Pulleys and Warranty issues...

[Vic_Ferrari]

Just picked up a sonic blue 03...I LOVE it.

I've been having some confusion and geting some mixed answers regarding modifications and warranty work.

Has anyone here been denied warranty work due to any modifications?
I'm not concerned with chips, throttle body, intake, exhaust...I'm talking mostly about pulley upgrades.
Is is possible swap upper puller to a 2.8" and be able to swap it back without anyone knowing about it should things go "boom"?

I considered the lower pulley, but I hear the 6 lb lower barely makes 2-3 actual lbs and the upper simply works better and is less hours labor to change.

Anyone have any first hand experience/advice on this subject?

Also, I hear te accufab throttle body and inlet kicks ass.....can anyone confirm this?

Thanks,
Vic

 

[Spitting Cobra]

Hey I am a tech at a Ford dealership and we have a computer called the WDS that can actually tell us every aspect about if the car was missed used or as in your question the pully upgrade. Yes we can find out if the boost was raised, but it takes a long time to dig through the WDS to find that out and most techs don't want to do that because they are on flat rate and will lose money trying to find that out.

 

[wbpo]

My car was denied. They didn't even use the WDS. Took one look at the "FORD" Cobra R hood and decided it was modded and they didn't have to provide service.

I later found a law via an attorney (sorry can't remember the name of the law) but it basically said no manufacturer can deny warranty coverage unless they can prove the aftermarket item(s) caused the failure. Otherwise they had to fix under warranty.

Didn't matter anyway. I ended up taking it to another dealership closer to me. They were very knowledgeable and took car of my warranty work.

 

[Lo Pony]

It all depends on the dealer...find a good dealer you know and who is mod friendly. Otherwise, you're taking a risk, since an a&&hole dealer can blacklist the car in OASIS, and no one will touch it. This is for simple mods though- exhaust, underdrive pulleys, gears, etc.

But, if you put a new blower pulley on, and screw up the engine, you deserve to have your warranty denied anyway. If you can't afford the repairs, then don't modify the car!

 

[Vic_Ferrari]

I agree with you to a certain extent.
Unfortunately, the mods don't blow up the car (usually), a bad tune blows it up!
A 300 fogger system may be another story =o)

Unfortunately, the dealer won't get into deciphering and they void warranties based on silly stuff like this.

The document 'wpbo' is speaking of is the Magnuson/Moss Act.
The first dealership you went to was breaking the law.
They were banking on the fact that 9 out of 10 customers will suck up the denial and not fight, and one out of those 10 wil end up getting the claim when they piss and moan enough.
Either way they win because they save tons of money on all the suckers.
It's just like the insurance industry......sleazy and scandalous.
I'll accept responsibility for what I do to my car, but they can't legally void the warranty on my engine for a K&N air filter and catback exhaust, or even a chip or pulley for that matter unless they can PROVE that component caused the failure.
If you want to go head to head in court with the dealer you will probably win.
I went head to head vs. my car insurance company (a very large company) and got $3100.00 when they only wanted to pay me $383.00
Once they saw I had a mountain of evidence including many example situations, pictures, etc and I wasn't backing down even though they refused to settle in moderation...they settled out of court shortly after.
They painted my entire 300zxTT for just a little damage on the front because I proved the body shop would not be able to blend the red paint to match, and even if they did make it match fresh out of the shop, it would not age the same as the rest of the paint.
I got what I wanted because my ducks were in a row.

You just have to fight for what's right and bring all the proof you need. As much as the court system is against you it can work for you if you know how to use them.

Vic

 

[COBRyan]

If you want to go head to head in court with the dealer you will probably win.

I dunno about that. FORD will pay top bucks to see that they get their way. I know if I ever went to court they would have a better lawyer me!! But dont worry about the pulley. If you need service just swap that stocker back on. It works for me everytime even though my dealer is very mod friendly.

 

[wbpo]

In this case the quality lawyer really doesn't matter. Courts will almost always side with the consumer.

 

[Vic_Ferrari]

Yes, judges empathise with the consumer especially since the cost of an engine is petty to the corporation vs the consumer.

Vic