Car repair warranty: what it covers and how to keep it

Two different warranties: the part and the work#

When you leave the garage, you've usually paid for two things: parts and labour. Their warranties don't come from the same place:

If you don't get a warranty certificate, or nothing is written about a warranty on the work, ask for it before you pay. A spoken promise is hard to prove a year later. It's simplest to ask about the warranty when you choose the garage.

The legal guarantee on parts#

OUG 140/2021, Romania's law on the sale of goods to consumers, applies to sales between a consumer and a seller. In short, for a part sold to you as a private individual and listed separately on the invoice:

• The seller is liable for 2 years for any lack of conformity that existed at delivery and shows up within that period.
• In the first year, the law presumes the defect was already there at delivery: you don't have to prove it.
• Incorrect fitting done by the seller or under their responsibility, as part of the contract, also counts as a lack of conformity.
• Second-hand parts can have a shorter period by agreement, but not under one year.

What you get if the part fails#

You're entitled to have the part brought into conformity free of charge, by repair or replacement, within a period agreed with you in writing, of no more than 15 calendar days from when you told the seller. Free of charge includes the transport, labour and materials needed.

• If the part is repaired, the guarantee period is extended by the time you couldn't use it.
• If the part is replaced, the guarantee starts again for the new part.
• If the part has to be removed, the seller's obligation includes removing it and fitting the repaired or new part, or paying for that.

When something goes wrong, report it in writing, by email for instance, and keep the reply. The date you reported it matters if the warranty is about to end.

Commercial guarantees and warranties on labour#

On top of the legal guarantee, the part's manufacturer or the shop may give you a commercial guarantee, for example a longer one or one with better terms. The law says it:

• binds whoever gives it, on the terms in the guarantee certificate and the advertising that goes with it;
• doesn't reduce your legal rights, and the certificate has to say so clearly;
• is given to you on a durable medium, paper or a file, at the latest on delivery.

For the work itself, such as an adjustment or a repair with no new parts, the law on the sale of goods doesn't apply directly. What applies are RAR's rules for garages (RNTR 9): the garage must give you a warranty certificate for the work done, including the warranty periods of the parts used. The garage sets the period for the work, so check it: which job, how many months, possibly how many km. If a defect that isn't your fault appears within that period, Romania's consumer protection law (OG 21/1992) requires the garage to fix it within 15 days of learning about it.

Which papers to keep#

• The estimate you approved, with parts and labour line by line.
• The invoice, with the date, the car's km at check-in and the parts, with their codes.
• The warranty certificate for the work and, if you got one, the part's.
• Any message in which you reported a problem, and the reply.

Keep them together, with the car, not scattered between your wallet and your inbox. A year from now, when the part starts making a noise, you'll need the exact date and the shop's name. The same papers count when you sell the car.

How not to lose the warranty#

1. Note when each warranty ends, in months and, where it applies, in km.
2. If you notice a problem, don't wait: tell the shop straight away, in writing.
3. Go back to the shop that did the work. If someone else touches the same part, it gets hard to show who was at fault.
4. Follow the conditions written in the warranty, such as checks required by the part's manufacturer.

How CariX shows your warranties#

When a shop that works with CariX records a warranty on a part or a job, it shows on the estimate and in your free driver account:

• “Active warranties” on the car's page: what's covered, from what date, until what date or up to how many km, whichever comes first.
• The status of each one: “Active”, “Ending soon” or “Expired”, so you can see at a glance what's still covered.
• An email reminder 30 days before a warranty given in months ends: “The warranty for … ends on …”. If you've noticed a problem, go to the shop before it ends.
• “Book at …” on the reminder in your account takes you to booking at the shop that gave you the warranty.

The honest limit: you only see warranties recorded in CariX by shops that use it, for the cars in your account. For warranties from other shops, keep the papers listed above.