6 ms·

Imagine that Ford only allows maintenance at company owned stores, because they don't sell replacement parts to dealers, then they charge $500 for a fan belt, e

Imagine that Ford only allows maintenance at company owned stores, because they don't sell replacement parts to dealers, then they charge $500 for a fan belt, etc.

grannyg00se 14y ago
Except that if I knew that was their way of business I would simply avoid buying their products. Isn't this a case where the free market actually would account for that scenario? It's not like they have a car monopoly.
- rubyrescue 14y ago
  agreed. i'm just describing the ostensible reason for the law...
geon 14y ago
Then no one will buy a Ford.
howeyc 14y ago
People would probably wise up and buy toyota, nissan, gm, etc. There is more than one car maker.
- MartinCron 14y ago
  That, of course, implies a world with no collusion.
tiziano88 14y ago
Could they not already sell their fan belt to dealers for 500$ if they wanted to?
- glabifrons 14y ago
  They don't make their own fan belts. The dealer would simply switch to another brand. They are standardized, after all.
stevewilhelm 14y ago
Image that the Ford dealership was the only dealership within an hour's drive of your house (not an uncommon situation when these laws were enacted).
makmanalp 14y ago
Wait, how is this different from any consumer device that has a warranty? edit: e.g. let's say my apple laptop breaks, even if I could fix it or get it fixed by a third party for cheap, I have to take it to the apple store to not risk losing my warranty completely.
- sounds 14y ago
  Well, many states have laws specifically for that: a car manufacturer's warranty cannot be cancelled just because the owner or someone the owner paid worked on the car. The manufacturer's warranty can only be voided if the manufacturer can prove that the warranty claim arose directly due to the owner (or someone they paid). So if the owner changes their own oil and the rear bumper falls off? Warranty.
kawera 14y ago
That's exactly what Nikon does.

Imagine that Ford only allows maintenance at company owned stores, because they don't sell replacement parts to dealers, then they charge $500 for a fan belt, etc.

grannyg00se 14y ago

Except that if I knew that was their way of business I would simply avoid buying their products. Isn't this a case where the free market actually would account for that scenario? It's not like they have a car monopoly.

rubyrescue 14y ago
agreed. i'm just describing the ostensible reason for the law...

geon 14y ago

Then no one will buy a Ford.

howeyc 14y ago

People would probably wise up and buy toyota, nissan, gm, etc. There is more than one car maker.

MartinCron 14y ago
That, of course, implies a world with no collusion.

tiziano88 14y ago

Could they not already sell their fan belt to dealers for 500$ if they wanted to?

glabifrons 14y ago
They don't make their own fan belts. The dealer would simply switch to another brand. They are standardized, after all.

stevewilhelm 14y ago

Image that the Ford dealership was the only dealership within an hour's drive of your house (not an uncommon situation when these laws were enacted).

makmanalp 14y ago

Wait, how is this different from any consumer device that has a warranty? edit: e.g. let's say my apple laptop breaks, even if I could fix it or get it fixed by a third party for cheap, I have to take it to the apple store to not risk losing my warranty completely.

sounds 14y ago
Well, many states have laws specifically for that: a car manufacturer's warranty cannot be cancelled just because the owner or someone the owner paid worked on the car. The manufacturer's warranty can only be voided if the manufacturer can prove that the warranty claim arose directly due to the owner (or someone they paid). So if the owner changes their own oil and the rear bumper falls off? Warranty.

kawera 14y ago

That's exactly what Nikon does.