VOIDING THE WARRENTY?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 129
Likes: 0
From: Palm Desert CAlif
VOIDING THE WARRENTY?
Can anybody share their experiences with me on what performance mods are allowed that will not void the warranty? My ride is a 2003 Vert.
Yesterday I contacted a forum perfomance vendor who was unable to offer much help except to say, "if I wanted to keep the car pristine and cherish it his store was not the place to go" And, "go talk to your local dealer". Rather an odd reply but probably truthful.
I know you never get your bucks back on performance mods, but what is your experience on the warranty question?
Thanks
Yesterday I contacted a forum perfomance vendor who was unable to offer much help except to say, "if I wanted to keep the car pristine and cherish it his store was not the place to go" And, "go talk to your local dealer". Rather an odd reply but probably truthful.
I know you never get your bucks back on performance mods, but what is your experience on the warranty question?
Thanks
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 21,325
Likes: 3,841
From: small town in S.E Pa. PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
Re: VOIDING THE WARRENTY? (carman1)
Some dealers will actually tell you that if you change a light bulb yourself... you will void the warranty... MY dealer actually told me if I change my own brakes, he will personally see to it my warranty is voided...
There are federal laws protecting you.. you can mod your car... naturally the mod will not be covered by GM... but usually the mod is covered by the manufacturers warranty... eg. Corsa exhaust... if they fail GM will not replace them , but Corsa will... GM can not void your warranty because you put on a replacement muffler system..,, if an after market product is deemed to have caused a direct failure to a warranteed component.. that part will not be covered... It not real clear, and would require litigation.. but they can't void your warranty... just because they say they can...
[Modified by Evil-Twin, 6:27 PM 1/9/2004]
There are federal laws protecting you.. you can mod your car... naturally the mod will not be covered by GM... but usually the mod is covered by the manufacturers warranty... eg. Corsa exhaust... if they fail GM will not replace them , but Corsa will... GM can not void your warranty because you put on a replacement muffler system..,, if an after market product is deemed to have caused a direct failure to a warranteed component.. that part will not be covered... It not real clear, and would require litigation.. but they can't void your warranty... just because they say they can...
[Modified by Evil-Twin, 6:27 PM 1/9/2004]
Former Vendor
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 7,812
Likes: 3
From: DFW, TX www.vettestripes.com
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08
Re: VOIDING THE WARRENTY? (gojo)
Get another dealer. :smash:
The dealer even more happy since they just need to put the brand new in 5 minutes and still charged GM for 2 hrs of labor.
And other dealers put my cam, 02 Z06 clutch, LT headers, and new heads for just 250$ while they re-ring my C5 ...
So just try another dealer
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 5,857
Likes: 84
From: Gainesville VA
Re: VOIDING THE WARRENTY? (carman1)
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/...s/warranty.htm
People really should read this, you bring this up when they start talking their crap and see how fast they shut the heck up.....
:seeya
[Modified by Ryan2002C5, 7:13 PM 1/9/2004]
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/...s/warranty.htm
People really should read this, you bring this up when they start talking their crap and see how fast they shut the heck up.....
:seeya
[Modified by Ryan2002C5, 7:13 PM 1/9/2004]
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 17,901
Likes: 18
From: Elko, Nevada
Re: VOIDING THE WARRENTY? (Ryan2002C5)
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
allot it's really untrue. Voiding part of the warranty, but not the entire
warranty is possible. For example...you install heads/cam, and your power
windows stop working, a dealer can't say "well you voided your warranty
with that install" :nono: . Wrong. There has to be a direct correlation between
the modification and the defect affecting the vehicle.
:cheers:
[Modified by Purerock105, 7:46 PM 1/9/2004]
[Modified by Purerock105, 7:46 PM 1/9/2004]
Team Owner
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 54,204
Likes: 180
From: S.W. Ohio. . . . . . NRA Life Member
Re: VOIDING THE WARRENTY? (Purerock105)
There are federal laws protecting you..
'cept, the laws are only as good as the lawyer you hire to represent you. The M-M Warranty Act gives you the legal right to sue if your warranty is erroneously voided for the reasons listed in the Act. The Act doesnt't stop it from happening; just gives you a legal recourse to challenge it after the fact.
Just keep the mods as un-noticeable as you can.
.
[Modified by Mike Mercury, 9:04 PM 1/9/2004]
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Common Corvette Problems of the Last 20 Years!
Joe Kucinski
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 25,889
Likes: 7
From: Virginia Beach
CI 3-5-6-7-8 Veteran
Re: VOIDING THE WARRENTY? (Mike Mercury)
Find a dealer that is :cool:. The Corvette-only mechanic at Casey Chevy talks to me all the time about traking the car and doing HPDE's and Auto-X. He's not going to narc me b/c he'd have done it a long time ago. He said I could do whatever I wanted to the car, but that he didn't want to deal w/ me if I blew it up with nitrous! Heads and Cam would still void my warranty though. Next summer when I get the itch for a cam package I'll probably take it to mike and let him install it. Right now he's got a customer bringing him a Cartek H/C package for him to install.
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 99
Likes: 0
From: Galveston TX
Re: VOIDING THE WARRENTY? (carman1)
When contemplating the installation of Borla Stingers and a Blackwing air force box I called GM and simply asked if the warranty would be voided to which they replied " No aftermarket installation in itself will void the warranty unless that is determined to be the cause for the failure. :boxing
Team Owner
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 54,204
Likes: 180
From: S.W. Ohio. . . . . . NRA Life Member
Re: VOIDING THE WARRENTY? (ddmau)
ddmau
sure you did (hear that from a phone call). What good does that do when a snotty dealer voids your warranty? Trust me; the person you talked to on the telephone will not be there when you need them.
Play it safe. Though, some specific aftermarket pieces are autorized to be used on a Corvette under warranty. I forget which ones, but thet are even mentioned in the "big book" that the dealer should have on display in the showroom. There is a specific model aftermarket exhaust and air intake that has been given the OK by Chevrolet.
sure you did (hear that from a phone call). What good does that do when a snotty dealer voids your warranty? Trust me; the person you talked to on the telephone will not be there when you need them.
Play it safe. Though, some specific aftermarket pieces are autorized to be used on a Corvette under warranty. I forget which ones, but thet are even mentioned in the "big book" that the dealer should have on display in the showroom. There is a specific model aftermarket exhaust and air intake that has been given the OK by Chevrolet.
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 367,781
Likes: 24,683
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '25
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
Re: VOIDING THE WARRENTY? (carman1)
What the vendor told you about talking to your dealer has a lot of truth to it. One of the positive things that can come out of this is knowing whether the dealer is "mod friendly" or not. If they are, they should be able to give you some guidance on what they will allow or what they will have to question. My dealer has never said anything about my exhaust, Blackwing, skip shift eliminator, etc. But then again, I haven't gone into the engine either.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,090
Likes: 8
From: Indianapolis Indiana
Re: VOIDING THE WARRENTY? (carman1)
I have a friendly dealer. On the '99 Camaro SS I purchased they installed my Borla Cat Back system for me. On my '01 Vette I was getting a check engine light. I took it in and they discovered the code was a shift skip cag error code. Turns out my skip shift eliminator had gone south. They disconnected the skip shift and reconnected it stock. Granted not a big item but get this, they covered the service under warranty. Pretty sweet. They also reringed my '01. It has a Breathless Vortech system, descreened MAS, x-pipe and Stingers and all kinds of engine dress up and they thought it was neat but no hassles. I think I will keep them!