I never stated that I knew of any, or that your warranty wasn't affected. These above in bold were the statements I took exception to. The one is not legally allowed, note I said "LEGALLY". I did also note the reality is indeed different.

Statement number two is incorrect also. It does not say so. The point is accuracy. If your going to state things as facts, make sure they are.

 

I've never seen a Stage 3 box. However anything thats stated for "off-road use only" isn't a warranteeable item, unless the dealer states it is. I was told by those dealers that it will void the warranty completely. And that it said so on the box. I'm telling you what I've been told by quite a number of dealers....they all said the same thing. I never said it was a fact, the word fact was never used. When your told something that many times by so many people its taken much as a fact is taken. Hence why I stated it the way I did.

I apologize if I misconstrued the meaning of my statement in any way, shape or form which could confuse anyone taking it for its literal meaning. It is a known fact that its not warranteeable, so it may as well say it on the packaging that Stage 3 comes in...because thats just how its played.

 

Sorry, some dealers do lie/misspeak/misunderstand. We know that. You can talk to two different service writers, same dealer, same day, and get two different answers to the same question. I know, I tried it Local called and told me that the dealer was saying the S1 would "void his warranty".

I called once, got the same answer, called back an hour later, got that it only voided the powertrain, not the Bumper to Bumper.

My point is that especially as a mod, your statements are going to be taken as facts, not "I was told by six dealers, so I believe it" unless you say so. The statement above certainly sounds like you've seen it on the box. I really hate to dive into the legality/reality thing again. But the fact is that the most they can (and, yes, WILLl do) is call the regional guy, who can/will "restrict" your warranty.

Which means that EVERY time you come in, before they can do jack, they have to get approval from the regional guy that they will cover it.

You CANNOT just do a blanket voiding of a warranty. Dealers love to say it that way, and even act likes thats what happened, but it's really a restriction. And of course, each dealer can decide they don't want to do the warranty work, but that does not affect your DCX warranty.

 

They cannot void the entire warranty on the car. Suppose the radio craps out, or the air bag light comes on? That has nothing to do with a S3. Are we all in agreement on that? If you run into a situation like that, where a dealer trys to void the entire warranty, call me.

Three things cause this perception;
1. Warranty pays crap (timewise) to make repairs. It is much more profitable for it to be a "customer pay" item. It is getting so bad with some things, that technicians will be paying DCX to work on the cars! And it's only going to get worse.
2. The warranty information network tracks a dealerships warranty dollars right down to the penny each month. If a dealer does ONE short block under warranty, and no other dealer in that group does one, you stick out like Roudolf on the ocean at midnight. This will stay in that dealers numbers for THREE months. If your in the "Top 50" in your buisness center, guess what? The Audit team comes rolling in and takes a week of your time, and most likely a few thousand dollars or more. It is an ugly experience, been there, done that.
3. DCX has implimented a comprehensive warranty parts return system. They actually do look at parts and test them. If they feel it was not a warranty item, the dealer gets charged back. No "if's, ands's, or but's......they eat it. They call back everything, spark plugs to gaskets or o rings.

Example of how nasty they can be. I had two recent chargebacks here. The first was a leather seat cover for a Durango. The stiching came apart in 5k miles. When we sent the cover back, we did not put the hog rings (small metal clips that secure parts of the cover to the seat frame) that were cut off in the parts return bag. CHARGE BACK!!!! Next was a 41TE transaxle that the diff pin let go and went thru the case. It was sent back partially disassembled. CHARGEBACK!!! The damn thing had a baseball sized hole in the bellhousing from the diff, it's not like it was a good core, but because the front pump was out of it, it was deemed un acceptable.
I'm not whining about policys I have to deal with....just trying to educate you all so you can play your cards correctly.[sm=signs003.gif]

 

Thanks Paul. I understand what your saying. As with most things, trying to simplify it makes it worse. We have been told even prior to the "mod memo" that higher than average warranty claims on SRT-4 powertrains were being looked at real hard. A spike in your data does that

NOTE: The following numbers are MADE UP to illustrate a point and have no relation to reality.

2003 Sebrings = 5 complete motor replacements out 25K unit sold, October 03, October 04.
2003 300C = 7 of the same
2003 SRT-4 = 20 of the same, out of only 3275 units sold

Which cars are going to be looked at under the micrscope? And I'll bet those motors have a higher chargeback rate than the others. So dealers, naturally, will take a defensive posture to protect themselves. A buddy of mine used what he called the "shotgun approach to dating" He would flat ask women to go home with him. He said out of 4-6, he usually would get at least one positive response. I rarely saw him go home alone.

A dealer has nothing to lose by trying to get the customer to pay first. There are no real repercussions to it.

 

Which is probably why they do what they do. Tell you its voided, you believe it, and then pay for things. I know Paul wouldn't ever do anything in such a manner to a customer like that, but very many dealerships will.

At my dealership, I have my full 3/36 and an extended 5/60 Bumper to Bumper Maxi Care 0 Deductible Warranty. Neither have been voided in any way shape or form. However heres the story I got the first time I went there.

Problem: My main oil line to my turbo housing was leaking oil minimally at first, moderately to follow.

They (David an SW/SA there) stated that my Mopar BOV was causing this problem and they could order me the part and I would have to pay for all labor and repair costs. At that point I didn't really care, but I knew the Mopar BOV wasn't the problem, since when I installed it I noticed there were two washers on TOP of the line RUSTED together, instead of one on top and one below.

My Solution: I went back to the dealer again, asking if the Compression washers were in, stating that I couldn't get the Mopar BOV off if you paid me, since its on there with Permatex Hylomar HPF. Because I went down on a Saturday there was only one behind-the-counter employee there, Kevin, who's normally a SD, not an SW/SA. He went out and looked at the car and the engine, not knowing anything of the aforementioned problem. By looking at it, he knew right away that I couldn't have possibly caused the problem with the line, since all bolts on the manifold, line, and WGA were all torqued to stock specifcations (he checked).

Needless to say it was covered under warranty.

But because he took the time to check the car out for me, I went back. Having had bad experiences with other dealers:

Elmwood Dodge: Service Manager asked me what was wrong didn't listen, and then walked away from me
Lincoln Dodge: Not SRT certified (if there even is such a thing I don't know, I know theres something for Viper-Techs, but never have I heard SRT certified.) I mean its just a 2.4L engine with a turbo on it...NOT THAT HARD
Boch Dodge: Upon finding out they lied to a friend of mine about replacing his engine/turbo before delivering the vehicle to him, I opted not to go there
Bald Hill Dodge: Kick *** service Dept. But theres another story along with that that has nothing to do with the car, that I won't get into here.
Motor Mart Dodge: My parents have bought a total of 9 vehicles here throughout the years, but they had no clue what to do about my SRT-4 since they've sold one or two and haven't seen them since. They ended up shaving down a bolt in my left front caliper and right rear caliper that eventually came loose causing the right rear caliper to bounce around and kick my rotor's ***.

And thus...Paul Bailey's Dodge.

Not only am I a warranty repair customer. I pay for parts to be installed, oil changes, transmission flushes, and check-ups also. Because they've treated me well, and I understand their lack of warranty pay, I go back.
So far they've done the following warranteeable work:
-Left front hub
-Plugs
-Wires
-Steering Column
-Steering Bearings
-Front Rotors
-Front Pads
-Ball Joints
-Suspension Bushings (front)
-Fixed the oil leak
-New powersteering Belt/Drive/Accessory (i.e. the whole system)
-New Kicker Sub
-New Left Front/Right Front/Left Rear speakers
-New Driver's seatbelt
-New Headlamp housings due to condensation
-Fuel Pump, Lines
That may not be it, but I'm not sure

Non-Warranteeable Work that I have paid for
-Installation of Front Mopar S1 Brakes/Pads
-Installation of Mopar Short Throw Shifter
-Installation of Rear Mopar S1 Brakes/Pads
-Transmission Flush
-15k and 20k Mile check ups
-Two oil changes with my oil and filter upon my request

And so it goes on. I'll stop babbling now because this post is 15 years long, but I apologize for any misinformation. S3 = Powertrain voiding from what I've taken from this thread, not Bumper-to-Bumper voiding. Though neither of which is legal unless the problem was caused by the modification (i.e. water being sucked in through a CAI...etc) in which case that repair is voided not the entire warranty itself.

Okay Ill shut up now.