I have a car under warranty, purchased in November 2007. I am losing brake fluid - 4 ounces in 10 days - and it (obviously) needs a repair. I have about 2,700 miles on the car.

There is ONE dealership in my area and another 2 hours away. The dealership is being investigated by the DMV for fraud and I only know that because I date a Police Officer. It's not public knowledge.

Do I HAVE to take the car to the factory-authorized dealership - the only one in town, obviously - for this repair work. I realize it could be an expensive repair but could I pay for it at a private garage which has techs familiar with the make/model and then ask for reimbursement? Or how would this work?

If it matters, it's a high end car.

I find it most interesting that the dealership who insisted on changing your brake fluid as it was "cloudy" now you are losing brake fluid.

I'd contact the other dealership and ask them that question as obviously the original dealership is not to be trusted.

I don't think that the warranty will be honored though unless a dealership does the work.

If push comes to shove, I'd have my car towed to the other dealership 2 hours away to have them do the work. Do you have AAA?

And please, don't drive this car until the brakes are working properly. We don't want to lose our Judy. Ok?

Maybe Captain Rich or This will be able to give you a more definitive answer.

I find it most interesting that the dealership who insisted on changing your brake fluid as it was "cloudy" now you are losing brake fluid..


Hi Twinkie - cloudy brake fluid is the Summer car but point well taken. Wonder if AAA would tow it for me?

Good thought - I know I'm going to get worked over by the dealer if I take it there.

The AAA only goes so far for free. It's been a long time since I had them, but even if you did have to pay something on top of their radius coverage, it would be well worth it in the end. You can find out how much extra you would owe when you call them up to arrange for towing. Speak to the customer service people at AAA about this.

What year, make & model? I think you said Mercedes but I don't want to assume; we all know why that word starts the way it does ;)

Did you buy the car brand-new with a warranty through the dealership or with one of the warranties offered by a 3rd party? 3rd party warranties can be performed by anyone; dealership warranties need to be done at the dealership.

You could have an independent shop inspect the car to at least see what the problem is.

This - yes, I was thinking of having the problem at least diagnosed to see if it was just a fitting that came loose or something along those lines.

If you're losing brake fluid, I would recommend you stop at the first place that can do a brake inspection... NOW!

Make certain the inspection is thorough. Insist that you see exactly what they see. Most places will understand your urgency and be as careful as possible. They should also provide you with a written description of what they found. <-- Critical for your warranty concerns.
Once the inspection is complete, only you can decide if you should "pay now and reimburse later" to take care of your car.

Many times, if you can't get to the local options quickly, they will allow for you to go to another dealer, with distance restrictions of course.
Imagine if you were taking a short trip and "suddenly," you noticed an unexplained brake fluid loss!

Take it in and at least have it analyzed. Please?

It is a Mercedes sedan, it's actually at an independent repair shop right now. I had it towed in last night when I found a puddle of something or other under the car. They are going to diagnose the problem and make a recommendation. I won't have any idea until late today. My inclination is to have them repair it and then talk to the dealership about the cost. I do, however, realize this could be very expensive or something minor - so I'm waiting to see.

I appreciate the advice, I truly do. This has been the Year of The Car Repairs for me - my husband bought two new cars 3 weeks before he died (never drove my car) so that there wouldn't be problems - and I've had nothing but problems with both.

Isn't that the way it always goes? You plan ahead, get everything organized and then have the pleasure of watching it all fall to pieces around you.

Let us know what they find. I would maybe contact the dealership prior to have the independent shop repair the problem, at least let them know that there is absolutely no way to safely get the car to their shop... unless, of course, they'd like to tow it for free. Make a point of telling them that it's under warranty and you need your vehicle ASAP, etc.

The AAA only goes so far for free. It's been a long time since I had them, but even if you did have to pay something on top of their radius coverage, it would be well worth it in the end. You can find out how much extra you would owe when you call them up to arrange for towing. Speak to the customer service people at AAA about this.

AAA in my area has plans that allow for up to 5 10 and 100 miles. All different annual fees... learned that the hard way. A simple $10 upgrade could save you approx $3.50 per mile
I would check in the fine print of your warranty. There may very well be an allowance for having the work preformed somewhere else. Call the warranty company as well and ask them. I would think that if there is a limitation on who can preform the work they would be able to tell you. I don't have mine with me or I would quote what I read. However, there is a blurb about having the work preformed by the shop of my choice and being reimbursed. After all we do have to be comfortable with where we have the work preformed.
I would also recommend having the car towed in as leaking fluid most likely means something is disconnected? Break line?
If you are forced to go to that dealership, You are almost better off having the work inspected somewhere else first to identify the problem.
Best of luck, I know the horror of dealing with a dealership you don't have faith and trust in.

... However, there is a blurb about having the work preformed by the shop of my choice and being reimbursed. After all we do have to be comfortable with where we have the work preformed.
Sounds like you have a 3rd party warranty that you purchased which continues after the dealer warranty expires. That may not be Judy's case.

AAA in my area has plans that allow for up to 5 10 and 100 miles. All different annual fees... learned that the hard way. A simple $10 upgrade could save you approx $3.50 per mile
I would check in the fine print of your warranty. There may very well be an allowance for having the work preformed somewhere else. Call the warranty company as well and ask them. I would think that if there is a limitation on who can preform the work they would be able to tell you. I don't have mine with me or I would quote what I read. However, there is a blurb about having the work preformed by the shop of my choice and being reimbursed. After all we do have to be comfortable with where we have the work preformed.
I would also recommend having the car towed in as leaking fluid most likely means something is disconnected? Break line?
If you are forced to go to that dealership, You are almost better off having the work inspected somewhere else first to identify the problem.
Best of luck, I know the horror of dealing with a dealership you don't have faith and trust in.


There is no warranty company - it's a new car, warranty held by the manufacturer.

And, yes, the car was towed in. In fact, for whatever reason it was flatbedded.

And, yes - I have absolutely no faith/trust/confidence in the dealership, none at all. Long story short - had my "Summer" car in for inspection. I had put 32 miles on it in the course of a year because my husband died and the car was garaged. I couldn't even look at it for a long time - it was my husband's dream car and he never got to drive it.

Anyway, I picked it up and had substantial front end damage which they knew NOTHING about. They wouldn't give me their insurance info. They obviously don't have a clue what I do for a living.

My insurance company got into the mix and they "remembered" that the lot boy (who was fired) MAY have mentioned something about hitting a post inside the repair garage. And this is, obviously, a high end dealership.

So, yes, I trust them as far as I can see them. They paid, including my rental car, but I now have a car, brand new, with a significant front end repair listed on Carfax!

There is no warranty company - it's a new car, warranty held by the manufacturer.

And, yes, the car was towed in. In fact, for whatever reason it was flatbedded.

And, yes - I have absolutely no faith/trust/confidence in the dealership, none at all. Long story short - had my "Summer" car in for inspection. I had put 32 miles on it in the course of a year because my husband died and the car was garaged. I couldn't even look at it for a long time - it was my husband's dream car and he never got to drive it.

Anyway, I picked it up and had substantial front end damage which they knew NOTHING about. They wouldn't give me their insurance info. They obviously don't have a clue what I do for a living.

My insurance company got into the mix and they "remembered" that the lot boy (who was fired) MAY have mentioned something about hitting a post inside the repair garage. And this is, obviously, a high end dealership.

So, yes, I trust them as far as I can see them. They paid, including my rental car, but I now have a car, brand new, with a significant front end repair listed on Carfax!

A-effing-mazing... :D

Unless rules have changed, most dealers will only do warranty work on a vehicle if you are located more than 100 miles from the dealer you purchased the vehicle from. This does not pertain to emergency repairs such as breaking down somewhere.

I would go to the regular dealer. Just because they under investigation for fraud does not mean that they will not perform professional warranty work.

What are they under investigation for? If it has something to do with sales business practices it would not effect the service side of the business, on the other hand if it is because they are installing counterfit parts it would. Also just because they are under investigation does not mean they are guilty and lastly, they know they are under investigation so they are more likely to give far superior service and support because they know they are under the microscope.

Unless rules have changed, most dealers will only do warranty work on a vehicle if you are located more than 100 miles from the dealer you purchased the vehicle from. This does not pertain to emergency repairs such as breaking down somewhere.

I would go to the regular dealer. Just because they under investigation for fraud does not mean that they will not perform professional warranty work.

What are they under investigation for? If it has something to do with sales business practices it would not effect the service side of the business, on the other hand if it is because they are installing counterfit parts it would. Also just because they are under investigation does not mean they are guilty and lastly, they know they are under investigation so they are more likely to give far superior service and support because they know they are under the microscope.


I would assume the "rules" have changed or vary by manufacturer because two vehicles ago my husband purchased the vehicle some 300 miles from here (also a new vehicle), had it brought "here" and the local dealership did the warranty work on it. I always assumed any dealership would - perhaps he transferred the warranty. I don't know. I never had anything to do with the cars - other than driving them.

Trust me - I am not complicating the situation without good reason. They are not working on my cars.

I've never heard that either. I always heard it had to be a dealer, not necessarily the one where the vehicle was purchased at.

[QUOTE=JudyKayTee;1596128]I would assume the "rules" have changed or vary by manufacturer because two vehicles ago my husband purchased the vehicle some 300 miles from here (also a new vehicle), had it brought "here" and the local dealership did the warranty work on it. I always assumed any dealership would - perhaps he transferred the warranty.


That is precisely my point, because he purchased the vehicle more then 100 miles from where he is located or resides, the "local dealership" took over the warranty work. What this would mean (I assume) is that the other dealership you referred to way back in a earlier post may be reluctant to perform the necessary repairs as warranty work vis-à-vis "free" but would be more then willing to perform th necessary repairs if you are willing to pay for them.

A number of years back I purchased a new car from a dealer that was located 75 miles from my home simply because that dealer had in stock the exact car that I was looking for, in the color I wanted, with the options I wanted. I went to the local dealer for warranty service and was refused. They stated I needed to go to the dealer I purchased the vehicle from for routine warranty work. If the dealer had been in excess of 100 miles away they would have picked up the warranty work.

[QUOTE=JudyKayTee;1596128]I would assume the "rules" have changed or vary by manufacturer because two vehicles ago my husband purchased the vehicle some 300 miles from here (also a new vehicle), had it brought "here" and the local dealership did the warranty work on it. I always assumed any dealership would - perhaps he transferred the warranty.


That is precisely my point, due to the fact that he purchased the vehicle more then 100 miles from where he is located or resides, the "local dealership" took over the warranty work. What this would mean (I assume) is that the other dealership you referred to way back in a earlier post may be reluctant to perform the necessary repairs as warranty work vis-a-vis "free" but would be more then willing to perform th necessary repairs if you are willing to pay for them.

A number of years back I purchased a new car from a dealer that was located 75 miles from my home simply because that dealer had in stock the exact car that I was looking for, in the color I wanted, with the options I wanted. I went to the local dealer for warranty service and was refused. They stated I needed to go to the dealer I purchased the vehicle from for routine warranty work. If the dealer had been in excess of 100 miles away they would have picked up the warranty work.



The way I understand it is the local dealer didn't have the model and color and the long-distance dealer did. My husband bought the car from the long-distance dealer (who took his car in trade), they delivered the car and picked up the trade and then the warranty was honored by the local dealership.

It was sort of surreal because he left for work in one car, parked it at his place of employment, at some point the dealer came in and picked up his keys, dealer took his car, left the new one. (Obviously all the papers were signed in advance.)

I drove a Toyota for a while and never took it back to where I purchased it for warranty work, always took it to another dealer closer to where I worked. Never had a problem - although it only went back twice.

Maybe it varies by manufacturer and area. I was told that - in my case - Toyota Corporate paid no matter which dealer did the work.

That could vary well be the case as I am sure that it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer as well as state to state. Well all said, I wish you the best. The last bit of advice I may be able to impart on you is this: In your owner's manual somewhere there should a point of contact listed that you contact for disputes. They are normally out of the Corporate Headquarters and usually get involved in disputes and also handle arbitration services. I would give them a call with your concerns and see what advice they give you. They will usually bend over backwards to help you because they want to keep you as a customer to their brand. They may even set it up for the warranty work to be performed by another dealer. You won't know until you try, but I can almost guarantee you that if you just have the work done by an independent mechanic and try to get reimbursed that they will not pay...

Okay, took it to an independent. He gave me a letter that the front driver's side brake was defective. The rotor was scored. He said something about extra brake fluid being pumped to that location to make up for the uneven wear.

I paid for the repair - using manufacturer's parts, no knock offs - and I am going to write the manufacturer about reimbursement.

I'll let "you" know what happens next.