James, Re the warranty on an 80k miles 11 year old car, I'd expect full coverage for even the most minor problem, I'd expect you to clean it every Sunday morning for me, to come to our house to do any minor plumbing / electrical work & to take my dog to the vet for his next annual booster. 🤣🤣🤣

I bought a 23 year old MR2 similar to your silver one 3 months ago with 55k on the clock. Week after purchase I was investigating NS handbrake not working and found calliper completely seized and nothing would get it to move. Bought an exchange calliper and problem sorted. I asked dealer to contribute to this as safety issue and obviously a fault when purchased. He agreed and I was happy. Since then battery failed & radiator started leaking. I didn’t even consider asking dealer to contribute to this these are wear & tear items and car 23 years old. You are MORE than fair with customers and I would gladly buy a car from you 👍🏻.

Regarding people asking for discounts - you could write that discount into your own warranty paperwork as an excess. i.e. if you give a £250 discount on the car then the first £250 of warranty work is the excess the customer has to pay. On cars that age it shares the risk. Nobody can expect a 'brand new' 10 year old car with a full warranty at a discounted price.

I'd trust small independent garages for servicing over dealers any day! You still get your book stamped!

I bought a new Skoda Octavia 20Tdi last year, at 2300 miles I got the red oil light on ,dealers response it’s within tolerant, so I was for ever topping the engine up before it first service. numerous times car won’t start unless you leave it 20 minutes,dealers response there’ no issues, have had numerous parking sensor faults the dealers do an update but every now and again same fault appears. Last month a had an oil warning light saying excess oil contact workshop, the AA came out and said it’s not doing the finishing the regen and is dumping diesel into the sump and he extracted a litre out .I have the car into 2 Skoda dealers and their response was do longer journeys or it will just do the same again. It has 36000 miles as I am a cab driver the dealer knew when I purchased it what I wanted the vehicle for, never had any issues with the last 2 Skoda with dpf fitted until over 120000 miles on the clock and Skoda Uk just don’t want to know. Also now garages have purchase some sort of pass from Skoda so their computers can wind the rear electronic hand brakes back , So James I think your customers should really be grateful for the way you treat them and bend over backwards to help them.

As a former salesman for a well known new and used motor retailer. Who sells mainly under 5 year old car. I would say 3 to 5 year old 6 mnt warranty. Anything 5 to 10 years 3 mnt with first month unlimited 2nd and 3rd month part cost only labour to be covered by buyer. And 10 years and above 30 day 1000 miles . Sound harsh but with the entitled generation its the only way to protect your business especially as you go above and beyond even what main dealers / used supermarkets don't even do the level of prep u do chops. Keep up the good work. Honesty the best policy

I think it was obvious it wasn't the battery earth strap, if it was, other electrics on the car would also have issues, such as the starter but it was starting fine.

If the car is more than 5 years old, 30 days with the caveat of if it’s done 1000 miles in less than 30:days, then the warranty ends at 1000 miles. If it’s less than 5 years, 3 months on engine, gearbox, clutch, basically major stuff and 30 days/1000 miles on anything else.

James I agree completely and absolutely wholeheartedly with you ref wear and tear. I’m am in the trade, albeit on the repair side, and Joe Public will not compute any of what we tell them ref faults occurring on a used car. It’s insane how bad it’s got tbh. I admire the way you deal with it. I wish I was as positive as you are about it. Wishing you all the best as always 👍🏻

I don't think I have ever bought a used car from a dealer that hasn't hadn't a problem, but if the cost of the repair isn't very high I usually pay for the repair myself, I think buyers need to be realistic and accept in a car with a lot of miles is going to need a repair. Some cars from dealers with a new MOT I have had have got the odd rattling ball joint but I have had it repaired myself although the car should have failed the mot. I think some warranties I have had never seem to cover the part that's gone wrong. But I think you are a very good and honest dealer that cares about being fair with your customers and your customers should appreciate that and work with you.

If people care about "sustainability", the regulators would focus more on reliability than tail-pipe CO2. That would drive manufacturers to make more reliable cars, reduce repair scams and encourage consumers to look after and service them properly.

There's a reason why main dealers won't retail cars over 5 years old or those with high mileage. Your warranties need to be very specific and tailored to the vehicle in question.

If you are buying cars cheap from the auctions, then you can expect things to go wrong. That’s why you are making profit from auction cars. Sometimes cars are put through auctions because no one wants to take the risk retailing them. You are taking the risk and have to accept the consequences if giving warranties unfortunately.

Trouble with 500s is that they make a fortune to buy, aren't very good when you get them, then you get people who don't like the high price upon sale, hence not much in them, buyers are moaners too, to be fair alternators an easy job, I did one last weekend, hour and a half and brand new 114 quid, so you could have got it in and got them back on road dead easy, first thing to have done was a cheap led volt meter to check initial charging, wants to be 14.6 v st away.

James you mentioned classic cars and how no one would expect a warranty on them . The thing is with most classic cars warranty doesn't matter because people who buy classic cars are mostly petrol heads who do all the maintenance/repairs themselves. Older classic cars were much easier to work on than the modern day Euroboxes with there silly computers and rattling diesel engines that need so much more complex maintenance that cost a fortune!!

I bought a BMW 320d 4 and a half year old car (65K miles) last November and had a catastrophic failure 5 months in. Paid £23,389 and been in a battle for the past 7 weeks just for them to look at it. Had enough now, after watching your videos it's nice to see you honour your warranties. Even if I had to contribute something I would have done but now I'm stressed angry and frustrated.

I think a month is fair to be honest the problem I’ve had in the past with warranties supplied by dealers the RAC warranty yes does cover main components looks good unit you have an issue try getting a garage to touch warranty work I phone about 10 when I had an issue with my wife’s car every one said the same we don’t do warranty work not worth the hassle car can be tied up on our ramp waiting for decisions on if they will pay out and plus they limit the hourly labour rate take back to where you purchased it from let them sort it was the main answer I had of garages great content James

Aside from stone damage I've never had a radiator suddenly go, they've just leaked more over time so that sounds unusual to me.

When I bought my 69 Camaro 5 years ago they gave me a verbal contract that anything goes wrong in 6months they would pay to fix it ,the msd failed after 4 months ,they paid and it cost them £350 with the fitting at my local garage ,

Cars are the only thing that people expect warranty on something 10 or even 15 years old, no one would expect old tech stuff to even work, same with say property, you've bought it and you've bought it, how can you fairly warranty something that the original maker of the part washed his hands of maybe 8 years ago, just because you've had the cheek to try and make a living from selling a very old, hard used item your expected to pick up the torch and carry on with it.

Good legal analogy … depreciation (reduction in value for a used car) is based on the appreciation (increase) of risk of failure, in increasingly expensive parts over time … boom nailed it 👍 The question of warranty at point of sale of s.hand cars is then simply a balance of who is the risk bearer, on what. Yeah maybe not simple in detail but the guiding concepts are actually quite clear … and I think you explain that split well.

Great video James! Showing the true story behind being a car dealer 👍🏼

I don't know what the best way to make it clear to customers is, but you could, on the older/lower margin cars, offer 2 tiers of warranty; everyone gets the basic mechanical cover but can opt to get electronics & cosmetics covered for an extra fee. For some people, an extra £100-£200 would be worth the peace of mind; for others, the savings would be more important. Of course, warranty is not the same as consumer rights, and there will always be that minority of customers who are a pain to deal with.

I've just fitted an alternator on a fiat 500,it blew the dash, ha, ha.

2013 Yeti Warranty - expect 3 months, cover major mechanicals and major electricals - E.g. Gearbox electronics etc.

I think you are more than fair with your clients James & you prep the cars very well (perhaps too well in some instances). I'd go along as you have been doing. You've a good reputation & this will reap dividends in the long term. Odd warranty claims will always appear - usually like buses, all together ! Review, all your costs over a trading year - the figures don't lie 👍.

A car is like any other mass produced product. New products still have a failure rate, teething troubles or just don't work for no reason at all out of the box. Over time, things wear down or out. That's life. If someone really looks after their car then that will show, but even so there is still the natural laws of ageing. A lot of garages do only give 30 days warranty and then try and sell an extended one. But, 30 days on a 10 year old car should be enough. Keep up the good work James, all the best.

I bought a van, after a week the power steering pump is making a noise, had it checked, it needs replacing, spoke to the warranty people, i have to find a garage who will do warranty work, spoke to a few garages, none want to do warranty work where i am as it isnt worth the hassle to them, spoke to dealership, they want to send me a 2nd hand one and i can fit it my self according to them. Also discovered that the coolant is full of psf and the psf tank is empty, the dealership are claiming thats nothing to with them, looks like its time to cpeak to the finance company and reject the van

I bought a 2010 Honda CR-Z hybrid in May of last year from a dealer with low milage, FSH and 6 months warranty. It's not missed a beat since and has been totally reliable. Doesn't use a drop of oil or coolant and it sailed through its last MOT with no advisories. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised with the length of warranty, but it just gave me peace of mind.

Unusual to cover radiators because even brand new ones can be punctured by stones fairly easily. On cars over 10 years old you should only be offering a 30 day warranty with up to 3 months available at additional cost. It's not exactly true that different brands of car age equally. A lot depends on the quality of the brand. Honda and Lexus are brands that neither miles or age affect as much a Ford's because Fords are junk from new.

Depends on what you classify as a old car take for example a mk3 escort 1.3L whats to go wrong it has a a 32dgav carb, a distributor, a coil, a mechanical fuel pump, a block with pistons and a cylinder head thats about the lot, no abs, no ecu, no airbags, , no traction control, 2 speed wipers, no rev counter, no engine management light, no dual mass flywheel, no oxygen sensors,no catalytic converter, no electric windows, no central locking, no power steering, manual choke, cable clutch, and cable throttle, 50+mpg, tax exempt,modern enough to use as a daily driver, big boot for the weekly shop and 3 or 5 doors, you can fix it with a basic socket set....theres not really anything to make a warranty claim on!!

The dsg gearbox was in our experience anything but reliable

Nightmare chops. I'm glad I'm not in the trade now. I think everything thing is made to a price now, not meant to last? Great video, as always. Cheers.

Just stick to third party bronze warranties if they want to upgrade let them pay for it and then you don’t have to worry no more

In the old days traders operating out of bombsites in London used to set the dogs on any customer who had the temerity to complain...

I’m trying to see this from both points of view. I get it you can’t payout 4k on a 3k car. On the other why buy from a dealer? I can save from buying private and both way I’m going to be responsible for what goes wrong.

The fiat 500 09 plate refunded, put a couple of grand towards a newer one, doesn't guarantee your still not going to have issues,i agree with james,least he's footing the cost !

Its a tuff call, you want to do the right thing but......at some point Wear & tear needs to be explained that "its not a new car" so expect age related issues. Engine, gearbox & clutch 90 days, thats Yr lot

Had a nightmare with a 500L James. Replaced alternator, cost a fortune OE spec. Anyhoo, still wouldn't charge. My auto electrician had to eire a timed relay due to BCM issue. I would actually trade it and run and take my loss. It beats unhappy customers who keep you up at night with your mind racing. Doesn't upset people but chaps like you with a strong moral compass hate letting people down. Great video James

I had to replace a hose clamp on the radiator (due to rust) on my 2014 Civic with 35,000 ok the clock. Not a bad car, just getting on a bit and things like these are to be expected. Thankfully the coolant change was due a week later. Would've been disappointed if the clamp had failed after I'd replaced the coolant!

Top marks for your customer service

Three months warranty on a car costing under six grand will do for me all day.

I have a years warranty on my LADA every year ,had it for 20 years new elastic bands and string and springs and tape .

Not speaking no badness but from an outsider looking in i do feel that the moores garage are taking advantage of your so you say open cheque book,, just my opinion

You are with out a doubt very fare and honest

what you say is spot on, a 3 month warranty is generous even on relatively new cars, punters dont want to pay for anything. When your out and about look at tyres, see how many owners put budget tyres on even nearly new cars. Its impossible to cater a warranty for everyone. Most people I know spend the bare minimum so your warranty is a way of getting free repairs to extend the free ride. If u cant afford to repair your car just get the bus.

Hopefully it is the alternator James as it turned out to be the wiring loom on the wife's fiat 500 after the battery, battery quick release clamp/component, earth strap and alternator was replaced.

On cheapies I say no warranty, but I've been in the job years and check everything, give a totally honest appraisal, put full mot on them, full service, check if say belts good, let them have a long test drive, that's a lot better than a private sale, generally I have few problems, it's all you can realistically do on a car at say 1500 quid, which in its self is the new 500 quid banger, back in the day most of my cars were 995,with inflation that's 3k,unfortunately tho people haven't moved on from then in their heads, I've just sold a daica step way for 1200 quid, that's full mot, service and 2 new tyres, only made a couple on it and I can't have any comebacks at that price, people may say charge more, I did initially, but no takers.

30 days warranty To cover engine/ecu/throttle body/gearbox/fuel system Items not covered - suspension/tyres/bodywork/radiator/battery/filters/spark plugs/brakes/bulbs/belts and other serviceable items This is coming from a consumer perspective. Can I just say, thank you for all your videos. It really has opened my eyes to car trading and what margins traders have. I do have a lot more empathy for traders now which will help me when it comes to buying a car in the future 👍🏻

i bought a 10 year year old van a few years ago,i asked for a discount but only asked for a 30 days warranty,i do a lot of miles in a week so i know if anything is gong to go wrong its gonna be within 30 days,,3 years on and the van has been perfect,i think some people want the bloody world given to them,fair play for honouring your cars,lots of dealers ry their best to wriggle out of it

Great video bud, your lucky where you are tho being able to build a healthy margin in to cover this stuff, unfortunately in south Yorkshire they want em for nothing and come back, ie I sold an 08 fiat 500 for 1550,thats a private sale or trade price, fresh mot, fresh service, then it's what warranty is with it?

Rads are alli and plastic bud, they quite often leak on the joints from the core to the plastic top or bottom, tbh a radiator sealer will usually sort it permanently, when your looking at the engine look for dampness or pink coolant stains, most radiators are like 80 quid, so 350 bill is a bit of a blow. Tbh I'd insist on a return to base warranty then you can probably do a fix yourself, or Pete, just letting another Garage get involved is expensive, like that abs sensor, scan it yourself, usually sensors are 20 quid and easy enough to fit, on all your warranty claims list I've had done em all in house, you'd have saved a fortune, but obviously not always easy to get them back in.

She’s certainly hammering the mileage on that yeti, bloody hell!

Sticking clutch pedal on the C Max is more than likely the clutch pedal master cylinder. Focus Mk3.5 suffer from this, not too expensive but a pig of a job to do.

I think on a 63 plate a three month warranty would be sufficient But you could have Bronze as standard or silver or gold warranty With an extension If the customer paid the extra surcharge I wouldn't expect the radiator to leak within the first month though Mind you I use vehicle score to check likely problems with any car and look at the MOT history Every car model has weak spots that go wrong regularly What is the one with the baked bean type sump ? If in doubt ask a mechanic to come with you when buying a car But even the best mechanic can miss possible faults Like an Alternator and diagnose a dodgy earth Do you have many customers that visit you that have an obd code reader to check for historical fult codes ?

On cars up to 10 years old give 3 months /1000 miles warranty, anything older 1 month / 500 mile warranty. In future any car that's 15 years old just sell as spares and repair. Not worth the aggravation for such small margins . Don't sell anything less than £5k ideally to keep the 10 to 15 per cent margin feasible.

You seem pretty generous compared to the old 'Arthur Daley' dealers.Buyers will obviously take advantage if they can but a 2009 car is old unless it is a minter with low miles.

More than fair. Great. Glen.

I think half money for repair will be fair for radiator warranty.

DSG = Dire sh!t gearbox

Yes !

Great resource,

James, I think you need to base your warranty period on the age of the car alone. (I see someone else on here gave a great breakdown on how that could work). Any reasonable customer will understand the thought process behind it, and ultimately, they’re fully at liberty to sort out their own warranty cover which will no doubt (given my own enquiries) be hellishly expensive! Whether it’s different for vans, but I brought a 2018 LWB Vivaro in November’22 with 13500 miles on the clock and only got 3 months warranty.

On older or high miles stuff just say 30 day's, more or less everything, if they don't like it and if it's only a small margin don't sell it them, someone who's easier and more realistic on an old car will soon come along, it's no good just breaking even.

Owned a fiat 500 since 2008. Power steering light comes on. Time to change the battery.

James, when you self-warranty, can you mix the timings? For instance can you offer a three month warranty with exceptions, such as electric window controls 1 month, to give it an existing problem to show itself, but so you don't get caught with things that then break on a decade old motor?

I don't know the law but if I was a dealer, it wouldn't matter what car, what mileage or what age, I would do a one month warranty that covers the main things such as engine, gearbox and suspension, and only those 3 things, if the engine blows or head gasket, gearbox won't go in any of the gears and the suspension and that would be it, if you buy a car with a full 12 months MOT, that means when you sold car it was by law fit to be on road, any little sensors or radiators or whatever I wouldnt cover because as you say it wear and tear, it's just a part of buying cars

C Max will be the clutch master cylinder, common fault (work at garage).

Three months on non major items perhaps? Six months on major mechanical parts Engine, gearbox etc? I had a Peugeot once (we all make mistakes), bought it at 6months old. Failed its first mot on dampers. 20odd k on the clock. and withing its 3year manufacturers warranty. They wouldnt honour the claim as its a consumable item? Repaired and mot'd it then got shot.

British Leyland used to pre put rad seal in brand new cars, maybe a good idea (?)

Its movement and miles that cause wear...not years ... I dont accept the premise that years affect too much on a vehicle...of course rubber will perish , in time ..eg. a door , rarely opened wont wear a hinge pin

TGH James I think you're fairer on warranties than you should be. I had an alternator fail on a car once & the dealer paid half of what it cost me to have it recovered & fixed & I don't think I even had any kind of warranty with it. Other than that, apart from a catastrophic failure, I wouldn't even bother claiming, I'd just fix it or get it fixed myself.

Minumum Warranty in my opinion 20k miles/Priced 25k+/Year 2022+ 9months 50k miles/ prices 15k+/2018+ 6 months 80k miles/price 8k/2014+ 3 months 100k/ price 5k/ 2010+ 1 month 150k+ miles/ under 5k / older than 2010 No Warranty/ 1 week- 2 weeks

Mechanically warranty engine and gearbox is reasonable warranty for 3 months have you not thought about doing a extended warranty for a additional cost so if they want extra on there warranty they do have that choice alot of garages or offering this now!!

James can I ask as a dealer do you by law have to offer a warranty of some sort or could you sell as sold as seen with no come back

Great Content James!

Problem we have these day people can't fix nothing of have any intelligence. Just blame something or someone. . A used car is a car someone didn't want . People should understand that

If I buy a car from an independent garage such as yours I'd only expect a 3rd party Warren g... and I'd not expect too much from that as 99 percent of garages don't like warranty work.

Up to 2012 1 months warranty 2013 onwards 3 months only no more no matter how new it is

with the roads like they are round here void any claims for wheels tyres or suspension.

Good to see your cars are getting a bit newer than when you first started . Hopefully not as many warranty claims.

0 to 60k = 3 months - 60k to 85k = 2 months - 85k to 100k = 1 month. Only covering main engine and gearbox components, main supension components and steering components, not pipes, clips, wires, switches etc. With a big list of exclusions, like - door handles, seta covers, aerials, wipers, anything audio related radio/cassete/cd/usb, etc etc. BTW radiator leaks could be stone/road debris damage !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the fiat 500 bud if the alternator light was going St out and producing 14 volts plus, it's unlikely to be that, as you'll know fiats are bad for steering column motor faults, I've had luck just replacing the motor it's self.

I've just bought a Freelander 2..FSH, picking it up tomorrow.. first place it's going, even before driving it home, is to a highly trusted LandRover specialist, they're going over it with a magnifying glass and a highly trained LandRover sniffer dog, (just kidding :>).. Any whines, rattles or groans and it's straight back to the dealer... I expect to have issues with a used vehicle, but they can only get worse....so not when it leaves the dealer. That's their job.

3 months expected with an option to extend to 6 months on the yeti.

every used car i have ever bought only had engine gearbox and dif warranty for 3 months

Definitely 🤣

I agree with a car that is 14 years old a 30 day warranty is more then fair. A lot of people just don't get a car that are 10 15 years old are 100% going to need money spent on parts nothing lasts forever

You are more than generous with your warranties.

"mechanical only" to be coverd nothing else ppl some times take the libertys

Has the rear left hand suspension coil failed on that Yeti ?

Good video James 🚘🚙🚗👍👍👍👏👏👏👏

Is it listing to the left?

Yeti Gold warranty 6 months. That covers Mechatronics. Though don’t see that failing. Set aside £2.5k as an owner for future. Doubt needed.

Scope of the Decision: In Crandall v. Nevada, the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot impose taxes or regulations that burden the right of individuals to travel freely, including the modes of travel they use. The case specifically addressed Nevada's attempt to tax individuals leaving the state by various means of conveyance, such as stagecoaches or steamboats. Fundamental Right to Travel: The Court affirmed that the right to travel freely is a fundamental right protected under the privileges and immunities clause of Article IV and the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This right encompasses both interstate and intrastate travel and includes the freedom to choose the mode of travel. State Taxation Prohibited: Crandall v. Nevada established that states do not have the authority to tax the right to travel or the specific modes of travel that individuals use. The Court's reasoning was grounded in the principle that such taxes would infringe upon a fundamental right and exceed the permissible scope of state taxation powers. Constitutional Constraints: The decision underscores constitutional constraints on state authority to tax activities or rights that are essential components of fundamental liberties. States cannot impose taxes that directly burden these rights without violating constitutional protections. Judicial Interpretation: Crandall v. Nevada remains a precedent that clarifies the limitations of state power in taxing activities related to fundamental rights. It affirms the judiciary's role in interpreting and upholding constitutional guarantees against state actions that infringe upon individual freedoms. In summary, Crandall v. Nevada definitively established that states cannot tax the right to travel freely or the modes of travel used by individuals. The decision reinforces the protection of fundamental rights under the Constitution and sets boundaries on state authority in taxation to ensure compliance with constitutional principles.

The only reason a radiator should fail is damage not corrosion as long as the correct coolant is used. They are not made from steel.

Hi im getting slightly confused so on a 10 year old car we can offer a 30 day guarantee but what about any issues that arise in the next 5 months?

The 3 months warranty , as you described, on the Yeti, would be fair James.

I dont think you can really warrant cars over 80k in this day and age.

A 30 day warranty on anything over 10 years old is totally reasonable. You should limit it to major components only if you still want to give 3 months warranty. With all warranties fair wear and tear is open to interpretation, so you should define one way or another if a part is covered or not