It is their job to prove it, not yours.. I say again: it is their job to prove you've done something that will void the warranty..

Dealers are not honest people. They are thieves. I don't care who's feelings I hurt when I say that.. time and time again these stories filter down.. they heavy handed you, oh heavy hand them.. call them and tell them you've done some research, and live discovered that they carry that burden, and that you and the warranty rep are both curious as to why its being denied, and they're expecting a full report and solution just as you are.. hint of dishonesty on their part, bit don't outright say it.. let them know beyond doubt you diy realize it is their burden to prove, not yours.. tell them you're waiting to hear through the warranty company, and will deal with the warranty company directly from this point forward.. ask them what regional dealerships they affiliate with, so you can avoid supporting them in any way while getting the warranty work done elsewhere, and that you're sorry you ever did business with them in the first place.. ask to speak with the general manager once you've said this to the service manager..

Hide and watch..

All that said, guess what is written in the diesel warranties? CAI's void the warranty.. not so with gas.. go get 'em, dude..

 

Holy crap, my phone hates me.. I hope you fellers can parse what I said in the post above.. Verizon and droid must find this type of mockery the height in hilarity.. :-)

 

Hammer is right true flow did go out of business. I have the same set up. Good luck

 

Yeah Drew, I agree with you totally BUT this is different. He is contractually bound to have an inspection every five years to keep his warranty in tact. The CAI ACCORDING TO THE DEALER, violates the inspection UNLESS he can provide the documentation they want.

It's iffy, and 100% depends on the verbiage of the contract he signed for the included lifetime warranty. IF it states he cannot modify OR the dealer has final say so on any and all after-market parts and/or modifications AND he agreed to it (signed), then he's pretty much bound to it. It's ALL according to what that lifetime agreement says...

 

Seriously drew? you really think waranty company would stand behind you? the first thing their inspectors look to is aftermarket mod if your engine blows up so they can void your waranty.

I've had 2 cases where a Waranty company decided not to buy my customer a Transmission because he has bigger aftermarket wheel on the car.

 

A warranty company can decline any claim they want but the customer has recourse in court if they choose to fight it under the Magnuson-Moss Act which states that a consumer can alter/modify his vehicle in any way he sees fit. Naturally, the warranter is not responsible for the repair of any of these after-market components BUT the warranter is, under the law, responsible for the repair of any items that the warranty covers UNLESS the warranter can PROVE that the installation of the aftermarket item(s) caused the failure of the warrented component.

And the big thing here is that the burden of proof, by law, is on the warranty company to prove the modification caused the failure, not on the consumer to prove it didn't.

Both of your two customers probably didn't even need to hire an attorney, but simply mentioning Magnuson-Moss would have been enough to call the warranty companies bluff. Insurers prey on the mis- and under-informed consumer.

Bottom line here is that the warranty company knows damn well that the larger tires didn't cause the transmission failure - or even if they did, they'd never be able to prove it. BUT if 90% of their customers are naive to their rights and don't fight it - they come out WAY ahead of the game...

 

it's been my experience that service managers want to get more $$, pretty much plain and simple.. they want the bonus in the structure most dealers arrange them..

It's also been my experience that dealers can BS direct customers a LOT more effectively than they can a warranty company.. meaning, they can charge the consumer more than they can charge the warranty, as the warranty has both agreements and schedules in place with the dealer, and they are familiar with the work to the point it's all been priced out in writing..

Warranty companies know they are usually presented as the bad guy, and therefor- in many cases- when they are contacted directly by a consumer (sans dealer), and the consumer uses the right terminology, they usually fall inline behind the consumer.. the general discovery is that the dealer simply wants more money they know the consumer will pay (as most don't know any better) than they can get by charging the warranty.. it's all about bling, and bling only..

ethics and morals have joined Hoffa and Bigfoot.. consumers are the ones that get screwed.. consumers now have to explore their rights and become familiar with them, which takes effort..

I hate that courts and laws have to supersede what most people agree on is 'right and proper', but in this case- the information Hammer passed is the recourse.. If you explore and make yourself familiar with these and other rights, you are armed to battle people who's sole intent is to deny you those rights.. it sucks, but it is what it is..

Hammer:

You're likely right.. I had to reread his original post to see what you were talking about.. CAI's are specifically written into some warranty agreements, and there are other things such as headers and mufflers, programmers, and the like.. sometimes it's covered under the umbrella 'performance upgrades', but that umbrella is generally not effective.. He'll have to investigate exactly what he signed to know in the end..

 

Hammer, our dealership tried to fight them for the customer, but they said they have fine prints for prohibiting a/m mods.

drew, in a sense, we r in business to make money, yes.
but i don't see why the dealership denied his waranty tho. What we usually do here is recommend the Maintaince on the owner's manual to the customer for these type of waranty inspection. almost always they buy something.
and we almost always ignore aftermarket mods. If it is something serious, like customer had remote start, and the car towed in, won't start, security light ON. we tell customer to remove it b4 he comes in, we pretend it was never there.
Because when the trans do fail, Chrysler or any aftermarket waranty will ask for proof of maint for sure. "I change the trans fluid myself" hardly flies.

 

and when a customer provided receipts from the parts store, and you can see the fluid is newer than the miles indicated, you say "denied" as a matter of course?

it must feel good to wield that kind of power, huh?

all levity aside, you guys don't work for the warranty company.. it's not your place to deny a dang thing.. it's your place to report to the adjuster what is or what isn't.. any power your department assumes is just that- assumed power.. you guys are out of line to deny, out of reflex, anything.

everybody wants to be king in this world, no matter what is stipulated in a legal agreement... I don't mean to be harsh or acidholeish, but your response is indicative of the fallacy in concept surrounding the entire warranty intent and the application by those (dealers) who are simply leveraging for more money at the consumers expense... this is more than opinion, this is the truth of the matter..

Please, step back and consider what I've said- it's not an attack on you in any way.. you're likely too close to not have drank a big swig of that kool-aid, just as all of us have at some point or another on many levels.. all that matters, is what was agreed on in that document and contract that both parties entered, NOT what a meddling dealer interjects outside of that agreement.. this is how and why dealerships get sued and exposed, and why their reputation is tarnished as an industry.

 

And it's very possible they had fine print in the contract that prohibits modifications and if signed by the customer, then they are basically agreeing to waive their rights. Again, this is a case of an uninformed consumer choosing a product (in this case a warranty) which is not the best product for him.
In certain situations (where it's a manufacturer's warranty) the law would supercede any contract you'd sign. But again - it really doesn't matter what the insurance company says unless YOU just take them at their word. Would be interesting to know what a JUDGE would say about it...