Plenty of shops advertise a warranty. Fewer explain what it obliges them to do, which is the only part that matters.
Our repairs carry three years or thirty six thousand miles, whichever comes first. Here is what that means in practice, from our side of the counter.
If the diagnosis was wrong, that is our problem. This is the significant one. If we identify a cause, replace a part, and the fault returns, we do not get to treat that as a fresh job with a fresh invoice. The time is ours and the parts are ours. Which means a guess that happens to be wrong costs us considerably more than the extra half hour of testing would have.
If the part fails early, that is our problem too. So we cannot fit the cheapest available component and hope it clears the year. On brakes, exhaust parts, sensors and anything with a moving element, the difference between a decent part and the cheapest one is measured in exactly the window this warranty covers.
It changes what we recommend. A shop with no warranty exposure can suggest work without much thought about whether it will actually solve the customer’s complaint. We cannot, because a repair that does not fix the problem comes straight back to us and we pay for it twice.
What it does not cover, stated plainly. Wear items consumed in normal use. Damage from an accident or from continuing to drive a vehicle after being told not to. Faults in systems we did not work on. Parts a customer supplied themselves, because we cannot warrant something we did not choose. None of that should be a surprise at the counter, so it is here in writing.
How to use it. Keep your invoice, or let us look it up, since we have the record. If something we repaired is not right, call before you do anything else, and if the vehicle cannot be driven here we will arrange to collect it.
The honest framing. A warranty is not really a promise to a customer, because promises are cheap. It is a constraint on the shop. It makes careless diagnosis and cheap parts expensive for us specifically, and that is the mechanism by which it does you any good.
That is why we offer it, and it is fair to hold us to it.
Stones River Auto and Exhaust, 1601 Flat Rock Road, Murfreesboro. Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
