Warranty Solutions for Service Consultants

This page contains valuable information provided specifically to help service consultants with their daily duties.

The Service Consultant and Warranty - The service consultant plays a large role in the warranty process. They are the initiators of the warranty repair order and the customer’s first dealership contact. Service consultants must be familiar with...
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Warranty products that can help a service consultant:

Warranty Administration Program- We know service consultants are very busy people. Our program includes a monthly newsletter that consolidates important topics into easy to read articles. We also include several booklets, laminated charts, check sheets, and other convenient tools designed for easy access to must have information. Some of these benefits include:
- Official Warranty Guide - This guide helps the consultant quickly determine remaining factory warranty on other manufacturer’s vehicles as well as the warranty extensions that apply. Why pay internally for repairs that are covered under warranty when you simply need to find a franchise dealership that can make the repairs for free?
- Warranty Operations Manual - The manual is perfect for service consultants who don’t necessarily have access to the manufacturer’s policy manual but need information, or simply clarification, regarding warranty policies.
- Recall Summary - The Recall Summary is intended to be a quick, at-a-glance resource for finding recall information - ideal for the busy service consultant on the service drive.

Warranty services that can help a service consultant:

Warranty Management Workshop - A service consultant that knows the rules will write a more complete repair order. Thus, the technicians will have the information needed to properly diagnose and repair the vehicle as well as allow the warranty administrator to get claims paid quickly with fewer rejects (and headaches)!

The following topics are covered during the workshop:>
- Repair Order Write-Up
- Claim types
- Warranty coverage
- Service management authorization and approval requirements
- Repair order documentation
- Goodwill adjustments
- Special documentation requirements
- Transportation claims
- Sublets and courtesy transportation policies
- Reading factory analysis reports
- Factory service contract claims
- Understanding the labor time guide
- Parts department warranty requirements
In-Dealership Warranty Consulting - Most consultants are taught to sell service and take care of the customers, but our goal is to expand their knowledge and teach them everything they need to know about warranty. In many dealerships, service consultants have the added duty of actually coding labor operations so they must understand how the entire process works. After all, warranty may be your biggest customer and we want you to be aware of the warranty rules and collect all the warranty dollars you are entitled to from the start.

Quick Tips:

Be sure to write clear and concise customer concerns that make it easy for the technicians to understand the customer’s problems.
Perform a vehicle information report on every vehicle that enters the service department to look for open recalls, branded titles, repeat repairs.
Get service management involved when you are writing up a vehicle that has the same or similar complaint as a previous repair.
Let service management know when an additional repair is added to the repair order for proper authorization.
Routinely close warranty repair orders on a daily basis to prevent the customer from qualifying for the lemon law.
Help service management by pointing out repairs that need their written approval before repairs are performed.
Fully understand the courtesy transportation program to avoid write offs.
Confirm vehicle eligibility for a recall through the vehicle information report.
Service consultants must be aware of the necessary documentation that they must obtain from the customer with any warranty repair.
Initiate the diagnostic worksheets at the time of repair order write up.
Fully understand the dealer warranty analysis report- it has helpful information for service consultants.
Service consultants need to explain to customers that fuel mileage can and certainly does vary. They should refrain from writing poor fuel mileage as a complaint without other symptoms to avoid unnecessary repairs.
Since service consultants start the development process of good relationships with customers and can best determine if goodwill is justified, it makes sense that they get involved in the decision making process.
Poor write-up of customer concern, diagnosis on the service drive effect dealer expense scores

Common problems associated with the service consultant position:

Problem: Do not have a thorough understanding of the warranty process.
Solution: Better training. We have warranty workshops, manuals, and newsletters that will help service consultants better understand manufacturer warranty policies.

Problem: Do not properly document repair orders.
Solution: In our warranty workshops we work with mock repair orders that cover a variety of situations consultants are faced with in their day-to-day routine in the dealership.

Problem: Do not know how to make the necessary changes if the dealer’s cost-per-vehicle-serviced is too high or too low.
Solution: The more people in the service department that understand the dealer’s warranty expense report the more likely you will be able to get it and keep it at a level the factory is comfortable with. We cover warranty expense reports in both in-dealership warranty consulting and our warranty workshops.

Problem: Have trouble determining whether repairs fall under the category of customer pay or warranty?
Solution: This can be a real problem for service consultants and it is compounded by the fact that the manufacturers don’t always make it very clear in their policies. This is due simply to the fact that different situations warrant different solutions. We discuss this in our warranty newsletters and warranty workshops and help dealers understand how the manufacturer prefers to handle these gray areas.

Problem: Is your CSI satisfactory?
Solution: While we can’t change the personality of dealership employees, we can equip them with the knowledge they need to completely understand what the manufacturer expects. Those service consultants who understand the manufacturer’s guidelines will do a better job of talking and explaining to your customers the services they received. A customer who has all the facts will be a customer who is more likely to rate your dealership favorably.

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