lws@hou2d.UUCP (lwsamocha) (03/17/86)
* Question to the net- So we all change our oil and filter regularly at 3K or so. Has anyone had an experience where the motor goes boom, auto is under warranty (reg or extended), and the mfg sez: You did not change oil or were negligent or whatever! Warranty voided! Must we supply proof that the oil and filter was changed at such and such an interval, like service station or dealer receipts? What about those of us who by a couple of cases of oil/filters on sale and change regularly- how do we _prove_ we changed regularly without any receipts? Has anyone had an experience in these matters? LWS hou2d!lws *
tmorris@convex.UUCP (03/18/86)
Actually , the burden of proof rests on the dealer to prove that you didn't change the oil ! As a former GM tech , I saw a lot of cases where it was questionable whether proper maintainance had been performed . In all of these cases , the warranty repairs were made without fuss .The main reason for this was that the dealer got paid by the factory for the repair , and stood to MAKE MONEY by fixing it and LOSE MONEY by turning the customer away . The only cases I ever saw where they were turned away was when the engine was so full of sludge that it was evident that the oil had never been changed , and the filter still had factory engine paint on it ! On top of that , the guy had been in for another warranty repair six months before , and the mileage on the odometer was only 50 miles more than when he last came in !?!?!? A quick check under the car confirmed tampering with the speedo cable for disabling the odometer.
geoff@ncr-sd.UUCP (Geoff Walton ) (03/19/86)
In answer to your >Question to the net- > >So we all change our oil and filter regularly at 3K or so. > >Has anyone had an experience where the motor goes boom, auto >is under warranty (reg or extended), and the mfg sez: > > You did not change oil or were negligent or whatever! > Warranty voided! > >Must we supply proof that the oil and filter was changed at such >and such an interval, like service station or dealer receipts? > >What about those of us who by a couple of cases of oil/filters on >sale and change regularly- how do we _prove_ we changed regularly >without any receipts? > >Has anyone had an experience in these matters? > >LWS >hou2d!lws . . . The answer is yes, you must supply proof -- but the nature of that proof may depend upon the people with whom you are dealing. My brother is the claims mgr. for a major extended warranty company here in San Diego, and I sometimes do claims adjustment work for him. In most cases, the only documents necessary are the receipts for the oil and filters (not consecutive transaction numbers from the same store, or all on the same date) and a vehicle log (not still shiny-new, or with all entries written by the same pen) showing the dates of the oil changes and the mileage as of that date. Also, be sure the receipts are for sufficient quantities of oil and filters to substantiate the number of oil changes claimed. Actually, most of the blown engines I've seen were EASY to class as "cared-for" or "neglected". A quick look at the condition of the filter itself and sticking my finger into the oil drained from (or still in) the pan was usually enough. A car that has 10k miles on it, and the original filter, is a dead give-away -- as is a blown engine with a brand-new filter, oil which is still amber, and a layer of black sludge on the bottom of the pan. I buy my oil and filters when they're cheapest, too, and do all my own PM. I guess the best advice I can give (beyond "Keep changing the oil every 3k miles") is to tell you to call the people who will decide YOUR case, should it become necessary. Ask THEM what THEY will want in the way of documentation, then provide it; the engine itself will probably provide the PROOF. :r all usual disclaimers Geoff Walton NCR E&M San Diego {wherever}!ucbvax!sdcsvax!ncr-sd!geoff Even the smallest problem becomes unsolvable if enough meetings are held to discuss it.
jon@msunix.UUCP (Otto) (03/22/86)
I buy Fram oil filters, and one of the flaps on the top of the box
has a place to write the date, mileage, type of oil, etc. I tear them off
and save them in an envelope, although I don't know if they are valid proof
of changing the oil in your car.
All I wanted was a Pepsi! Jonathan Hue
And she wouldn't get it for me! LMSC-Mechanisms & Servos
(c) Suicidal Tendencies, 1984 {amdcad!cae780,sun!sunncal}!leadsv!msunix!jonwilson@convex.UUCP (03/25/86)
A friend of mine had the oil pump on his Honda fail about a month AFTER
the warranty expired. He provided the dealer with a maintenance record
written in at least 3 colors of ink (it was for real). After the Honda
rep looked at that and the disassembled engine, they rebuilt his engine
for free.
On the other hand, a motorcycle I owned (Suzuki GT550) had two mating
pairs of transmission gears fail (detected by glitter in the trans. oil)
under warranty with fewer than 5000 miles on the bike. In this case, the
bozo rep insisted that the transmission had been run with a low oil level.
(He was unable to explain why the rest of the transmission was ok !)
I had the gears hardness tested and the failed ones were much softer than
the others by about 10 points on the Rockwell C scale. Suzuki then decided
to honor the warranty. The best part about this is that I was the mechanic
at the Suzuki dealer involved. The factory didn't know this until I sent
them the soft gears along with my personal opinion of their rep.
Stuart Wilson
Convex Computer Corp.
yeah,yaeh yeah ...