ABOUT OUR SOLUTIONS
1. What kind of warranties do you offer to used car dealers?
We specialise in helping franchised and independent motor dealers run their own bespoke self-funded warranty.
Click here to read more about Crystal Clear Warranty.
Because we recognise that every motor dealer is different, we build and manage a used car warranty to meet the exact needs and requirements of each dealer. Backed by dedicated Account Managers, Claims Managers, Accounts and Administration teams.
2. What is a self-funded warranty?
Often referred to as a ‘pot warranty’. Our self-funded warranty is where you, the dealer, self-fund your claims pot to cover the cost of warranty claims. We work closely with you, using our 36 years of experience helping you manage your fund to ensure it remains healthy and meets your business goals.
Every time you register a warranty against a vehicle, you put an agreed sum of money into your Claims Contingency Fund and keep it within your business. Over time, this fund is used to pay for claims and even goodwill costs.
When customer warranties expire, 100% of the associated Claims Contingency Fund is yours to draw down as profit.
3. What is the difference between your self-funded warranty and other car dealer warranties?
With a traditional warranty, you pay a premium to a warranty provider to cover a customer’s vehicle in the event of a mechanical breakdown. Your money and your customer are handed over to the warranty company who will manage claims, your customer and the aftersales experience.
This creates a problem as the warranty company has a vested interest to reject claims and retain as much of your premium as possible to make a profit.
With our self-funded warranty, the money you would normally spend on premiums remains in your business as your Claims Contingency Fund. You stay in control of your finances and your aftersales journey with our support and guidance to provide your customer with a warranty experience that far exceeds any traditional warranty.
You also keep 100% of your expired unclaimed funding to open a new profit centre in your business.
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CLAIMS
4. Do I pay for the claims?
Yes. Warranty claims are paid for using your Claims Contingency Fund (see question 2).
5. What are the main financial advantages of using your self-funded warranty?
100% of your expired unclaimed Claims Contingency Fund is yours to keep as profit.
The Claims Contingency Fund stays within your business for instant cashflow benefits.
Our administration fees will cost much less than traditional warranty premiums.
6. Where do I keep my Claims Contingency Fund?
Most dealers will open a separate bank account to hold the fund. This helps keep everything separate and makes it easier to match up to our reports.
7. How much would I expect to put in my Claims Contingency Fund?
This will depend on:
- The age of the vehicle you are selling.
- The type of vehicle (standard, prestige, 4x4 etc).
- The period of cover you want to offer.
- The level of cover you want to offer.
We will advise you on how much to fund each warranty using our 36 years of experience. To begin with, we recommend using your current insured warranty premium amount and, after subtracting our admin fee, putting the rest into your Claims Contingency Fund.
Your Claims Contingency Fund will be reported on and monitored closely by your dedicated Account Manager. They will work with you to find the best funding strategy to meet your business needs.
8. What is a typical funding amount for a 3-month warranty on a standard vehicle?
Typical funding amounts can range between £60 - £150.
Funding your warranty is often cheaper than a typical insured warranty premium, with the big difference being that this money does not leave your business.
9. So, what happens if get an early claim for an engine failure, potentially costing my business thousands of pounds?
That is an understandable concern, however, from our 36 years of experience, the claims fund will recover quickly.
Just think – what would happen if you tried to make a significant early claim against an insured warranty? Not only would the warranty company most likely reject the claim, citing the fault must have been present before handover, but they would also leave you to pay for repairs.
So not only have you paid for the original premium, you then would have to cover the cost of repairs and appease your customer who has experienced the ‘rejected claim’ process.
FCA
10. Do I have to be FCA registered to use your warranty services?
No. Our self-funded warranty service is not an insurance product and therefore, does not require FCA involvement.
MY BENEFITS
11. How much does it cost to use your warranty service?
You are charged a small administration fee per warranty.
This fee varies depending on the level of support you need from us, the bespoke aspects of your warranty and the cover-extras you require, such as UK Rescue & Recovery.
12. What exactly do I get for my administration fee?
- Additional profit. All unclaimed money goes to your bottom line.
- Instant cash flow. All money stays within your business.
- IPT and FCA free. Crystal Clear Warranty is free of these constraints.
- A goodwill platform. Use the warranty for increased goodwill.
- Full control. You make the decisions - we deliver.
- Consultative claims managers. Keeping you always in-the-loop.
- UK Rescue & Recovery. For you and your customers’ peace of mind.
- Dedicated account management. Delivering tailored insights, support and training.
- 36 years of experience. Dedicated entirely to self-funded warranty. Work with the best!
- Managed to your aftersales standards. We adopt your standard of customer care for a
- seamless experience.
- Simple approach. To minimise frustrations and bottlenecks. Truly transparent.
- Flexible and evolving solution. Designed to evolve with the growth of your business.
WILL THIS WORK FOR ME?
13. I am currently using an insured warranty for my dealership and not making any claims. Will this self-funded warranty work for me?
Yes indeed. If you are spending lots of money on premiums and not making any claims, we can help turn your warranty cost into a profit and customer satisfaction opportunity.
We offer a bespoke service, tailored to meet your needs and requirements.
Instead of paying out premiums, you would keep that money within your business (less our administration fee). We then work alongside you managing your customer claims, supporting your accounts and administration teams, liaising with your service staff and reporting directly to the business decision-makers.
14. I run a group of franchised dealerships. Can I use your services for my used car strategy?
Yes indeed. Our warranty services work behind the scenes benefitting several AM100 groups across the UK.
15. I sell prestige vehicles. Can this warranty work for me?
Yes. We have many prestige car dealers using our self-funded warranty service to offer exceptional cover for their customers.
16. I’m a new motor dealer selling less than 10 cars per month. Can a self-funded warranty work for me?
It can, however, by selling smaller numbers of vehicles means a smaller volume of money going into your Claims Contingency Fund, putting you at risk from a large claim.
We recommend selling at least 10 vehicles per month to ensure a healthy amount of money going into your Claims Contingency Fund to cover potential claims.
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CLAIM LIMITS
17. What claim limits can I use?
Because we design your ideal warranty, you get to choose the claim limits you provide on your warranty. We can always advise you based on current trends and our 36 years of experience.
18. How many cover levels can I use?
We presently have five cover levels. You can use any, or all of them, to suit your aftersales and upselling strategy. A combination of a standard ‘giveaway warranty’ with an ‘upselling option’ to a higher cover level is a usual practice.
19. What warranty information does the customer get?
Your customer receives clear personalised agreement paperwork detailing their level of cover, what to do in the event of a claim, terms and conditions.
20. What is the maximum labour rate covered?
Because we design your ideal warranty, you choose the maximum labour rates for both in-house repairs (if desired) and out-of-area.
We can always advise you based on current trends and our 36 years of experience.
BRANDING
21. Can I put my branding on the paperwork?
Yes, on certain levels of service. Please download our latest dealer pack (link) for all the options available to you.
22. Do you supply customised point-of-sale material?
Yes indeed. For an extra charge, our excellent in-house designers can help produce something inspiring for your showroom to compliment your sales experience. Please email tellmemore@warrantyadmin.co.uk with your POS requirements.
CLAIMS MANAGEMENT
23. What happens when one of my customers experiences a mechanical fault with their vehicle?
They are advised to call our Claims Management Team at our Lincoln office who will help direct them to a suitable repair garage for fault diagnosis and progress the claim.
24. Out-of-area claims: does the warranty take this into account?
Yes. During the onboarding process, our Claims Managers will discuss your customer handling requirements. Should your customer make an out-of-area claim, we manage the entire process on your behalf, including:
- Handling your customer telephone enquiry.
- Helping them find a suitable local VAT-registered garage to diagnose and conduct necessary repairs under your warranty.
- Liaising with the repairing dealer and reporting all costs back to you before any work is done.
- We will never agree with warranty repairs with another garage without your authorisation.
- Scrutinising repair invoices before forwarding them to your accounts department for processing.
- Keeping your customer informed throughout.
- Providing you with a detailed summary of the authorised repair work, invoice copies and claims contingency fund adjustments.
25. Does the warranty cover the costs of diagnosis, including any dismantling or exploratory work?
Yes, providing it is part of a valid warranty claim.
26. How long does it take to register a claim and get a claims decision?
That depends on the complexity of the claim, however, for simple claims where the repair takes place at the supplying dealer, authorisation can take less than 1 minute over the phone saving you valuable time.
Out-of-area claims can take longer as we have to liaise between the customer/repairing dealer and a decision-maker at the supplying dealer who may not be readily available.
We aim to conclude claims decisions on the same day the fault diagnosis is reported.
27. Do you have a preferred repair garage network?
No.
After 36 years working with dealers and repairing garages across the UK, we can help your customer find a suitable local repairer to conduct warranty work on your behalf. Not only does this help the customer by allowing them to choose a local business they can trust, but it also speeds up the repair process.
28. Will you need to send out independent engineers to inspect/confirm out-of-area repairs?
Very rarely. Our Claims Management Team are that experienced, they can scrutinise the vehicle history and repairing garage diagnosis to ensure everything is above-board and fair for both you and your customer.
Some of the leading AM100 dealer groups in the UK entrust our amazing Claims Management Team to handle their claims without needing to be involved.
29. Can I override a rejected claim?
Yes, you can.
Our claims team operate based on your instructions and will contact you before rejecting a claim. This gives you the unique opportunity to override a rejected claim decision and use the Claims Contingency Fund as a goodwill centre, to go above and beyond for your customer.
30. Can I refuse to cover a covered component?
No.
Your warranty is an agreement between you and your customer. If our Claims Managers conclude the faulty item of your customer's vehicle is a covered component, it is not ethical to break this agreement.
You will also be in breach of the agreement between you (the dealer) and us (the administrator) and possibly in breach of the Consumer Rights Act.
31. Can I get the customer come back to my garage for repairs?
We always encourage your customers to return the vehicle to your preferred repairer. In some cases, however, this may not be feasible, especially if they are out-of-area or the vehicle is immobile.
32. Do my vehicles have to pass an inspection before registering a warranty against them?
No. However, we recommend you establish a high standard of vehicle preparation to not only minimise mechanical failures but will also give you customer confidence.
You can also use the Pre-Delivery Inspection Sheet that is personalised to the vehicle/customer, and, printable from the warranty portal to support your preparation process.
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RESCUE & RECOVERY
33. What about rescue and recovery?
We supply a full UK Rescue & Recovery service. Available for you to include with every warranty to give your customers complete peace of mind.
GENERAL FAQS
34. Do I need to provide a warranty when selling cars?
No, contrary to what you may have heard, your customer is protected by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 which obliges you, the motor dealer, to supply a vehicle is of ‘satisfactory quality’, ‘as described’ and ‘fit for purpose’ at the time of sale.
If you fail to meet any of these criteria, you will be under a legal obligation to rectify any faults at your own cost. If repairs performed fail to rectify the fault reported, your customer will be entitled to a refund.
Bear in mind that the Consumer Rights Act also takes into account the vehicle’s age. For example, an elderly used car costing a few hundred pounds that develops a minor fault (like the fan heater switch sticking, for instance) may likely be deemed of ‘satisfactory quality’ by a dealer, given its value and age.
35. What does the Consumer Rights Act 2015 cover?
Whatever the sale value of the vehicle, your customer is covered by the Consumer Rights Act. Although there is no specific legal description in the Consumer Rights Act, a faulty used car is generally considered to be one that is not roadworthy and/or is not safe.
If the vehicle is deemed unsafe, not ‘fit for purpose’ or ‘as described’ then your customer has the right to return the vehicle for a full refund.
Lesser faults such as a broken switch or paintwork issues are generally not acceptable reasons for a customer to reject a car under the Consumer Rights Act. However, the wording of the legislation is not very clear, so ultimately it can come down to who makes a better court case.
36. So, a warranty adds clarity for the dealer and the customer after the sale?
Yes. A warranty is an additional guarantee against certain faults, over and above your customer's statutory rights.
The warranty does not override or replace your customers' rights under the Consumer Rights Act, but it takes into account a wider range of faults which may not be acceptable reasons for rejecting the car altogether.
37. This all sounds good. How do I get started?
Click below to download your free dealer warranty pack. You can also call 01522 515600 or email tellmemore@warrantyadmin.co.uk.
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