I like to remind dealers about this issue periodically as we still see cases where the words ‘3 month engine and gearbox warranty’ have been scribbled across a sales invoice.
Firstly, there is no legal requirement to give a warranty to your customers. Consumers will be covered by their statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA). Their rights are clearly explained in our ‘Your Legal Rights’ Handbook which many of our dealers give to customers at the point of sale and/or use to train their staff on the CRA.
If you do want to give a warranty you must, under the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013, give your customer a full list of terms and conditions so it is clear what is covered and what is not covered. If you don’t, you will be in breach of the above Regulations and you could find yourself being Ordered by a court to pay for an item which you didn’t intend to be covered. For example, it is entirely possibly that a judge could decide that anything under the bonnet counts as part of the engine meaning you could end up with a large bill for an auxiliary item such as a new turbo or, you could end up replacing the entire engine even if the customer has driven in excess 10,000 miles within 3 months if you did not set a mileage limit.
In short, either don’t offer warranties or make sure you make the terms clear.
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