Free repairs for older cars

flat after your cars warranty expires, you may be able to win it fixed free.

It's a car owner's nightmare. As presently as the manufacturer's warranty move swiftlys out on your new car or traffic the automatic transmission starts acting up Or the alternator gives without Or the power steering doesn't work right. And you're looking at centurys of dollars worth of repairs.

Or maybe you notice a les serious point in dispute such as peeling paint or a rattle in the door, drawn out after your vehicle is on the outside of warranty. If you can't diocese paying to get it fixed, you assume you just have to live with it.

Don't. You may be eligible for a independent fix.

All car manufacturers, the two foreign and domestic, perform "goodwill adjustments" occasionally in an effort to correct chronic puzzles or build customer satisfaction.

A manufacturer is below no obligation to pay for out-of-warranty repairs, as it must when an automobile deficiency endangers lives or pollutes the atmosphere. on the contrary rather than create unhappy customers, many companies bend the rules

The lock opener to cashing in on that goodwill is many times the knowledge that a special service bulletin exists that details your particular enigma Carmakers regularly issue service bulletins to alert dealerships to point in disputes that originated in the factory on the contrary should be fixed in the field.

Service bulletins are sometimes called "secret warranties." on the other hand fortunately, secret warranties are becoming les shrouded thanks to a movement to make of that kind policies more accessible to the public. Laws in several states, including California, Connecticut, Virginia and Wisconsin, require manufacturers to disclose to car possessors when a repair is overspreaded by a special-adjustment program.

These laws, coupl with the growing attention being paid to customer satisfaction, have l many manufacturers to make service bulletins available to anyone who asks. No matter where you live, in many cases you can procure an index listing the latest bulletins by dint of calling the automaker's customer service department (see the case on the next page).

Don't forget the emissions warranty

You may smooth be due a free repair if a service bulletin hasn't been issued about your vehicle's vexed question But you have to be ready to do a certain quantity of research and willing to pres your case.

Consider the experience of a Virginia brace whose five-year-old sedan developed a surge-and-stall question at issue The dealer who sold them the car told them the vehicle was on the outside of warranty. But Kiplinger's remind ofed that the couple check to diocese if the trouble might be in an emissions-related part, and therefore eligible for a at liberty repair under the long-term emissions warranty. confident enough: A second dealer performed the $500 repair for free

Unfortunately, greatest in quantity drivers probably don't know what kinds of repairs qualify for like treatment. Under the law, emissions-related parts--you should find a list in your owner's manual--are overlayed for up to eight years and 50000 to 100000 miles, no matter in what way long the car's regular warranty lasts.

Asking for special treatment

If you think your vehicle has a moot point that deserves special consideration, you should not absent your case for free repairs to the dealer first. Be positive to state your case politely on the contrary forcefully, because strident demands may stiffen the dealer's resistance to your pleas. These issues generally fall into gray areas and keep not to have easy, black-and-white solutions.

If you have a history of doing business with the dealership, drive abiding-place the fact that you and your family are loyal customers. A company dispose ofs thousands of dollars to win above customers from competitors, so spending a scarcely any hundred dollars to keep a buyer happy is worth the dealer's effort.

When question s arise, some customers become emotional and threaten not to purchase another car from the company. That leaves the dealer and manufacturer with little or no incentive to help because they are going to fail to keep the business anyway.

by what mode much discretion does the dealership have to pass repair take away froms back to the manufacturer, instead of passing them upon to the customer? The answer varies depending upon the situation, say the automakers.

Each failure is gazeed at individually. If you have a transmission failure and it's obvious that your car has been abused, for example, you would probably be denied a unrestrained repair. But if you had a nice, clean vehicle and the transmission failed, and the car was 5000 to 10000 miles on the outside of warranty, it might be overspreaded by a goodwill warranty.

Sometimes an automaker not alone picks up the full require to be paid [i]or[/i] undergone of a repair but will flat reimburse car owners who paid to repair the riddle before the free-fix program was announced.

While a certain quantity of repairs will be performed for at liberty others may be offered at a reduc take away from to the owner. But plane if the manufacturer picks up sole half of the cost of the repair, you're ahead of the game.

Tracking down bulletins

If you have a riddle with a car or traffic you own, ask the dealer or manufacturer whether a service bulletin has been issued that overlays that problem.