Bulletin No.: 11-00-89-005B
Date: Oct-2012

Subject:

Warranty Administration – Clarification of Use - Dealer Empowerment Labor Operations and Customer
Enthusiasm (U.S. Only)

Models:

2013 and Prior GM Passenger Cars and Trucks

Attention:

This service bulletin does not apply to ‘GM of Canada’ dealers. Dealers in Canada should continue to refer
to the Goodwill section on the Warranty Administration Homepage in GM Global Connect for the most
recent information and updates to the GM of Canada ‘Enable and Empower Project.’

This bulletin is being revised to update bulletin content. Please discard Corporate Bulletin Number 11-00-89-005A (Section
00 – General Information).
The effective date of the requirements of this bulletin is October 17, 2012.
For some time now we have been working together to be even more focused on our customers and to put them first in everything that we do. During this time,
we’ve challenged you, our dealer partners, to be assertive on behalf of our customers and make effective use of the policy and goodwill tools available so that
customers are satisfied and remain loyal to their vehicle brand and your dealership.
Over the past several years, we have extended increased levels of empowerment to our dealers and our team members so that you can confidently do what is
right to satisfy our mutual customers. And while this effort has been largely successful, the reality is that the strategic approach is not always consistent across
different dealerships and different markets. In addition, with more and more of your employees engaged in doing what’s right for the customer, several of you
have requested that we provide additional guidance to assist you in training them to make good quality decisions, on behalf of the customer, while expending
resources in a cost effective manner.
It is those requests, and the desire to continually improve the customer experience that are the basis for this bulletin, in which we will be documenting guidelines
to further assist you and your employees in developing a more consistent professional approach to resolving customer issues while spending resources in a
judicious manner.

Organizational Terms
The following should clarify the terms used to describe various payment categories used to satisfy customer requests for assistance. These terms will be used
throughout this bulletin.

Resource

Definition

Warranty

Vehicle repairs within the time and mileage limitations of the written warranty period that are a result of a covered defect in
materials or workmanship.

•

Example: Ignition lock cylinder is replaced during the 3 years/36,000 mile New Vehicle Limited Warranty.

1

Customer Enthusiasm

Policy

Goodwill

Vehicle repairs within the time and mileage limitations of the written warranty period that ARE NOT the result of a covered
defect in materials or workmanship.

•

Used in rare/unique circumstances.

•

When submitting a transaction for repairs that are Customer Enthusiasm, be sure to select Customer Enthusiasm in the
Job Card Transactions Detail section of GWM.

•

Example: Repair of a front air deflector due to customer not realizing how low it is.

Vehicle repairs outside of the applicable time and mileage limitations of the written warranty period.

•

Example: Wiper motor fails at 52,000 miles and GM pays for all or part of the repair cost.

•

When submitting a transaction for repairs that are Policy, be sure to select Policy Flag in the Job Card Transactions
Detail section of GWM.

Assistance expenditures made to satisfy the customer.

•

The term “Goodwill” does not refer to a vehicle repair. Repair outside of Warranty is “Policy.”

•

Goodwill is the term for the tools that are used to offset customer inconvenience or to offer additional protection and
peace of mind. Details of the Goodwill tools are found later in this bulletin.

•
Special Coverage

Example: An Owner Loyalty Certificate (OLC) is offered to a customer who is in the market for a new vehicle due
to continued out-of-warranty transmission issues.

Extension of the warranty coverage of a specific vehicle component or system if an identified non-safety related failure
occurs.

•

The necessary repair under a Special Coverage will be performed only if the specified condition is present in the
vehicle.

•

Example: Extended coverage on the transmission shift cable for certain Saturn vehicles.

Customer Enthusiasm Repair-Non Warranty
A Customer Enthusiasm Repair is a repair performed within the warranty period when the product issue is not covered by the New Vehicle Limited Warranty but
the dealer/customer wants GM to cover the repair to ensure customer loyalty. In these instances, when the transaction is being submitted for reimbursement,
the dealer should use the repairing labor operation and select the “Customer Enthusiasm-Non Warranty Repair” check-box.
Important: Do not select Customer Enthusiasm if the vehicle is beyond the terms of the applicable warranty – by definition post warranty repairs are Policy
transactions. ALSO: All examples in this Bulletin assume certain facts. You should evaluate each customer’s situation on a case-by-case basis.

•

Example 1: A customer comes into the dealership and states their keyless entry fob on their 2010 SRX with 24,000 miles was inadvertently
lost by their college age son who was unfamiliar with the keyless start system. This is not a defect in material or workmanship and
therefore is not covered by the New Vehicle Limited Warranty. However, based on the customer’s situation, previous repairs for other
issues and to maintain customer satisfaction, it is determined that GM will cover 66% of the $150 cost to replace the transmitter and reprogram the system. To do this, the transaction would be entered as a ZREG using the R4482 Remote Control Door Lock and Theft
Deterrent Transmitter Replacement labor Operation, the Customer Enthusiasm-Non Warranty Repair box checked, the full amount of parts
and labor input and the $50 Customer participation input into the Customer/Service Agent Participation field. The Complaint, Cause, and
Correction fields must document the situation including the reason for the decision.
Important: The Complaint, Cause, and Correction fields must document the specific situation including the substantive reason, for the decision.

•

Example 2: Customer’s vehicle has a cut in the rear seat back at 8,000 miles. This is not a clear defect in material or workmanship and
therefore would not be a warranty repair. Based on the facts and circumstances and the customer’s history with the dealership, the service
manager would like to fix the customers issue and submit this to GM for reimbursement even though it is a non-warrantable repair. The
transaction would be entered as a ZREG using the rear seat back labor operation with the Customer Enthusiasm-Non Warranty Repair box
checked. The Complaint, Cause, and Correction fields must document the situation including the substantive reasons for the decision.

Policy Guidelines
Earlier in 2012, General Motors introduced Policy Guidelines to document the boundaries of vehicle Policy repairs. Now that they have been in market, it has
become clear that there is some confusion on how and when to use them. To simplify the process, GM is launching a revised set of guidelines that are
documented below.

2

The Policy guidelines are being used to:

•

Create a Policy strategy which drives increased service and sales retention.

•

Develop consistent decision making practices / processes among Dealers, Field and CAC representatives.

•

Document mandatory minimum customer / dealer participation amounts at varying time and mileage intervals once a decision to provide assistance has
been made.

The Policy guidelines are NOT being used to:

•

Discourage taking care of our customers.

•

Impose a rigid “one size fits” all approach to issue resolution.

•

Drive a particular decision – the guidelines are only to be used after a decision to assist has been made.

•

Disregard facts or circumstances that make a particular customer’s situation unique.

When presented with a Customer situation that requires you to determine whether to perform a Policy repair your decision making process must treat each
case as a unique set of circumstances and each customer’s situation must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Some things to consider in the decision making process includes the following:

•

Confirm that the vehicle and issue are not subject to a Customer Policy Bulletin. If it is subject to the bulletin, please refer to the bulletin for proper handling.
Customer Policy Bulletins will be released for certain issues that will give more detailed handling instructions.

•

The customers expectations.

•

Type of repair.

•

Vehicle age and mileage.

•

Overall condition and maintenance level of the vehicle.

•

Customer loyalty to GM or to your dealership.

•

Similar previous repairs performed under warranty.

•

Current or previous damage from collision, abuse or misuse.

•

Customer point in purchase cycle.

•

Active Service contract.

If you decide that some level of assistance is appropriate, you will need to do the following:

•

Based upon the result of your review of the particular case, you will need to determine and agree with the customer / District Manager Aftersales (if
required) to an appropriate level of GM assistance for repair. In addition to the concept of a declining level of GM support as the vehicle’s age
and mileage increases there is a required minimum customer / dealer participation amount as outlined below.

•

The mandatory minimum amount of customer / dealer participation must be documented in the “Customer/Service Agent Participation Amount” field as
described in the next section. Please note that this is a minimum amount and that based upon the business case, a higher amount of customer / dealer
participation may be warranted. The minimum amount will be the greater of the two amounts from the time and mileage tables below.

Important Mandatory Minimum Notes

•

If the cost of repair under warranty rates is less than the indicated mandatory minimum amount then there will be no GM participation.

•

As the majority of Policy repairs are isolated and unique, the mandatory minimum applies to each Policy labor operation on the job card.

•

The mandatory minimum amount and any other customer or dealer participation MUST be documented in the Customer / Service Agent participation field
of the Global Warranty system transaction (see section below).
Important: Failure to document the minimum amount in the Customer/Service Agent participation field may result in a charge back for the applicable
amount.

•

Document in the job card the substantive reasons and pertinent facts and circumstances supporting the assistance. The reasons supporting GM
assistance should be abundantly clear to an objective third party reviewing the Job Card that has not been involved in the customer decision making
process. Short general comments such as “good customer” or “out of warranty” are not sufficient - document your decision making process as well as
the reasons for adjustment in some detail.

•

Providing assistance on a vehicle that is beyond 8 years old should only be considered under rare circumstances. As an alternative for these and other
circumstances where repair assistance is inappropriate, consider using one of the Goodwill tools that are described later in this bulletin.
3

Mandatory Minimum Time and Mileage Tables
Bumper-to-Bumper Coverage (Includes Powertrain items on 2006 and Prior vehicles)
Beyond New Vehicle Limited Warranty Repairs in the following repair groups:

•

Air Conditioning/Heating

•

Brakes

•

Electrical

•

Electronic Components

•

Engine Electrical and Engine Fuel

•

Front Suspension/Steering

•

Body

•

Glass/Trim

•

Paint/Metal

♦

Time and Mileage Table (Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Saturn)
Customer/Dealer will pay greater of Minimum $ amount or % of total repair as indicated in the applicable table below.
Days out of Warranty
0

1 – 365

366 – 730

731 – 1,095

1,096 – 1,460

1,461 – 1,825

1,826 +

0

In Warranty

10% or $100

25% or $200

40% or $300

55% or $400

70% or $500

Pre-Approval

1 – 12,000

10% or $100

10% or $100

25% or $200

40% or $300

55% or $400

70% or $500

Pre-Approval

12,001 –
24,000

25% or $200

25% or $200

25% or $200

40% or $300

55% or $400

70% or $500

Pre-Approval

24,001 –
36,000

40% or $300

40% or $300

40% or $300

40% or $300

55% or $400

70% or $500

Pre-Approval

36,001 –
48,000

55% or $400

55% or $400

55% or $400

55% or $400

55% or $400

70% or $500

Pre-Approval

48,001 –
60,000

70% or $500

70% or $500

70% or $500

70% or $500

70% or $500

70% or $500

Pre-Approval

60,001 +

Pre-Approval

Pre-Approval

Pre-Approval

Pre-Approval

Pre-Approval

Pre-Approval

Pre-Approval

Miles out of
Warranty

TABLE 1
♦

Time and Mileage Table (Buick, Cadillac, HUMMER)
Customer/Dealer will pay greater of Minimum $ amount or % of total repair as indicated in the applicable table below.
Days out of Warranty

4

0

1 – 365

366 – 730

731 – 1,095

1,096 – 1,460

1,461 +

0

In Warranty

10% or $100

25% or $200

40% or $300

55% or $400

Pre-Approval

1 – 12,000

10% or $100

10% or $100

25% or $200

40% or $300

55% or $400

Pre-Approval

12,001 – 24,000

25% or $200

25% or $200

25% or $200

40% or $300

55% or $400

Pre-Approval

24,001 – 36,000

40% or $300

40% or $300

40% or $300

40% or $300

55% or $400

Pre-Approval

36,001 – 48,000

55% or $400