ARmy Rumour SErvice

Sounds very ropey to me, unless she works for a Volkswagen Garage??

Servicing is only mandatory if you want to keep your warranty, once it's ran out you can do what you want I would have thought.

What are the mileage claims to cover?

If it's not just petrol, but includes an element to cover servicing, that might explain the stipulation.

No idea really, just guesswork, but it seems plausible.

Originally Posted by Victorian_Major

Mrs V_M owns and drives a rather fetching Polo. Having grown up with the cars and armed with a Haines manual I rather fancy that I can service the thing quite well. Well beyond its warranty, I take it to a local garage if it needs repairs and of course, for the MoT.

However, Mrs V_M's employer is stipulating that the car must be serviced by a garage as a condition of her being able to make mileage claims.

This sounds unenforcable to me. The MoT is the arbiter of roadworthiness and the car is of course insured.

Not a motorhead but having worked in an investigations team - essentially the employer is now considered as responsible (under H&S) for the car being roadworthy while it is being used on their business (as defined by them paying for the mileage claim). They can be sued by you / her / a third party if Mrs V_M's car is involved in an accident. They (or their lawyers) will have decided that the best way they can minimise their liability (arsse-covering 'not my fault, guv') is to insist that the car is properly serviced (i.e. by some spotty teenager with a semi-pr0n mag in one hand but corporate liability insurance) as opposed to your good, competent and motivated ('tis your wife driving, after all) self.

May I politely tell her employer to poke it?

You may, Sir, of course. And, equally, they may refuse to pay Mrs V_M's mileage claims. You may consider yourself blessed that they did not require it serviced by a main dealer (as did a previous employer of mine.)

This links somehow to the enforcement of warranties in the UK for new and used cars. The EU stated it is unlawful to declae a warranty void if the car isnt serviced at a main dealers as in the company she bought it from. You could get round this and decide to go into business as a sole trader servicing your own vehicles. If you are worried about liability then you can register as a company limited by liability.
I suspect that the employer is a t1t of the medium order and will be unable to enforce this. None of my clients refuse my mileage claims or require me to have my vehicle serviced. The MOT is valid for 1 year from date of issue but is effectively invalid should the vehicle deteriorate within that year!
Tell the employer to provide a vehicle themselves unless of course they are paying an allowance which covers servicing (this I doubt).

Originally Posted by Grownup_Rafbrat

What are the mileage claims to cover?

If it's not just petrol, but includes an element to cover servicing, that might explain the stipulation.

She commutes in the car but does not claim for this - only the miles from her place of work to customer sites and back. I expect that there is a petrol refund and a factoring for depreciation as a result of those miles (i.e. wear and tear).

I still can't see the link between being paid for servicing the car and being instructed to do it at a dealer/garage. Even though my labour is free I still need to buy cam belts, bulbs, oil, brake discs etc.

Does MMA explicitly include a servicing payment bearing in mind that duty travel all uses up miles between expensive servicing intervals?

Thanks for the replies chaps.

I'd say chance it, surely its an issue between her and her insurance company than the employer!

This is a separate issue from the warranty/servicing issue whereby a manufacturer can no longer declare a warranty invalid if servicing to their guidelines has been carried out by a non-franchised but bona-fide service outlet.

If you are an employee (not contractor, sub-contractor etc) in receipt of a cash allowance/mileage allowance then the employer is held to be liable if something nasty happens when you're driving on their business. So if your vehicle has been serviced by a pukka repair/servicing business (the criteria often used is that they must be VAT registered) then the liability for the incident can be shifted onto them.

TBF if the car is fairly modern then the hassle of DIY servicing without the diagnostic kit pretty much outweighs the saving. Most areas have good VW specialists as VW main dealer prices are a bit high - as long as they're VAT reg'd you should be OK and they will have access to all the gubbins.