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Dear Motor Medics, My business purchased a brand-new vehicle and, during the delivery at the dealership, they told me to bring it back to them for all service to ensure the warranty will remain in effect. They did not tell me directly that the warranty would be void if I had it serviced elsewhere but they strongly implied so.

I have been a faithful customer of another dealership for many years, but my company decided to go with this model and, being a company supplied vehicle that is free for me to drive, I must live with their choice. They do give me the choice of where to have my service work done, as I live 80 miles from that dealership.

My question to you is, can they void my warranty because I have my general service work done elsewhere? This is my first car I have driven that has had any kind of warranty at all. My personal cars have all been 3-5 years old when I buy them.

Thank you, Belinda in Friendly Minnesota

Dear Belinda, The dealership would love to have you back for all your service work. They can assure that you can get all the services that you need to take care of your car, however, so can almost any independent repair facility out there.

You could choose to have your non-warranty work performed anywhere if the parts used meet or exceed factory specifications.

Take care, The Motor Medics