My car was dubbed "highly modified" by my dealer...

[BRZlimited]

So I took my BRZ in for and oil change and for a few small issues such as: Driver window squeaks going up and down (only when closing the and opening the door, not when opening and closing the window), door seal between the triangle window and the cars body is cracking, passenger side window is getting scratched from the two vertical rectangles on the window, and third time bringing in the car for crickets. Well service manager comes up to me and says that the car is "highly modified" so many things may not be covered under the warranty...WHAT???????? All my car has is a Takeda intake with resonator delete, perrin exhaust tips (stock exhaust), tinted windows, spyder tail lights, STi Front lip and body kit, and Perrin shorty antenna. How is this enough to dub my car as "highly modified" and how does it affect the parts that have issues when most mods are cosmetic...I may have to call their corporate office.

[tennisfreak]

Unfortunately this is what too many Subaru dealers are doing.

I have been buying Toyota's for years and know my dealers around me which is why I chose an FR-S.

Call corporate and report them and then find another dealer to go to. Regardless of whether they will perform warranty work on your car or not you dont want a dealer like that touching your car.

[canu_50]

Originally Posted by BRZlimited

So I took my BRZ in for and oil change and for a few small issues such as: Driver window squeaks going up and down (only when closing the and opening the door, not when opening and closing the window), door seal between the triangle window and the cars body is cracking, passenger side window is getting scratched from the two vertical rectangles on the window, and third time bringing in the car for crickets. Well service manager comes up to me and says that the car is "highly modified" so many things may not be covered under the warranty...WHAT???????? All my car has is a Takeda intake with resonator delete, perrin exhaust tips (stock exhaust), tinted windows, spyder tail lights, STi Front lip and body kit, and Perrin shorty antenna. How is this enough to dub my car as "highly modified" and how does it affect the parts that have issues when most mods are cosmetic...I may have to call their corporate office.

The only place i could see them beeing an ass, is over with the teinted window and anything relevant to the window warranty ( rubber seal and squeak)

[Starscream15]

Anytime a peon service writer says something like that, ask them for their factory rep's phone number and read up on the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

Knowledge is power, my friend.

[BRZlimited]

Oh almost forgot, He also said that since its "highly modified that driving the car at Full throttle 100% all the time will cause damage". Excuse me? The car barley has 7,200 miles on it after owning it for 14 months as a DD it is rarely ever driven at full open throttle. I rarely ever go over 3,500 rpms...Extremely irritated right now and had to rant.

[Starscream15]

Originally Posted by BRZlimited

Oh almost forgot, He also said that since its "highly modified that driving the car at Full throttle 100% all the time will cause damage". Excuse me? The car barley has 7,200 miles on it after owning it for 14 months as a DD it is rarely ever driven at full open throttle. I rarely ever go over 3,500 rpms...Extremely irritated right now and had to rant.

Guy sounds like a douchebag to me.. Maybe try another dealership. It doesn't hurt to find a service writer friend. 8 years in service/parts reinforced to me that it's "All who you know".. I know I could blow my engine tomorrow and my dealership would warranty it because I know everyone there and my local factory rep.

[ZionsWrath]

lol @ mods that screw and/or tape on as being considered highly modified. The only thing that is really "modded" IMO would be the intake which has nothing to do with your complaints, rofl

[raven1231]

hmmm cosmetic mods voiding warranty on non cosmetic parts....sounds legit!

[BRZlimited]

Originally Posted by Starscream15

Guy sounds like a douchebag to me.. Maybe try another dealership. It doesn't hurt to find a service writer friend. 8 years in service/parts reinforced to me that it's "All who you know".. I know I could blow my engine tomorrow and my dealership would warranty it because I know everyone there and my local factory rep.

Yea he really is, this is the same guy that knew nothing about my car 4 months ago, or any on the lot. I had an issue with my drivers side puddle light (that still isn't fixed). He kept telling me well you know when you had your tail lights installed they tapped into the harness and shorted it out. (No tail lights were plug and play done by myself so I'd know how they are wired). So, then he told me it was when I got the HID head lights installed. (No again, those are stock and every BRZ on your lot has them). Once again he says its when I had the under dash glow installed they wired them into that harness (Once again no I did that my self so they are plugged into the outlet in the glove department). I finally lost the battle when he told me that some of the wires from my remote start were shorting it out and to get it fixed I would have to have my remote start uninstalled and re isntalled by the person that did it for me. Not worth my time getting that done.

[zc06_kisstherain]

Originally Posted by BRZlimited

Yea he really is, this is the same guy that knew nothing about my car 4 months ago, or any on the lot. I had an issue with my drivers side puddle light (that still isn't fixed). He kept telling me well you know when you had your tail lights installed they tapped into the harness and shorted it out. (No tail lights were plug and play done by myself so I'd know how they are wired). So, then he told me it was when I got the HID head lights installed. (No again, those are stock and every BRZ on your lot has them). Once again he says its when I had the under dash glow installed they wired them into that harness (Once again no I did that my self so they are plugged into the outlet in the glove department). I finally lost the battle when he told me that some of the wires from my remote start were shorting it out and to get it fixed I would have to have my remote start uninstalled and re isntalled by the person that did it for me. Not worth my time getting that done.

I will tell him straight "you are fucking stupid" and see his boss to bitch

[mav1178]

There's a lot of ignorance in this thread. I think cooler heads will prevail... the last thing you want is to escalate this by telling the service people "I'm smarter than you because I know more about warranty law than you".

In the end, the fundamental argument is:

1) Will my mods impact warranty service?
2) If no to the above answer, warranty work = free labor for the dealership.

If you are being smart about this, you'd not freak out over one service writer's improper diagnosis. That person can BS all they want, it won't change facts.

This is all assuming you didn't flip out at the dealer.

-alex

[King Tut]

First I would have said thank you and considered that a complement with your mod list. I also agree that your window tint probably means they can refuse to warranty any work having to do with your windows squeaking.

[z3ro]

Originally Posted by King Tut

First I would have said thank you and considered that a complement with your mod list. I also agree that your window tint probably means they can refuse to warranty any work having to do with your windows squeaking.

not sure how, don't they come factory tinted?

[stonewhite05]

I have worked in the dealership world for a few years and unless they look into what is causing the problems and it is a result to your aftermarket part what they are doing is illegal.

There is something called the Magnuson-Moss act and it is something to research before modifying a car with a warranty. Here is a direct link
http://www.impalasuperstore.com/naisso/magmoss.htm