Car warranty deception
You want to know why Holden like to offer extended car warranties? Because naive people like me think "Beauty, that means all mechanical faults will be covered for the next 3 years. That's great piece of mind. I wont be slugged with the ridiculous service prices if something decides to break in the next 3 years. Here's $33000, I'll take that car there thank you.".
Funny then, that after dropping my car into the Holden service centre this morning, I'm fuming.
When I bought the car, the passenger lock would occasionally not respond to the central locking mechanism. Recently that developed into not responding at all. No worries, a minor mechanic fault I'm sure they've seen before. Then, on the morning before an 8 hour drive, the CD eject mechanism failed, rendering the CD player useless. Bugger. Oh well, no worries, just a simple mechanical fault I'm sure.
I was informed this morning that the CD player will be an easy fix. They just have to pull it out, reset it, and shove it back in. No worries. The door lock will also be an easy fix. But I have to pay for that one. "Why?", you may ask. Oh, the warranty doesn't cover "electrical stuff". Now, I'm happy to believe that a warranty will not cover dents in the panels, obvious physical abuse, or spilt milk on the leather, but I know a scam when I see one. There is no reason why an electro-mechanical CD player would be covered, and an electro-mechanical door lock wouldn't, except as a ploy to subvert the warranty agreement. The whole fucking car is electrical - take the battery out and the car just don't go.
Naturally then, Holden can charge whatever they want for the door lock. In fact, why not factor in the cost of the CD player fix as well? I've been in this game long enough to know that a central locking actuator costs in the order of $20. I imagine a Holden service department keep them around like odd socks. Which is why I bork when I'm told that it "should be around the $300 mark for that door lock". Hmm, is it too conspiracy theorist-like to assume that that's about $150 for the lock service and $150 for the CD player service?
I know, I should have read the fine print in the warranty agreement (I haven't seen it at all actually - it's a "Holden certified vehicle"), and I'm keen to check out the details. But my main fault was to believe there'd be a little common sense and some fucking decency exercised when offering a car warranty.