 Motorists should be free to choose their mechanic, not their dealer |
Consumers could be losing up to �500m a year because of unfair warranty deals, the UK trading watchdog has warned. The Office of Fair Trading wants car makers to lift restrictions on where new cars may be serviced, while under warranty.
If they fail to do so, it might launch a formal investigation under European competition law.
About half of all new cars sold have warranties with service restrictions.
Over 2.5m new cars are sold in the UK every year.
After-sales care
All new cars come with a manufacturer's warranty, which generally runs for one to three years.
In addition, many manufacturers also offer, at no additional charge, "dealer-based extended warranties" that take the total period of cover to three years.
Under the terms of many of these extended warranties, and some manufacturers' warranties, the car must be serviced at a garage belonging to the manufacturers' franchised dealer network.
But servicing a car at a franchised dealers is typically �83 more expensive than at an independent garage, the OFT said.
John Vickers, OFT chairman, said: "Competition and consumer value in the after-sales market are inhibited by restrictions on car servicing choices of car owners.
"The car industry now has the opportunity to address the concerns in our report, and we welcome the recent moves by some manufacturers to remove servicing restrictions."
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Competition and consumer value in the after-sales market are inhibited 
