Car Warranty Repair Law

Legal warranty period for car repairs

First, let's understand the concepts so as not to confuse the warranty period and the warranty repair period.

The warranty period is the period of time during which, if the consumer discovers defects in the product, the seller is obliged to satisfy his requirements provided for in Article 18 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights

The above article includes a number of requirements, including “free elimination of product defects.”

Warranty car repair is the satisfaction of the consumer’s request for free elimination of car defects during the warranty period.

The period of warranty repair of a car is the period of time in accordance with the Consumer Rights Protection Law between the submission of a claim to eliminate the defects of the car under warranty and the return of the car after repair.

Article 20 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” provides for the following warranty repair periods:

• Immediately. If, when handing over the car, the duration of the repair is not indicated anywhere in the documents, then by law it must be carried out immediately, that is, within the minimum required period.
• Time period agreed upon in writing by the dealer and the car owner If the dealer is not able to correct the defects immediately, he can agree with you on the time he needs, for example, in a work order. Please note that it cannot exceed 45 calendar days.

How long is the warranty period for a new car?

The current legislation of the Russian Federation has established the following standard warranty periods for motor vehicles:

• European - 2 years, mileage is not taken into account,
• Asian - 3 years, while mileage should not exceed 100,000 km.

Warranties for a period longer than that established by law are a simple marketing ploy of car dealerships. Typically, such warranty obligations have a lot of restrictions and are not regulated by regulations.

The manufacturer's warranty obligations apply only to the periods determined by the current legislation of the Russian Federation. An extended warranty is provided not by the manufacturer, but by official dealers or car dealerships.

Watch the video. Transferring the machine for repair:

How is the warranty repair period agreed upon?

Let's consider several options for how you can be offered to agree on the duration of the repair.

The period is not specified or a period not exceeding 45 days is specified.

Such cases are rare, but they do occur.

As we said above, if the duration of the repair is not indicated at all, then you are obliged to do everything immediately. If the duration is specified, then repairs should not take longer.

What to do: You don’t have to do anything.

The work order immediately indicates a repair period of 45 days.

Very often, the dealer (car service station), taking advantage of the consumer’s ignorance, indicates 45 days in small print on the order.

At the same time, a shorter repair duration may be verbally stated, and 45 days is simply the maximum. Thus, the dealer insures himself against liability.

What to do: study all the documents that you are given to sign. If you see 45 days in them, you can safely cross them out and write that the repairs are carried out in accordance with Article 20 of the Consumer Protection Law - immediately.

It is possible that the dealer station employees will not allow changes to be made to the work order.

What to do: write a free-form application to eliminate the defects and hand it to the dealer against signature, and send a duplicate by mail: a valuable letter with a list of the contents and a receipt.

In your application, indicate that the vehicle's defects must be corrected immediately. It is better to indicate a specific number of days. According to our practice, no more than 5 are needed for repairs of any complexity.

A sample request for elimination of vehicle defects under warranty can be found

The work order specifies a period of more than 45 days.

A common violation of consumer rights is the establishment of a warranty repair period exceeding 45 days. You should not be afraid of this, since such an agreement has no legal force.

It may also say "45 working days". This is also a violation and has no force, since the law sets a period in calendar days.

What to do: if you notice illegal conditions in time, then use the tips given above. If the documents have already been signed, then you need to follow the general rule - the repair period cannot exceed 45 days.

The warranty repair period is specified in the purchase and sale agreement.

The seller often sets the warranty repair period at 45 days directly in the purchase and sale agreement.

This condition may be legally binding, but only if the car is repaired under warranty by the seller.

According to lawyers from the Consumer Rights Protection Society, it is illegal for the seller to establish a warranty repair period in the purchase and sale agreement. Within the meaning of the law, the time to eliminate the defects of the car is agreed upon by the consumer and the dealer in relation to each specific defect and only after it is discovered, and not at the time of concluding the purchase and sale agreement.

Specifics of extending the warranty to individual parts of the car

The conditions for warranty repair of a vehicle are established by the manufacturer. Typically, this involves the following responsibilities for the car owner:

• compliance with engine operating rules and manufacturer's recommendations;
• timely completion of scheduled maintenance;

The warranty for engine repairs is valid only in cases where the manufacturer’s fault in the detected deficiencies (presence of defective or low-quality parts and assemblies) is proven.

It is important to know: the law obliges the seller (dealer, manufacturer) to extend the warranty on the car when installing new or repaired spare parts, but in practice this requirement is often offset by a separate clause in the sales contract.

How is the warranty period calculated?

The subject of litigation is often the determination of the day from which the period of warranty repairs should be calculated.

One of the most common cases: a consumer makes a request to eliminate a defect under warranty, and the dealer offers to make an appointment for repairs in a couple of weeks or a month. He can motivate this, for example, by the lack of spare parts necessary for repairs or by a queue.

When does warranty repair begin in this case: from the moment the claim is made or from the moment the car is handed over?

Dealers in court take the position that the deadline was not violated, since the repairs were not even started and the consumer did not provide the car.

However, regardless of these or any other circumstances for which warranty repairs were actually started later, the period is calculated from the moment the consumer contacts us.

Article 20 of the consumer law directly states that the contractor’s lack of spare parts, components, materials and equipment is not grounds for increasing the duration of warranty repairs.

Important! The law does not set a deadline for performing technical repairs, but for satisfying the consumer’s request for free elimination of defects.

This may include quality control, and an examination in the event of a dispute about the causes of the deficiency, and the supply of spare parts necessary for repairs and the release of a specialist from sick leave.

At the same time, the absence of a car from the dealer is not a basis for releasing him from liability.

This conclusion is confirmed by our judicial practice in disputes over warranty repairs of a car.

“.. The defendant’s reference to the fact that the troubleshooting was not carried out due to the fact that the plaintiff did not provide the car to the service center cannot be taken into account, since R-Motors LLC offered to replace the HMI module after the point established 1 of Article 20 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” has a 45-day period for eliminating deficiencies. Previously, the plaintiff was not asked to present the car to a service center for repairs.”

From the Determination of the St. Petersburg City Court No. 33-16586 dated September 12, 2016

What documents are issued after repair?

When the vehicle repair work is completed, the owner, along with the vehicle, receives a work order and financial documentation confirming the fact of payment.

If a vehicle was repaired while under warranty, a note about the work performed is made in the service book.

What is the procedure for filling out a work order for repair work?

The work order displays information about the work performed, materials, spare parts and components used during the work, the time spent on repairs, and the cost of one standard hour.

What warranty is provided for a vehicle that has undergone warranty repairs?

Based on the results of the work carried out on the warranty repair of the vehicle, the authorized person of the car service draws up documentation that contains information about the work performed and the persons responsible for the work. This document is sealed with the handwritten signature of an authorized person and the seal of the car service center, after which it is handed over to the owner of the car.

This documentation is usually called a report.

READ ALSO: Is it possible to return a car part if it is not needed?

The report is drawn up in any form, but it must contain the following:

• the date when the citizen contacted the car service center for warranty repairs,
• start date of repair work,
• what work was carried out and by which employee,
• what materials, components and spare parts were used in the repair process,
• dates of completion of repairs and transfer of the vehicle to the owner.

Violation of the warranty period for car repairs

The warranty repair period is considered violated upon expiration of:

• the minimum period objectively necessary for repairs;
• period agreed upon by the dealer and the car owner in writing, but not more than 45 days

If the repair duration is longer, the following consequences occur:

• You can demand a penalty from the dealer in the amount of 1% of the price of the car for each day of delay. With a car price of 1.5 million rubles. it will be 15,000 rubles. in a day
• You can request a replacement car or a refund for it
• You can claim compensation for moral damages
• The dealer must reimburse you for all damages, including rental car and attorney fees.
• If the case goes to court, a fine will also be collected from the dealer: the court will add another 50% to all amounts of money collected from you. When collecting money for a car worth 1.5 million rubles. you will be awarded an additional 750,000 rubles.

Many lawyers would now argue with us and say that it is impossible to return the money for the car under such conditions. But judicial practice confirms our position:

“Violation by the seller of the deadlines for eliminating the defects of a technically complex product specified in Article 20 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” is an independent basis for the consumer to present demands for refusal to fulfill the sales contract and for the return of the amount of money paid for the product. The presentation of such demands by law is not due to the materiality of the defects, or the impossibility of using the goods for their intended purpose, or the establishment of the seller’s guilt for the reasons for violating the deadlines for eliminating the defects of the goods.”

From the Determination of the St. Petersburg City Court No. 33-16586 dated September 12, 2016

From the above judicial act the following follows:

1. If the warranty repair period is violated, this is enough to demand a replacement of the car or a refund for it.
2. The significance of the defect, the impossibility of use, the fault of the seller do not matter here

Refund is your right. You can always wait until the repair is completed and demand payment of a penalty for the period of delay allowed by the dealer.

Important! When making any demands, pay attention to who you can make them to. This may be a seller, importer, authorized organization and others. The full list of restrictions is contained in Article 18 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights.

When submitting claims to an organization authorized by the manufacturer, you must check whether the person accepting your claim (demand) has the necessary authority. Such powers are contained in the so-called dealer agreement. This is an agreement between the manufacturer and a legal entity in the Russian Federation that carries out maintenance and repair of vehicles, as well as accepting claims.

Warranty period provided by a car service for repairs

The owner of the vehicle should keep the contact details of the car dealership where the vehicle was purchased. In accordance with the norms enshrined in the Law of the Russian Federation dated 02/07/1992 No. 2300-I On the protection of consumer rights, the dealership that sold the vehicle is subject to warranty obligations.

Please note that service centers and service stations do not bear warranty obligations.

Based on the norms of the Russian Federation Law No. 2300-I dated 02/07/1992 On the protection of consumer rights, the manufacturer is responsible for the quality and performance of the product during the warranty period.

Note that the agreement concluded between a citizen acting as a buyer and a car dealership acting as a seller must comply with the norms of current legislation.

The provisions of the contract may contain conditions different from those established by law if they improve the situation of the citizen purchasing the vehicle.

A citizen who is interested in the conditions under which warranty service will be provided for the purchased vehicle should familiarize himself with the provisions set out in the service book.

The service book is documentation compiled by the manufacturer and is an integral part of the technical documentation of the vehicle. We emphasize that different manufacturers set different terms and conditions for warranty service for vehicles.

Perhaps the most important period in the operation of a new vehicle is the first two weeks from the date of purchase. If during this time period significant deficiencies are identified in the operation of the vehicle, the citizen can not only demand that the identified defects be eliminated free of charge, but also return the vehicle to the seller, terminating the sales contract and receiving the money back.

Body repair done poorly

Read how official dealers deceive you here.

How you can be deceived at a service station, and what to do in this case, read the link: https://novocom.org/avtotransport/remont-avtomobilej/obman-pri-diagnostike-avtomobilya.html

Important! But not every malfunction is considered significant. For example, a faulty headlight will not be grounds for termination of the contract, but more significant shortcomings may well serve as such.

Any defects, even significant ones, discovered in a vehicle after two weeks from the date of sale cannot serve as a basis for terminating the sales contract and returning funds. Such a vehicle is subject to warranty repair.

It is worth keeping in mind that if the repair period exceeds the maximum permissible period established by the current legislation of the Russian Federation, which is 45 calendar days, the citizen has the right to demand payment of a penalty. The penalty amount is 1% of the cost of the vehicle for each day of delay.

Let us note that car dealerships often understand the law much better than ordinary citizens. Taking advantage of this situation, car dealership employees are trying to mislead citizens. For example, situations often occur when unscrupulous employees of a car dealership tell a citizen that the vehicle has been accepted for repair, but they themselves arrange an appointment for diagnostics. But the law has not established a deadline for carrying out diagnostics.

No less often, delays in carrying out repair work are explained by the lack of necessary parts and components. Here it should be clearly understood that large service stations and service centers have a reserve of the most current running parts and components.

If the service station really does not have the spare parts or components necessary to carry out repair work on a specific vehicle, an order is made. Typically, ordered spare parts arrive at the station within 3-5 days from the date of order.

Here are some of the most common excuses used to justify delays in vehicle warranty repairs. In reality, the main reason for missed deadlines is the heavy workload of car services.

Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues. Find out more here.

Document flow

It is necessary to hand over the vehicle for service taking into account all legal requirements. In this case, the citizen requires documentary evidence of:

• transfer of property into the wrong hands;
• the reasons for such an operation;
• receiving the car back in good condition.

The rules for document flow between the parties are as follows:

1. The complaint must be made in writing, indicating a detailed reason for the dissatisfaction.
2. Along with the car, you must submit to the service: a warranty card;
3. service book;
4. other (specified in the purchase agreement).

Important: it is recommended to sign the vehicle acceptance certificate only after the test.