Why your M.O.T. and Warranty Reminder is so important!

After 33 months we will send you an MOT and Warranty reminder. This is to remind you that it is approximately 3 months until your car's M.O.T. runs out, and the greater part of the manufacturer's warranty ends.

There are a couple of things we should note about this reminder... firstly, it is calculated from the date that you entered as the 'lease start date' when you signed up - we assume that this date is pretty close to the day your car went on the road. If the lease start date and the date your car was first registered are wildly different, then unfortunately our reminder may come too late! At a later date we may add a feature to the mileage manager which allows you to adjust this but for the time being, people who are leasing pre-used cars will have to write this in their diary.

Secondly, we are assuming that your car's warranty is for 3 years. This will be the case most of the time, but sometimes different parts of the car will have warrantys of different length. For example, your paintwork may only have a 1 year warranty, while it might have a lifetime warranty against rust.

Getting an early M.O.T.

(This is applicable to users in the UK, although there may be a very similar scheme in your own contry. Click here to find out more about the M.O.T.)
After 3 years, your car will require an M.O.T. inspection. The DVLA will send you an reminder about this, but we will also send you an earlier reminder. We suggest that you get it done early because if you do so, you will be well within the period of the manufacturer's warrantys. So if there are any problems, you can get them fixed for free.
Most people will be giving their car back after 3 years, but for those of you with longer leases, there is no disadvantage to having the M.O.T done early, if you have it done 1 month early, the MOT will last 13 months instead of 1 year. But you may as well do it 3 months early because in the end it will make no difference to the amount of times you have to do it during the time you own the car. (Official rules)

Manufacturer's Warranty

Many of the cars that we inspect prior to lease return have problems which could have been fixed at the dealership if still covered by manufacturer's warranty. Of course, many cars are still covered at the time they are returned, but those with longer leases aren't.

Ultimately, you are responsible for any damage or faults with your car. Even if the problem is obviously a manufacturer's design fault, the lease company will not accept it because it was up to you to take it to the dealership to get the fault fixed under warranty.

Here are a few examples of the kind of thing that you could get charged a penalty for but which could be fixed under warranty.

• Electric windows, electric wing mirrors and sun roofs. These often stop working properly (or completely) after about two years.
• Handles, nobs, switches, hinges. Modern cars are packed full of storage compartments, cup holders, blinds, often made from plastics which can break fairly easily. If manufacturers are going to put them into cars, they should be hardwearing enough to last three years, but often they don't! In some cars, just about everything is adjustable and has a nob, switch or winder, possibly with a flappy plastic cover to hide the control consul. Ensure everything is intact and working.
• Carpets and trim. Carpets are wall-to-wall, in fact they are probably covering every surface in the boot. These are usually held in place by clips that if broken allow carpet hangs down -- this is often the case in the footwells. Also check for holes where the carpet has worn through as this may be a design fault rather than excess wear and tear. Ensure that that all the plastic trim is intact and not comming away.

We suggest that if you find anything like holes in carpets, you check a website like www.carsurvey.org to see if it is a known issue. It is best to get any problem resolved as soon as possible; this may be much easier than walking into a dealership with a long list of things you want fixed!

Danny Argent
12/05/07

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