Can you choose your own mechanic to service your new car, rather than the business or authorised agent of the business that sold the car, without voiding your warranty? The short answer is... YES!

What the ACCC says:

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) explains that your preferred mechanic can service your new car without voiding the warranty, although there are some conditions. The following is an extract from the ACCC Consumer Express Newsletter (Issue 1445-9671, April 2005) to explain.

• New vehicle warranty

  Where a problem arises with the vehicle that is covered under the warranty, the vehicle should be taken to the dealer for repair. These repairs should be done free of charge under the warranty.

• New and used vehicle servicing

  In relation to general servicing, motor vehicle dealers are entitled to insist that any servicing performed on cars they sell is carried out by qualified staff, according to the manufacturer's specifications, and using genuine or appropriate quality parts where required. Provided these conditions are met, regardless of where you choose to get your car serviced, your warranty will remain intact. So shop smart and shop around.

• Qualified staff

  Qualified staff is a party or parties, other than an 'authorised dealer', who is capable of performing car servicing. Some servicing venues display qualification certificates, but if you're not sure the staff are qualified, just ask.

• Manufacturer's specifications

  If an independent agent implies that it can perform general car servicing to manufacturer's specifications and does not perform that function satisfactorily, then you have rights and remedies against the agent regardless of whether the agent has factory qualifications or not.

• Genuine or appropriate quality parts

  The issue here is not who manufactured the part/s, it is whether the part/s are fit or appropriate for the purpose intended. If a part is non-genuine, but is interchangeable with the genuine part, it could be seen as being fit or appropriate for the purpose and would therefore not void the manufacturer's warranty. However, it must also be noted that should the part/s installed fail or not perform satisfactorily, the consumer then has rights against the fitter and/or manufacturer of those replacement parts. If the non-genuine part fails, and causes some other damage to the vehicle, the dealer and vehicle manufacturer will not be liable for damage caused by the failure of that part.

  Thus, provided consumers do research and ensure that wherever they take a vehicle for servicing, the staff are qualified and all other provisions above are met, the warranty will be safely intact for the warranty period.

The important thing to note is that Production Automotive always used quality parts, Why? Because of their level of quality - Ryco, for example, meets warranty conditions and offer a warranty on an engine if it fails as a result of a filter.

What is a 'Statutory Warranty'?

Statutory Warranties are implied by law and give consumers a minimum level of protection for goods and services. The law says that all products supplied to a consumer must be fit for the purpose for which they were supplied. Statutory warranties are different to Manufacturer's Warranties.  A dealer or manufacturer may sell a Manufacturer's Warranty which will have its own conditions - you should review these conditions as they may not offer any extra protection to that provided by your Statutory Warranty. Further information on warranties is available from the ACCC.