Ford Inspector for Warranty Repair-Update:Warranty Denied Claim Due to Off Road Racing

[MikeR397]

As much that i want the op to winn, i have serious doubts because the extended warranty is with an aftermarket company that had his own verbiage in the contract that was signed by the op
It is therefore a contractual agreement and all the stuff about how ford advertised the car is pretty much irrelevant
Imagine that you buy a dual toaster from the “ perfect toast company “ and that all the advertising pictures show 2 toast in it
After the factory warranty expires you buy an aftermarket warranty that state that you can only do 1 toast at the time
You still do 2 toast at the time, your toaster fail, you file a claim , explain the situation, doing 2 toasts at the time, all the manufacturer advertising with 2 toasts, etc your claim is denied because you didn’t respected the terms of the agreement
Hopefully I’m wrong

Your wrong.

Cool toaster story and all, but I still think it’s silly how people are focusing on the subsidiary situation. Before that even becomes relevant, it needs to be found he committed an exclusionary action that the actual contract defines. The contract says “racing” is excluded and OP didn’t register in a racing event. Therefore the actual contract exclusion was not triggered and coverage still exists. If he is found to have violated some ESP language, then you can get in a broader and more complicated argument for coverage about subsidiaries and “should have known” and “reasonable interpretation,” but that’s not the first decision the arbitrator is going to make and I doubt will come up at all.

That’s all I’ll say on the matter, we’ll have an answer soon enough.

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[BlkMach10510]

Now we wait

 

[Call_Me_Bruce]

I think the adjuster assembled a fair amount of circumstantial evidence to support that the car was in racing events. Stickers from VIR, roll cage, restraints, and upgraded brakes. All signs that the car was modified to participate in racing events, racing type events, etc. Also, the OP posted up his oil change history. It looked like that some of the oil change intervals were very short, mileage and time. That would indicate to me, possibly, as the owners manual states, after track days change the oil.

I would be surprised if the OP wins. Hopefully I'll eat my words on that. Extended warranty companies are not in the business of subsidizing racing hobbies.

 

[luc]

Hopefully the arbitrator will not look for the definition of racing because there are more than 1
Look at # 2
Bottom line there is nothing clear cut or black and white in this situation
Can really go either way

 

[MAGS1]

Stickers from VIR, roll cage, restraints, and upgraded brakes. All signs that the car was modified to participate in racing events, racing type events, etc.

And for every person that does this for actual track events, there are many that do it just for looks and never even sniff a track. Looks alone are not evidence of track use and/or racing. Burden of proof is on FMSC to provide evidence the car was raced in order to deny the claim.

I have a few track venue stickers (not on my car) that I got just because I visited them or went as a spectator. Just because I like the stickers and want to have a little memento of venues I’ve been to. If I put them on my car does that justify a denial due to racing? Absolutely not.

Just my $0.02. Good luck OP, we’re rooting for you.

 

[WItoTX]

Hopefully the arbitrator will not look for the definition of racing because there are more than 1
Look at # 2
Bottom line there is nothing clear cut or black and white in this situation
Can really go either way

OP had this brought up to him when he posted his last update, and I am betting he addressed it for his meeting today, and didn't share it on this forum.

Because that is the crux here. Racing implies running the car at high speed, at the limits of grip around the edges of the G-table, and success is measured in time, position, or some other objective measure.

HPDE implies running the car at high speed, at the limits of grip, around the edges of the G table to learn how to be a better driver. So how does one objectively measure if they are becoming a better driver? How many waive-bys? Time?

So what is the actual difference? And that is the million dollar (or a transmission) decision.

And this was brought up to OP, and I am betting he addressed it. I look forward to his results.

 

[tosha]

Stickers from VIR, roll cage, restraints, and upgraded brakes. All signs that the car was modified to participate in racing events, racing type events, etc. Also, the OP posted up his oil change history. It looked like that some of the oil change intervals were very short, mileage and time.

It's like putting a man in prison for raping just because he has a d!ck and a paid subscription for kink com. Look he has a tool, all signs indicate he could do something illegal with it.

Fingers crossed for the OP to win.

 

[mikedahammer]

No ruling was made on the spot and I believe the arbitrator has a few days or a week to make his determination.

This is just a quick post tell you I am working on a write up. The arbitration was approximately 2 hours and Ford had a representative (I believe an attorney) and a technical expert.

I have a ton of work stuff to do today and tonight is beer and bowling night so hang in there. I just didn't want to see 1,000 posts about me abandoning the thread or that I am in witness protection somewhere or that Ford spanked me.

 

[MikeR397]

Hopefully the arbitrator will not look for the definition of racing because there are more than 1
Look at # 2
Bottom line there is nothing clear cut or black and white in this situation
Can really go either way

So driving a gt350 “swiftly” voids the warranty now? Come on. In the context of motorsports, the term “racing” 100% implies a winner and timing by officials. Kinda hard to win first place at a DE event.

Find me ONE SINGLE DE event that claims it’s a race or that participants are “racing.”

 

[MikeR397]

I think the adjuster assembled a fair amount of circumstantial evidence to support that the car was in racing events. Stickers from VIR, roll cage, restraints, and upgraded brakes. All signs that the car was modified to participate in racing events, racing type events, etc. Also, the OP posted up his oil change history. It looked like that some of the oil change intervals were very short, mileage and time. That would indicate to me, possibly, as the owners manual states, after track days change the oil.

I would be surprised if the OP wins. Hopefully I'll eat my words on that. Extended warranty companies are not in the business of subsidizing racing hobbies.

No the adjuster didn’t. Evidence was that he took the car to a track and/or participated in a DE event of some sort. There is zero evidence that the car was entered into a race.

stick to the words of the contract or you’ll be voiding warranties now for frequent oil changes.

fully agree warranties are going to do what they can, fraudulent or not, to avoid paying claims. It’s important people stand up to them or they’ll roll all over anyone not smart or persistent enough to stand up for themselves.

 

[luc]

So driving a gt350 “swiftly” voids the warranty now? Come on. In the context of motorsports, the term “racing” 100% implies a winner and timing by officials. Kinda hard to win first place at a DE event.

Find me ONE SINGLE DE event that claims it’s a race or that participants are “racing.”

You forgot the part that say “at full speed “
Point is that the arbitrator/warranty company have plenty of wiggle room to decide what they want

 

[Cobra99]

Here is the definition in Canada ,but I think it translates to what Racing is. Just driving the car at speed or anything of that nature isn't racing.



sec.172 of the Highway Traffic Act, and it encompasses many acts on the roadway. Some of these acts are as follows:

• Exceeding the speed limit by 50km/hr or more above the posted rate
• Driving two or more motor vehicles, above the posted rate of speed, and/or in a manner that suggests the two motor vehicles are engaged in a competition
• Driving in a manner that suggests an intention to chase a motor vehicle
• Driving without due care or with lack of attention for others on the roadway
• Driving in any manner that may endanger others using the roadway
• Repeatedly changing lanes while close to other motor vehicles, in an attempt to advance through the normal flow of traffic

 

[MikeR397]

You forgot the part that say “at full speed “
Point is that the arbitrator/warranty company have plenty of wiggle room to decide what they want

We’ll have to agree to disagree on that.

If the ESP meant for tracking to void coverage, why did they not say “tracking or taking your car on a race track or to a driver education event at a race track?” They used the word “Racing” which is not synonymous with “tracking” in the legal interpretation of the word and what was meant, regardless of how similar stresses on the car are.

I have a track buddy that races in a mustang GT class. He has an actual (mandatory) racing license to participate. Officials time him and the winner gets a prize. The track action is cutthroat wheel to wheel, no passby pointing and aggressive blocking and driving techniques. It’s entirely different situation than what I do in advanced on a DE event even if I’m putting in the same relative times.

How well would the GT350 have sold new if Ford said in the terms “using your track focused car on the track for one single lap voids your entire 5yr powertrain warranty.” They could not get away with that language so they more narrowly excluded “racing” which still makes sense even on a recreational track focused car.

 

[WItoTX]

So driving a gt350 “swiftly” voids the warranty now? Come on. In the context of motorsports, the term “racing” 100% implies a winner and timing by officials. Kinda hard to win first place at a DE event.

Find me ONE SINGLE DE event that claims it’s a race or that participants are “racing.”

Let me ask you this. High performance driving event. What is the purpose of this event?

 

[MikeR397]

Let me ask you this. High performance driving event. What is the purpose of this event?

Fun. and education, if you want it. Pretty similar to a brisk canyon drive past the speed limit. Nobody is saying that’s a breach of warranty for “racing” even if you do it with a group of friends.

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