Kent1999

Unfortunately, the problem is that the dealer/GM doesn't have to 'prove' a mod caused a problem to throw a block on that section of your warranty.

1) You come in with a problem on your car. Dealer sees the mod, and in his computer, enters a 'block' on the appropriate section of your warranty, preventing you from just driving to the next dealer for a 2nd opinion. (other dealers cannot just decide to remove a block that has been put in place)

2) You argue with the dealer about how the CAI could not have caused a driveline failure, and tell the Dealer that by law, *he* has to prove the causality, quoting Magnusson-Moss laws, etc.

3) Dealer shrugs, and continues about his day.

Now the ball is in your court to force the issue, by phoning various entities at GM, with the likely end of you taking GM's army of lawyers to court. All the while, your car is broken for weeks/months/years while you battle in court, or you pay out of pocket and hope for restitution. And the fact is, the odds are not in your favor for prevailing on a modded car.

And as has been mentioned, on big dollar repairs, the Service Manager doesn't have the authority to say what mods are OK, or what GM will pay for -- GM makes that call. If the dealer themselves want to pick up that cost, they certainly can, but in 99.9% of the cases, that will not happen.

*Have* people been successful in their efforts to get their blocks removed and claims paid? Yes. But for most of us, it's far too much frustration, time and money to fight that battle.

fatsport

Well said. Additionally, these cars are much faster when we learn to drive them fast. Upgrading power before fully using the power we have is a waste of money.
Rev that thing to 6.5K. Learn to no lift shift. Use the rev match for what it's for - quickly getting into a lower gear.
THEN look at modifying your car.

Gangrel

Again thanks for all the great information from all of you...

Gangrel

What if it did not involve performance or engine, but a widebody kit. It is a big difference not line putting side rockers on so was wondering?
like most say should probably talk to a service rep I imagine.

Kent1999

I would think that a WB kit should be fine as far as power train coverage goes. Probably could block any coverage for body fit/finish, squeaks/rattles etc.

Sure, you can talk to a Service Rep. But as already mentioned, the SR has absolutely no authority to say what GM will or will not pay for — big ticket repairs get approved by GM above the dealer level.

If you need proof, go talk to that service rep and have him put it in writing, on Dealership letterhead, that mods x,y,z will not affect your warranty coverage. Pretty sure he’ll absolutely refuse.

BaconWrappedSushi

The best mod I would recommend for 95% of the people on this forum (including myself) is just seat time on a race track with professional instruction.

These cars are so fast that only a top level driver will be able to fully extract the performance out of them. Even the non-Z51 is a 12 second car in the quarter mile. That's fast. Get your skills up to snuff, learn your car, then worry about the power. Great news is if you follow the owners manual and the car has an issue at the track, you are covered! How cool is that? Don't risk a warranty on an overpriced intake that probably doesn't do anything anyways.