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Email templates · Auto repair shop

Email template to ask a repair shop to redo a repair under warranty

A repair you paid for did not hold. The same problem is back a few days or weeks later, or a new one has appeared that is clearly tied to the work. Most shops warranty their repairs on both parts and labor, commonly for 12 months or 12,000 miles and sometimes longer; the terms are printed on your invoice. Email the shop before you do anything else. It puts the date the problem returned on record while you are still inside the warranty period, and it lets you attach the invoice so nobody has to dig for it. Do not take the car to a different shop first: nearly every repair warranty requires the original shop to inspect and fix it, and once someone else has touched the work, the first shop can refuse.

Before you send

  • The original invoice: date, invoice number, exactly what was replaced or repaired, the mileage at the time, the amount paid, and the warranty wording.
  • Today's mileage and the date the problem came back. Both matter for whether you are inside the warranty.
  • A plain description of the symptom and how it matches what you brought the car in for originally.
  • Whether the car is safe to drive. If it is not, ask whether the warranty covers a tow back to the shop; some do.
  • Confirmation that no other shop has worked on the same part since.
Subject Warranty on invoice #[invoice number]: [problem] has come back 
Hi [service manager name or shop name],

On [date] you [replaced or repaired what] on my [year make model] under invoice #[invoice number], at [mileage at the time] miles. The total was $[amount], and the invoice lists a [12 month / 12,000 mile] warranty on parts and labor.

The same problem is back. Since [date], [describe the symptom, e.g. the car is again overheating in traffic and the temperature gauge reaches the red within ten minutes]. The car now has [current mileage] miles, so it's within the warranty period, and nobody else has worked on it.

Could you take the car back and correct the repair at no charge under the warranty? I can bring it in [days or dates]. If you'd rather I not drive it in this condition, please let me know whether the warranty covers a tow.

I'd appreciate written confirmation that the visit is covered before I bring the car in, so there are no surprises at pickup.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • The normal reply is "bring it in and we'll inspect it." That is fair; the warranty covers the repair they did, not every part nearby, and they need to see whether it is the same failure.
  • A bad answer is that the return visit counts as a new diagnosis and will be charged. Reply once and ask them to inspect under the warranty first and to quote anything that turns out to be a separate issue before doing it.
  • If they say the cause is something different, ask for that explanation in writing, including how it relates to the original work, and get a second opinion before paying for an unrelated repair.
  • If they refuse outright, get the refusal in writing. Then check whether the part maker offers its own warranty, contact the state agency that licenses repair shops, or have another shop fix it and pursue the cost in small claims court.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get my failed car repair redone under warranty 
Hi StandIn,

Please get the shop that fixed my car to redo the repair under their warranty; the problem came back.

The shop: [name and location].
The original repair: [what was done, date, invoice number, mileage then, amount paid, warranty terms on the invoice].
What's happening now: [symptom, when it started, current mileage].
Whether the car is drivable: [yes / no, it would need a tow].
When I can bring it in: [days or dates].

Get them to confirm in writing that the visit is covered, arrange the drop-off, and if they push back or try to charge for it, handle the back-and-forth and tell me what my options are.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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