Are dealers required to perform warranty & repair work for the brands they sell?
No. Equipment dealers are typically independent service centers that are free to choose the jobs they do and the equipment they work on. As an example, there is a very successful dealer in a county next to us that has every power equipment brand we have plus several more, and for over 50 years has held to their policy of ONLY working on equipment that they sold. Manufacturer warranties are a commitment between the manufacturer and the customer and do not obligate any specific servicing dealer.
But most dealers do. Most independent dealers will perform work on the brands they sell, even if the equipment was not purchased from them. As for warranty work, that could depend on how easily the manufacturer pays warranty expense claims. Whether they will work on it all may also depend on the way the customer approaches the dealer. The customer who bought their equipment elsewhere and comes in the dealer's door demanding “you have to work on this because you are a service center” increases their chance of being turned away.
At B T South, our reason for having a service department is to service the equipment that we have sold. If we have the extra capacity to work on some additional equipment that was not bought here without slowing down the service process for our own equipment, then that’s a win-win, and maybe by helping those people out, their next piece of equipment will come from B T South. That being said, our highest commitment and priority is given to the equipment we have sold, which will have faster turnaround times, being in an express service path. There may be times when we turn away equipment not purchased here, because we do not have excess capacity. That might be in peak season or when we are short-staffed due to illness or vacations.
