Warranty claim tracker: set up and reconcile

Warranty vs insurance: they are different

The existing Insurance Repair Portal covers panel-beating work claimed through IAG / Suncorp / AAMI / Allianz / RACV. That's third-party accident damage, paid by the insurer.

Manufacturer warranty work is a different animal. The OEM (Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, MG, Mitsubishi, Mazda) is the customer. The car is under their factory warranty or one of their capped-price service programs. The work has to:

• Map to a specific RAC code (Repair Authorisation Code) before you start
• Use OEM parts only (no aftermarket) with a parts return for failed components over a value threshold
• Be invoiced at the OEM's warranty labour rate (typically 60-80% of your market rate)
• Comply with the service bulletin for the relevant fault

Document any of this wrong and the OEM rejects the claim. Workshops doing warranty work without a structured workflow lose 10-15% margin on documentation slippage alone, claims that get short-paid, supplementaries that never get submitted, parts returns that miss the deadline.

Why now

AU OEMs have been aggressive on warranty length over the last decade:

• Hyundai 7-year unlimited (since 2017): first big claim wave hitting now as 2017-2019 models hit the 5-7 year window where major components fail
• Kia 7-year unlimited (since 2014): sustained claim volume; 2018+ Sportage / Sorento / Carnival all common
• MG 10-year (since 2020): sold heavily 2020-2022 to first-time buyers, first big claim wave now (MG ZS, MG3, MG HS)
• Mitsubishi 10-year conditional (since 2020): conditional on dealer-network servicing, but plenty of customers servicing at independents and claiming anyway
• Toyota 5-year + capped-price (since 2019): Toyota Service Advantage capped pricing claims are routine for independents who do Toyota work
• Mazda 5-year unlimited + Service Select (since 2019)

If you service any of these brands, this app is the difference between getting paid on time and chasing reimbursement variances for six months.

Install the app

1. Open App Marketplace
2. Find Warranty Claim Tracker under Automotive. The current price and trial are on the Warranty Claim Tracker app page
3. Click Install: 14-day free trial

Step 1: Set your per-OEM labour rates

From Settings, then Warranty Labour Rates (appears after install):

Set the labour rate the OEM pays you per hour. These are negotiated with the OEM, not market rates. As a 2025 starting point for independents:

• Toyota: $95-$115/hr
• Hyundai / Kia: $95-$110/hr
• MG: $85-$100/hr (lower end)
• Mitsubishi: $90-$105/hr
• Mazda: $95-$115/hr

If you don't have a formal independent-workshop warranty agreement with the OEM, you're probably working through a dealer relationship, use the dealer's sub-rate, which is typically 0.7× their market rate.

This rate auto-fills on every line item of a warranty-tagged job.

Step 2: Tag a job as warranty work

On any new job, set Job type = `warranty` and pick the OEM. The app then surfaces:

• RAC code field: required before claim submission. The library auto-suggests common codes for the symptom you've typed in the job notes
• Capped-price program selector: if the vehicle is on Toyota Service Advantage, Mazda Service Select, or Hyundai iCare, the line items auto-price to the program rate
• VIN required flag: warranty claims need full VIN, not just rego
• Service bulletin lookup: search by VIN + symptom; surfaces any OEM bulletin or recall that applies

Step 3: Generate the claim form

When the work is complete:

1. Click Generate warranty claim
2. The app produces a pre-filled OEM claim form with all required fields, RAC code, VIN, owner details, parts used, labour hours, fault description, repair description
3. Export PDF or submit directly via the OEM portal (Toyota TIS, Hyundai HSP, Mazda Mazdacare, depends on your access level)

If you have direct portal access, the form fields map straight onto the portal. If you're working via the dealer, send them the PDF and they submit on your behalf.

Step 4: Parts return tracking

Warranty parts above a value threshold (typically $80-$200 depending on the OEM) need to be returned for inspection. The app tracks:

• Which parts on this job require return
• Return-by deadline (varies by OEM, Toyota is 30 days, Hyundai/Kia 21 days, MG 14 days)
• Courier label generation (you'll need an account with the OEM's preferred carrier)
• Confirmation when the OEM receives the part

Miss the deadline and the OEM has the right to refuse the claim retroactively. The app flags upcoming deadlines on the workshop dashboard.

Step 5: Reimbursement reconciliation

When the OEM remits payment (usually 2-6 weeks after claim submission), enter the amount received against the job:

• Matches, then job closes paid
• Underpaid, then app flags the variance and offers a one-click Submit supplementary claim workflow
• Overpaid (rare but happens), then log it for your tax records

The Warranty profitability report shows per-OEM realised margin vs market-rate equivalent. If a particular OEM's rate has slipped below your floor, you'll see it here.

Capped-price service programs

These are different from warranty repairs:

• The customer pays you (not the OEM) at the program rate
• The OEM publishes the price; you have no negotiation
• You don't need to submit a claim form, but you do need to log it correctly

The app pre-loads the current 2025 capped-price service prices for Toyota Service Advantage, Mazda Service Select, and Hyundai iCare. When a customer brings in a Toyota at 30,000 km, the app prefills the Service Advantage 30K price for that model.

Review these prices quarterly, OEMs adjust them annually but don't publicise it.

When to skip this app

If you do less than ~$2,000/month of warranty work, the documentation overhead of using the app probably outweighs the gain. The app earns its keep when warranty + capped-price work is 15%+ of your monthly revenue.