Dealership not on the hook for customer's repairs done at independent shop, tribunal rules

A British Columbia dealership group isn't obligated to cover the parts, labor and towing costs for a service customer who opted to have repairs done at an independent shop, the province's Civil Resolution Tribunal has ruled.

In June 2023, Michael Graber took his vehicle to Kot Auto Group's Kelowna Kia in Kelowna, about four hours east of Vancouver, for replacement of the starter and work on the brakes and wiring, according to a decision by tribunal member Mark Henderson. A technician recommended also replacing the ignition switch, but Graber declined.

Driving back from the dealership to his home in Quesnel about 350 miles away, he heard a grinding sound, the decision said. About two weeks later, the vehicle wouldn't start, and Graber called Kelowna Kia, which offered to fix the new starter if he paid to have it towed to the dealership. Instead, he went to a local NAPA shop to have both the starter and ignition switch replaced.

The tribunal decision said Kelowna Kia offered to replace the faulty starter under warranty if Graber returned the part. He declined to do so, and the service manager told him the dealership wouldn't pay for NAPA's work.

In dismissing the claim, Henderson said it was "an implied term of the warranty" that Graber return the starter to Kelowna Kia for warranty service and that it "was not sufficiently inconvenient" to wait for an appointment at a dealership closer to his home.

"A (dealership's) repair shop cannot replace an automotive part if a customer takes the vehicle elsewhere," the June 21 decision said. "If the customer takes the vehicle to a third-party shop and seeks reimbursement from the original shop, then the original shop misses the opportunity to find the source of the problem or seek compensation from the manufacturer."