Is your car still under warranty?

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act

Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and the general principles of the Federal Trade Commission Act, a manufacturer/dealer may NOT require the use of any brand of filter (or any other article) unless the manufacturer provides the item free of charge, during the terms of the warranty.

If your car is still covered under the new car warranty and a dealer is telling you that you have to use their name brand filter or your new car warranty will be voided then you should thank him, and then inform him that under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act he now has to provide that oil change for free. It is not true that you have to use the dealer for oil changes, even on a brand new car. If a dealer requires you to use their products or the warranty will be voided, then the work is considered warranty work and must be provided for free. The requirement is to use approved products, which we do. In fact, you can do the oil change yourself as long as you use approved products. We hear this a lot from customers who have spoken to new car dealer service managers. We have found that the best way to satisfy these customers is to ask them to call a new car salesman, not the service department, and say they are interested in purchasing a car, but don't want to use the service department for oil changes, but also don't want to void the new car warranty. I guarantee that the car salesman will inform you that you do NOT have to use their service department for oil changes. You simply have to use approved products and you have to do them at the required intervals. If you do them yourself simply keep documentation.

I realize that many people have the perception that it is important to go back to the dealer to get good service and to keep a new car warranty intact. One of my best friends purchased a new car and I soon noticed he was not bringing the new car to my shop for oil changes, he had always brought his other cars to my shop. I asked him if there was a problem with the service... many people don't want to criticize, they just take their business elsewhere. He replied there was no problem, but the dealer said he had to take his car to their particular service department because the oil filters had to have a check valve and only the dealer filters had the valve. Having oil changes done at an independent shop would void the warranty. Obviously I was very disturbed and began my small personal crusade to make that particular service manager admit he was wrong, and was doing nothing more than putting fear into my friend in order to retain his business. After many phone calls and letters he finally admitted he was wrong, and my friend is once again coming to me for ALL of his oil changes. (Of course I still give him grief about it.) I can absolutely guarantee that if you use our location that your new car warranty will NOT be voided... I have also checked with many other quick lubes in the area and so far all of them use approved filters as well. Remember that the independent quick lube shop realizes the service/warranty issue with the new car dealers is difficult. Therefore we have to do things better... come in and give us a try.