NEW VEHICLE PURCHASE - FACT or FICTION:

[whesselton]

A factory warranty (dollar amount) is factored into the MSRP of all retail vehicles for sale in the United States. If a BUYER is in negotiations with a DEALER, BUYER can opt-out of said factory warranty at the dollar amount value of said warranty to lower the purchase price of said vehicle.

True or False?

The reason I am posting this is because I was denied a warranty repair claim on my 2015 Subaru STI due to it having a Cobb Pro-Tune. The vehicle comes with a 3/36 bumper to bumper limited warranty. So, I was thinking that since I've apparently VOIDED the warranty and repairs were denied coverage by SOA, shouldn't I be entitled to a reimbursement of said warranty $$ since no other claims were ever filed while under said warranty?

Anyone here have any experience with this or in a similar situation?

Thanks in advance!

 

[kydsid]

I think you are past the point of purchase which is when that clause applies. Old saying in the mod world, "gotta pay to play"

 

[whesselton]

I think you are past the point of purchase which is when that clause applies. Old saying in the mod world, "gotta pay to play"

Oh, I know that you gotta pay to play. I've been modding cars since the early 90's. Thing is, I have no other mods on the STI yet; not even a CAI. The claim was for a driver side half shaft that ate itself; it was installed incorrectly by the robot at the factory. I paid out of pocket for the repair.

I purchased 5 yr./100k extended warranty for my 2010 Cadillac CTS-V from "Direct Buy Auto Warranty" back in May for $4,300.00. I sold the Cadillac in August when I leased my new 2015 VW GSW TDI. I called Direct Buy and told them and they refunded my money minus a small $75.00 fee. I was also refunded the GAP insurance I purchased through the dealership when I sold the Cadillac.

 

[LRTDI]

Since drivetrain is affected by your tuning of vehicle valid denial. Guessing you didn't post in a Subaru forum for a reason

 

[whesselton]

Since drivetrain is affected by your tuning of vehicle valid denial. Guessing you didn't post in a Subaru forum for a reason

Umm...I asked if anyone had any experience or was in a similar situation. I didn't ask if the validity of Subaru's denial was valid. Read the question again partner. And, I did post this on the NASIOC forum. I just wanted to see if any of my fellow VW owners had experienced anything similar with VW. Is that okay with you? Or, are you going to deny my asking a valid question?

 

[Ol'Rattler]

Pretty lame question...............

Getting a refund for canceling your warranty after purchasing your car Probably won't fly. Pretty hard to un-purchase something that was part of the car at the time of sale.

It would be like saying I did not want windows and you
must remove them and refund me what they cost. "It didn't rain, so I never actually used them"

In their estimation, you voided the terms of the warranty. Why would they refund you money because of that?

Since you are not in the negotiation phase of your purchase anymore, your question has zero relevance to what your "True or False" question is asking.

Now to answer the question you think is irrelevant, no, they can't just void your warranty for a mod, they have to prove the mod caused the failure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson%E2%80%93Moss_Warranty_Act

To your benefit, if the mod caused the failure, it would have most likely destroyed the other half shaft as well. In my estimation, the repair should have been covered under warranty.

 

[oilhammer]

This is a silly argument. And your Subie (just like pretty much every other car on the planet made after about 1980) already has a "CAI", so you don't need to install one, Fuji already did.

BTW, our Volkswagen dealer we source parts from is also a Subaru dealer, and while I won't claim to be an expert on Subies, I do know they always seem to have cars in their with their transmissions and axles apart and in pieces, especially the WRX/STi models. So they must be able to break them quite easily.

 

[deejaaa]

Umm...I asked if anyone had any experience or was in a similar situation. I didn't ask if the validity of Subaru's denial was valid. Read the question again partner. And, I did post this on the NASIOC forum. I just wanted to see if any of my fellow VW owners had experienced anything similar with VW. Is that okay with you? Or, are you going to deny my asking a valid question?

I like how someone new asks questions for the first time and gets an attitude with members that have been here longer than they've owned the car. wow! love the nerve (not!).
as far as I'm concerned, you have no valid questions.

 

[dieselgrandad]

True or False?
I was denied a warranty repair claim on my 2015 Subaru STI due to it having a Cobb Pro-Tune.

And that, boys and girls, is why we:

don't permanently mod the car until the warranty has expired!

As to your question it's not "true or false", it's yes or no.

• Yes, there is a warranty cost that is factored into the cost of every vehicle.

• No, you cannot bargain this away. Why? For one thing, the dealer probably doesn't know (or care) what that number is; the warranty goes with the car and is transferable to the next owner.

 

[Oberkanone]

The answer to your question is False.

As to the problem of denial of warranty for the repair what you have to consider is that manufacturer has right to refuse repair to an affected part due to modification.
The Tuners understand this

WILL A PROTUNE VOID MY WARRANTY?

Our custom tuning is created as a file which is loaded on the Cobb AccessPort and then flashed on the vehicle's engine computer through the OBDII port. In case the car needs to be taken into service it is highly recommended to uninstall the Cobb AccessPort from your car by plugging it in and simply choosing uninstall from the menu options. The process is virtually effortless and takes only a couple minutes to complete after which the car is restored to the original software before Accessport was installed. This functionality is provided by Cobb Tuning and their AccessPort device. In case of any issues with the Cobb AccessPort device please contact Cobb Tuning directly.

Some dealers are friendly to performance modifications and it's usually known which are not by the local enthusiasts. Occasionally a manufacturer will tighten the screws on dealers that are performance mod friendly by denying warranty claims.

I've chipped a TDI before and I did it after warranty was up since the local dealers were known to check for altered ECU and software. I accepted the fact that it was putting my powertrain warranty at risk.

Manufacturer can't refuse to warranty equipment unaffected by the modification. Example is if you change out the wheels to larger than oem spec and the struts fail then your on the hook, if your radio fails then it still has to be covered under warranty.

If you disagree with dealer or manufacturers determination then you still have right to go to arbitration or court dependent on provisions in manufacturers warranty and documents you sign before the dealer works on your vehicle. Often anymore you have to go to arbitration.

Merchants in the business of selling tunes and other performance modifications often reference the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act to allay concern about vehicle warranty and get a sale of their part/service. Reality is there is little to no protection from this warranty act until you are in court.

As stated earlier "Don't mod vehicle until warranty is expired".

 

[GetMore]

For what it is worth, some manufacturers offer fleet vehicles where they offer the warranty as an option. So, on those you can choose not to pay for the warranty.
However, that decision is made BEFORE you buy the vehicle.

Now, regarding AFTERMARKET warranties: Yes, some of those refund the price if it is not used. It is a game they play: You might have a small repair that you decide to pay for out of pocket, so you can get your full warranty payment refunded.

 

[VeedUp]

Don't know any dealer who would lower the msrp of a new car because the purchaser don't want said manufacturer warranty.