Hi all, normally I change the oil & filter myself on my cars but not sure what to do with my Clarity Plug-In because it is so new and the Hybrid factors. Local dealer wants $56.99 plus tax for just oil & filter change and tires I can get rotated for free elsewhere. Question is: 1. Do I need to worry about warranty if I do it myself? 2. When selling it, would having changed the oil & filter myself be a concern to potential buyers? Thanx
You can absolutely do the service work yourself without concern about warranty. Just keep records and receipts for parts/fluids. Your other question is tougher. I do look at service records when I buy used, and the lack of any records is a potential red flag for me unless I can verify in some way the vehicle I'm looking at has had at least the minimum service. You raised the additional question about used values for the Clarity because of its uniqueness. That might be a strong argument for getting service on the records of the car in order to get any possible advantage in resale value. I've done the oil changes and service at my dealer for that very reason. I'd pay them the $57 and lessen the worry factor. (Since you took the time to bring it up, it must concern you!)
In the US, the Magnusson-Moss Act states that you do not have to use the dealer service dept. or genuine Honda parts or fluids to keep your warranty in force, although you have to keep the same intervals and the parts and fluids must be equivalent. As @Sandroad points out, you absolutely must keep valid records if maintenance is done elsewhere (or by you) since it will not be in the Honda data base. I use the attached form and snap a picture of all receipts to keep in a binder. IMHO, showing that to a prospective buyer is more impressive than just saying all maintenance was done on time at the dealer. Blank form attached. And yes, I got lazy and paid my trusted mechanic to do this. I must be getting old. But in my own defense, it always comes due in Feb and my garage is unheated.
I think most DIYers keep a maintenance log (maybe not as formal or detailed as KentuckyKen's though) tracking date, mileage, and type of service. I've bought cars where the previous owner did it on a dedicated spiral notebook, but I use a Google Drive spreadsheet, which you can share via email in a read-only format to prospective buyers if they are interested. I then print out the sheet at the time of sale. I've sold three cars documented like this to private parties and no one has balked at this form of record keeping.
Thank you for the replies, I appreciate it. For now, I think I will get the oil & filter changed by the dealer as long as it stays under $60. Can revisit doing it myself in a couple of years.
