions spelled out (mistake number one). When he finally did, he got no satisfactory answers from the dealer, which is where black-and-white turned not to gray but to red.

Only now — at the 500,000-km mark — has he taken his complaints beyond the dealer’s service manager. (Mistake number two.) The manufacturer is now involved in this bitter dispute, but there doesn’t seem to be much co-operation there, either. At this point I’ve got only one side of the story, mind you, so we’ll await developments. There could yet be a happy ending.

So, using this and dozens of similar cases as lessons, here’s a handful of basic rules to help you avoid a similar fate:

1. Shop for the dealer as well as the truck. The equipment being produced these days is all pretty good, but there can be big variations in service among dealers.

2. Know what your warranty covers and doesn’t cover.

3. Establish a strong relationship with your dealer’s service department before you need it. Introduce yourself to the key people there, and start before you take delivery of the truck.

4. Keep meticulous records of the work done on your truck, of its fuel economy, and even of the odd noises you may hear.

5. Insist that all work orders be properly completed, including mileage, the nature of the fault, the work done, and details of all parts replaced.

6. Be reasonable when a disagreement arises with the service writer. Talk to the mechanic if you can, and certainly the service manager. Maybe you should try calling another dealer and asking “what if” questions.

7. If the dispute can’t be resolved in the shop, go back to the salesperson who sold you the truck and ask for help. If there’s no satisfaction there, go higher, to the sales manager or to the dealer principal. Be persistent but not rude.

8. If your relationship with the dealer has soured irretrievably, phone the manufacturer’s head office. It may take several calls to find and talk to the right person, but don’t give up.

9. Write a letter to that person as well, copying the dealer principal and service manager, but don’t attach 72 pages of disputed invoices and the like. Make your point, provide a crisp point-form summary of what’s gone on, and ask for timely resolution of your problem. Ask for a phone call as acknowledgement that your complaint has been received.

10. Don’t threaten to sue unless every possible option has been explored and you actually have the financial resources to follow through, if it comes to that.

These tips aren’t magic but they’ll help. Follow them religiously and you likely won’t need an ombudsman at all. If you’re in a corner and out of ideas, do give me a shout. I’m no referee, but sometimes it’s as simple as knowing the right phone number, and I’m nothing if not full of them.