Upgrades Mods and Warranty

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Leave it to the lawyer to find bullshit reasoning. How could they possibly prove that the catback caused additional vibration AND that the vibration actually caused those things?

That's the point. It's not their job to prove it. It's yours to prove it's not.

You walk in and want to get warranty work done. They say "no." It costs them money to do warranty repair work, and they'd rather avoid doing than do it. So since you're the one who needs something from them, you're the one who has to force them to do it. They don't have to prove anything. They just have to say "no." And doing anything at all to give them an excuse to say "no" just guarantees that they'll say it.

And then you have to hire the lawyer to get a court to say that their reason is nonsense and they have to abide by the warranty and do the repair. And, again, good luck hiring a lawyer to fight your $1,500 case.

Companies know that people don't want to go to the effort and trouble to prove their case on things; that's why a place will advertise a "money-back guarantee" and then make sure that a person has to jump through so many hoops to actually get their money back that only 1% of people would ever even bother.

Sponsored

 

[stulaw11]

Here is the dilemma as explained right by Ford people. The techs at the dealership could care less what you did to your car as they can work on it as any shop could. The dealership doesnt care generally as Ford itself repays the dealership for warranty work. It doesn't cost the dealership a dime to do warranty work.

The issues is certain/random warranty work Ford sends a person out to inspect the car for the warranty defect that needs fixing. THIS person is the one who can deny warranty work on your car for mods. I assume there is also some procedure the dealership must use to submit claims for warranty work that may or may not involve photos depending on what was done. I also assume that this person comes around for more expensive/intensive repairs. I assume that if you have a warranty issue with a gauge this person isn't going to be shipped out to your dealership (at a cost to Ford of course) but if you claim say an engine head warranty issue, that is part and labor intensive and may require this person's ok. All generally of course as details arent really given out how this works.

Basically, the dealership is covering itself so it gets reimbursed by Ford for the warranty work. The dealerships could care less what you do to your car honestly.

 

[mag]

That last part is very subjective.

If you've got an aftermarket exhaust, and, say, your MyFordTouch stops working... the dealership can say "well, the exhaust caused more vibration in the car than the stock exhaust, and that loosened connections in the infotainment wiring and so this isn't covered under warranty because it was caused by your aftermarket exhaust."

And then good luck finding an attorney to take your case to get the dealership to cover the $1,500 repair under warranty.

Look up the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act - Title 15, Chapter 50, Sections 2301-2312

To summarize:

When accessorizing your vehicle with aftermarket parts, your warranty claim cannot be automatically denied, nor can your warranty be voided, if you install non-OEM parts in your vehicle. The burden is on the dealer to prove the aftermarket parts caused the failure. For example, if your windshield wiper motors fail, your vehicle’s warranty claim can’t be denied because you installed aftermarket windshield wipers that are different from OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts. Similarly, if a wheel bearing fails or a fan belt snaps and you have an aftermarket exhaust installed, the dealership would have to prove the exhaust system caused the bearing failure or the belt to snap in order to deny a warranty claim. In these types of scenarios, the dealership should have no reason to deny your claims.

 

[Farmundeh]

Look up the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act - Title 15, Chapter 50, Sections 2301-2312

To summarize:

When accessorizing your vehicle with aftermarket parts, your warranty claim cannot be automatically denied, nor can your warranty be voided, if you install non-OEM parts in your vehicle. The burden is on the dealer to prove the aftermarket parts caused the failure. For example, if your windshield wiper motors fail, your vehicle’s warranty claim can’t be denied because you installed aftermarket windshield wipers that are different from OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts. Similarly, if a wheel bearing fails or a fan belt snaps and you have an aftermarket exhaust installed, the dealership would have to prove the exhaust system caused the bearing failure or the belt to snap in order to deny a warranty claim. In these types of scenarios, the dealership should have no reason to deny your claims.

I skimmed through the statute quickly and your summary appears to make sense. But I think the concern is something else - at least for me, I can't speak for others. It's not necessarily a matter of what the statute or black letter law says; if that were the case and everyone always followed the rules, we'd be living in a different kind of world. A dealership can resist and make a fuss if they really want to (for whatever reason) and then you and I as the customer have to fight for what we're entitled to. I definitely have better things to do with my time than to engage a Ford dealership in litigation.

Just my .02 as I've dealt with my fair share of nonsense over the years when it comes to auto warranties. And FYI, I plan on changing my exhaust sometime in the spring. But I have a very strong relationship with my sales guy and am fairly comfortable that the dealership won't want to burn any bridges with me.

 

[Anthony]

That last part is very subjective.

If you've got an aftermarket exhaust, and, say, your MyFordTouch stops working... the dealership can say "well, the exhaust caused more vibration in the car than the stock exhaust, and that loosened connections in the infotainment wiring and so this isn't covered under warranty because it was caused by your aftermarket exhaust."

And then good luck finding an attorney to take your case to get the dealership to cover the $1,500 repair under warranty.

Would be a line of lawyers to go after ford, especially due to the magnuson moss warranty act. Ford would cave before taking something that stupid to court, especially when they have already been proven wrong

I think jimmy times is a ambulance chaser. And a lot of the stuff he posts is so outta left field it has to be a joke....... There can't be people in the world that think like that. Not on this topic, but in many others.

To the op. Follow these "the sky is falling" guys. Enjoy yourself. I'm changing all kinds of stuff on my cars. Couldn't care less about a warranty. If it breaks I have the money, knowledge and tools to fix it better than before.

Ford just warrantied spark plugs on my ecoboost f150 that has been tuned since it was new. 48k miles of power! And tight shifts! The tune had ZERO to do with the bad fuel mileage and miss

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

I skimmed through the statute quickly and your summary appears to make sense. But I think the concern is something else - at least for me, I can't speak for others. It's not necessarily a matter of what the statute or black letter law says; if that were the case and everyone always followed the rules, we'd be living in a different kind of world. A dealership can resist and make a fuss if they really want to (for whatever reason) and then you and I as the customer have to fight for what we're entitled to. I definitely have better things to do with my time than to engage a Ford dealership in litigation.

This exactly.

Every time this discussion happens, somebody waves the warranty act around like some kind of talisman. The fact of the matter is that a dealership can always say "no," and then you have to force them into fixing it. And forcing anybody into doing anything they don't want to, even if the law is 100% on your side, is a PITA that nobody needs.

To give an alternative example: landlords are required to do maintenance and repairs on apartments they rent out. And some landlords don't want to do that, because they rent out cheap apartments and can't be bothered to make sure everything works. Now, under the letter of the law, they're required to come fix your shower that's leaking, or your toilet that's always running, or your stove that doesn't light the right-hand burners. But if a landlord doesn't want to do it, they won't do it, and you have to drag them to court to to force them to do it. Even though they're 100% required to, legally.

Now, at least where I live, there are groups who will provide free legal services to tenants suing landlords who won't keep the heat on and the water running. But there normally aren't groups providing free legal services to people trying to get car dealerships to provide warranty repairs.

So the best way to go about things is to maintain a good relationship with the dealership, be friendly and polite and helpful, and, above all, never give them an excuse to back out of doing something they don't want to do.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Would be a line of lawyers to go after ford, especially due to the magnuson moss warranty act. Ford would cave before taking something that stupid to court, especially when they have already been proven wrong

No, there wouldn't be a line of lawyers, because lawyers need to get paid. And there's no percentage in a customer paying $1,000 to a lawyer so he can save you $1,500 on a warranty repair, even if it is a guaranteed victory.

Look at how long General Motors refused to fix their ignition problem. Until and unless a governmental regulatory agency starts breathing down their necks, car manufacturers are going to do whatever the most profitable option is. And if the most profitable option is to alienate a marginal group of car owners -- and, seriously, the percentage of people who modify their cars beyond throwing a sticker in the window is achingly small -- then they'll take that course.

Sponsored