Do I Need an Attorney to Create an Automobile Service Agreement?
If you don’t have a factory warranty on your car and you don’t want to take a chance with a bogus Extended Warranty, it’s possible to do it yourself (although you should consult an attorney if you’re not comfortable with the idea). There are 5 basic parts that have to be covered in this type of agreement. They are:
- The identification of the parties involved in the agreement.
- A description of the services to be performed.
- The dates the services are to be performed.
- Any conditions or limitations placed on either party.
- Terms of payment.
The Identification of Parties is just who’s buying the service and who’s selling it. The service been provided in this case is whatever maintenance and/or repair services the customer and the provider agree on. Dates of service can be monthly, annually, or whatever is negotiated. Conditions or limitations means whatever either party can’t do or what type of repairs or maintenance isn’t covered. Payment terms obviously means on what basis the provider will be paid (monthly, semi-annually, annually or whatever is agreed to).
It’s important to have a competent, reliable, and trustworthy mechanic to work with. If you don’t already have one, get some referrals from people you trust. Believe it or not, good honest mechanics are out there, and it’s important that you have one for this process to work. You may have an easier time talking to a self-employed mechanic with a small operation.
The most important thing to remember is to make sure the 5 basic parts are thoroughly covered in writing. You can pretty much have whatever level of coverage you and your mechanic agree to (and you are willing to pay for). Because you’re cutting out the middle man (the Warranty company), and dealing with a mechanic you know and trust, you can usually get the level of coverage you want for a nicely discounted rate.
Is This a Real contract?
Both you and your mechanic have to understand that this a legal agreement that you both must adhere to. For that reason, avoid fly-by-night mechanics who don’t take the agreement seriously.
Putting a contract together is pretty easy. You can get sample forms online and fill in the blanks rather than try to create a form from scratch. You can always bite the bullet and pay an attorney to put an agreement together for you.
Whichever route you take, you want to eliminate the Extended Warranty trap with an Automobile Service Agreement that you control.
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Next, you need to know exactly what services you want and will pay for. Are you looking for Bumper-to-Bumper coverage or merely a scheduled maintenance program? How about things not normally covered in typical Extended Warranties like tune-ups and oil changes? You can pretty much negotiate whatever you want, as long as your mechanic agrees to it, and you’re willing to pay for it.
Did you know the Extended Auto Warranty on your car really isn’t a warranty at all?
