I have a pretty long story but for everyones sake I'm gonna sum it up really
quickly. I bought a 2002 Subaru Wrx on August 30th of this year. The car had
some modifications done to it so when I was purchasing it the warranty was
an issue to me. I asked them if the manufacturers warranty is still valid
after the mods they stated that it was.
Under the Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act the factory warranty will
remain valid EXCEPT for any area in which an aftermarket (non-OEM)
part can be shown to cause the failure. In otherwords, an aftermarket
stereo doesn't have anything to do with the wheel bearings and thus
the wheel bearings would be covered if they failed. In your case, if
they put an aftermarket intake and exhaust and it screwed up the
sensors in that pathway they have grounds to deny your claim. The rest
of the warranty should still be good. The dealership itself has zero
control over the warranty but what they do NOT want is to do the work
then have the manufacturer deny the claim and then have to come back
after you for it. On the other hand, several dealerships will have
you pay for an "unwarrantable claim" then turn around and get
reimbursed by the warranty as well.
One other reason you will find many dealerships go out of their way to
deny it under warranty is the amount they get paid for the work.
Typically they are at a fixed rate of usually around 50% their
standard labor (if they charge $70 an hour they may get $35-40 an hour
from the manufacturer) and they also get ZERO mark-up on the parts
themselves. In otherwords, many don't make enough to justify the time
if they have more private work that does make money.
Stating a warranty is valid had best be in writing. If not, you don't
have anything to stand on. In fact, I'm betting you signed the
contract when you bought the car and somewhere on those original
sheets where you negotiated and definitely in the contract it stated
that ONLY WHAT IS IN WRITING IS AGREED UPON and somewhere in other
phrasing is that anything talked about is not relavent unless it is in
writing. In otherwords, by the sheets you signed, they can promise you
the moon but they are ONLY obligated for what you have agreed to in
writing. This is normal and on every contract I have ever seen in the
car business.
Now here I am less than 2 months
away and the check engine light is on and they will not replace the exhaust
temperature sensor (I had subaru diagnose it). They said that I need to
show them something in writing that says they agreed to fix any problems
even though the owner himself said directly to me that he would take care of
any problems I had. I already sent letters to the Attorney General and BBB.
The only warranty I have in writing from them is the 3 month 3000 mile
warranty on the powertrain which doesn't do me any good. Is there anything I
can do to get around this problem or make them pay for ripping me off.
In that case you have 3 months or 3000 miles if something happens to
the powertrain but this will likely exclude any normal wear parts,
including the clutch. In short, they are not ripping you off. You
just didn't get it in writing. If the shoe was on the other foot
everyone is happy to say "Oh, I'd take care of that if I were them"
and then they look at the deal and realize that it can often make the
difference of making any profit at all. Some are just greedy, most are
trying to make a living. I've been on both sides of it as a consumer
and as an auto sales professional for a few years and I have seen both
sides of the argument. At some point people it would be nice if there
was a compromise (maybe you buy the part they supply the labor?) and
be happy with that. Sometimes there just won't be a compromise.
If you have nothing in writing tthen the above may be the best (and
least expensive) option.
Btw, it's been my experiance (in sales and seeing them come back) that
you NEVER want to buy a car with modifications unless you know exactly
what they are, who did them, how well they were done, and if they are
exactly the same ones you would do yourself. Intake and exhaust? No
problem. Just make sure you know it's not one of the few cheap intakes
that tend to get water, dirt, etc. into the car (the more open Ice-Man
intakes in some of the Honda's that says "do not use in rain" for
instance...)
