The new Ford Everest has gone on sale in South Africa with a standard 6-year/90,000km service plan for the seven-seater SUV costing R18,740.40.
This is on top of the R965,400 asking price for the entry-level Sport and R1,113,100 for the top-end Platinum, both of which already include a 4-year/120,000km warranty and 4-year/unlimited-kilometre roadside assistance.
The optional service plan can be extended to a maximum of 8 years/150,000km at an additional cost, or it can be upgraded to a maintenance plan of the same duration.
The unbundling of Ford’s service plans from the price of its vehicles follows the imposition of the right-to-repair guidelines by the competition commission on 1 July 2021.
Right to repair
Ford is one of the few manufacturers who have thus far unbundled its service plans from the price of its vehicles following the publishing of the right-to-repair guidelines.
These guidelines implore automakers to allow their clients to service their vehicles at an independent service provider (ISP) of their choice, without automatically voiding the manufacturers’ warranty and service plans.
This is in the spirit of increasing choice for consumers as well as promoting the entry and participation of small-and-medium-sized enterprises and historically-disadvantaged persons in the automotive aftermarket sector.
However, the guidelines do not have the force of law and consumers still face risks when opting to have maintenance and repair work done by third parties.
Particularly with Ford, the company previously confirmed that should its customers choose to go the aftermarket route, the manufacturer would not be obliged to pay the ISP for any services rendered.
“Although the Ford warranty remains in place, should there be a failure as a result of the parts used or the workmanship of the ISP, that portion of the repair may not be covered by said warranty,” said the automaker.
The services must also fall within the manufacturer’s stated service intervals to retain the original after-sales agreements, and in the case of an official vehicle recall, only Ford will be allowed to do the repair work.
Keyword: The price of a new Ford Everest service plan in South Africa