One of the questions that Obvi team members receive regularly goes something like this: “Will dealerships honour your warranties?”
This question has its roots in how the world of automobile extended warranties used to be.
For a long time, extended warranties could only be bought from dealerships or directly from manufacturers, and drivers would be restricted about where they could take their vehicles for claims. If you bought a Ford extended warranty you had to take your vehicle to a Ford service center, if you bought a Dodge extended warranty you had to take your vehicle to a Dodge service center, and so on.
To put that another way, a Ford dealership won’t honour a Dodge warranty and vice versa.
Eventually, independent companies that also sold extended warranties entered the market, before the insurance industry ultimately took control. Insurance regulation in Western Canada was a huge turning point, as all shops — dealers included — are happy to accept payment from licensed, financially stable Canadian insurance companies.
Obvi gives you freedom about where to take your vehicle
We recognize that different drivers have different needs about where they service their vehicles. Some people like to take the vehicle back to the dealership where it was bought; some people have specific mom-and-pop shops that they have a long history with; some people like specialized garages for import cars; and some people just choose a place because the location or hours are convenient.
That’s why we want our customers to have choices about where to take their vehicles for servicing. As long as the destination is a licensed repair facility (sorry, we won’t pay your friend Bill for the repairs he does in his backyard), it’s fine by us.
Another big perk about our warranties is North America-wide coverage. Whether you’re driving away from home for work or making a road trip with your family, if a breakdown occurs we can still cover the cost of repairs.
How Obvi’s claims process works
We try to make our claims process as simple as possible for our customers.
First, notify your chosen shop that you have coverage through Obvi. Next, ask them to contact us directly with your information and the estimate. Finally, once the work has been approved and completed, Obvi will pay the shop directly as soon as the repair is complete.
That’s it! You don’t need to worry about paying for the repairs and then being saddled with those costs until we can reimburse you.
So, will dealerships honour our warranty? Yes!
The insurance industry pays billions of dollars in claims each year — no dealership or shop in the country doesn’t want part of this. As long as dealerships are being paid for the work that they’re doing, they don’t really care where the money comes from. And to be honest, dealership service centers are great to work with. They know the brand, they know the parts, and they know how to get your vehicle fixed. If a dealer ever seems unsure about how our coverage works, simply tell them that we pay immediately upon completion of the repair and to contact us with any questions.
Visit our website to learn more about Obvi. You can also instantly receive a free Extended Warranty quote for your vehicle.