11H Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 (edited) Well folks, it seems that the ball is well under way to inhibit many modifications to our vehicles as far as aftermarket (read performance) parts ... GM is at a financial challenge point and it just makes business sense on their part ... I have been a long time Customer of Brown and Brown chevrolet and over the 12 years I have bought 9 or 10 vehicles from them ... I have established some unique relationships along the way and things that used to NOT BE a big deal are now becoming a BIG DEAL ... I cannot speak for the downtown store because I don't go to that service center much, I am only speaking of the POWER / SUPERSTITION store ... The heat has really been turned up on aftermarket performance parts and warranty claims ... And it seems it is coming down from the area representative ... I was told by a close Service Advisor / Asst Service mgr, this ... They and the Technicians have been trained and coached on what to "SPOT" and "LOOK FOR" in aftermarket parts ... To the point to where when a vehicle drives up, the advisor is to note (potentially on the ticket) any aftermarket parts on the vehicle, and namely any and all that MIGHT be contributing to the complaint and/or problem/failure ... This is very discretionary, and I can see where this will be abused to "save some money" ... I was told that it is all verbal at this point, but the day is soon coming where the service tickets will have a place where it says something like, : If any aftermarket part/s are deemed to contribute to or cause the failure or concern, the customer is responsible for all charges associated with a repair ... Bottom line is, advisors or techs that have no knowledge of what certain parts are or DO, or a combination thereof, have the authority to NOW search, note, and refuse based on orders from above ... which then becomes a argument of semantics on the service drive between the customer and manager on what or if the problem caused ... magnuson Moss yes, states that a warranty cannot be void just for the presence or parts, but is Magnuson Moss going to be there on the drive arguing opinions on the service drive? Some examples of items that were "too invasive" in the powers that be ... If you have an aftermarket set of plug wires and a coil fails, they COULD deny claim ... If you have a cai with an oiled filter, they could deny a maf sensor claim and anything that arose from it, WHETHER OR NOT YOU OILED IT OR IT WAS FACTORY OILED FROM THE FILTER MAKER !!! --- If you have an aftermarket cat-back, and you have an O2 sensor fail, you could be denied ... If you have a PCM failure and there's proof it was rewriten, you could be denied ... If you have body noises or squeaks and you have an aftermarket exhaust the resonates louder than stock, you could be denied ... If you have oversize aftermarket wheels with a non-factory offset and you have a failure in the steering box or similar non-wear item, you could be denied ... It goes on and on ... Now here's a really "off one" ... If you think by putting GMPP parts on your truck, you are "safe" ? ... Well, GM does NOT endorse the product to be compatible and free of deniability of warranty coverage on related parts if a NON-GM certified tech installs it ... which means, a dealership must install it for it to be backed as a compatible item ... Now what this comes down to is how your relationship is with the dealer and their relationship with the area rep ... But I thought it would be proper to get the word out to those in AZ who are planning a warranty trip to the dealership ... I was told that a lot of this "politics" has stemmed from the Diesel crowd and huge warranty claims that result from "turning up" diesels and the resultant high repair costs due to large oversize tires, lifts, edge boxes, etc ... It has trickled down to gas trucks as well now because they can't single-out the diesels ... The parts dept who actually sold diesel boost boxes and tuners, and oiled gauze filters has been told to remove them from sale ... This is posted as my take on the subject and my opinion and only ... It is not stated as fact and your results may vary ... I think, that there have been enough cases to where Joe Customer has modded his vehicle to the point to where any reasonable person would agree that if something broke, that GM of course would not be liable under a manufacturer defect warranty ... namely, if you have a cai, a cat back, and some wires, or similar, and a U-Joint fails, I think you should not be hassled ... But if you have that, and a torque converter, headers, pcm tune installed with removed TQM, and a radix, and you lose your tranny or break a U-Joint, you should not hit GM up for a warranty claim and you have gone way beyond the limits of oem components ... And from what I hear, it is these types of customers that have fought toe to toe with delaerships here that have made it hard on the small modder guys as rules have to now be made and all may have to comply ... I would hope that some aftermarket companies see this and take a position to back up the consumer in instances where a dealership is being unreasonable on a claim ... actively! ... Not just simply putting a statement on your site that says, "our products does NOT void warranty" and cite the Magnuson Moss law ... It has to go further than that ... S&B filters for example has scientific data on their site that clearly shows their filters are more effecient at trapping dirt than an AC Delco ... and that metered amounts of oil avert warranty claims and they actually have an applicator that dispenses the right amount for Joe consumer ... This is what we need ... If the manager meets me on the drive, and denies my maf failure for example, I have 15 sheets of paper to sit him down with that shows the filter and the oil is not at fault ... later guys ... Edited December 1, 2006 by 11H (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimB Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 I don,t think this is any different than the ways its been everywhere for awhile now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drako Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 I fear going to the dealer FOR ANYTHING Unless i know someone there prior I run the risk of them screwing me over. A little story, a friend of mine used to have a colorodo and he put xenon bulbs in the foglights he took it over there for some other B.S. thing anyways that look the car over with a "checklist" and noted, xenon bulbs, void warrenty on headlight system. put it in the computer and whereever he went it would state that. Kinda makes it ridiculos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11H Posted December 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 I fear going to the dealer FOR ANYTHING Unless i know someone there prior I run the risk of them screwing me over. A little story, a friend of mine used to have a colorodo and he put xenon bulbs in the foglights he took it over there for some other B.S. thing anyways that look the car over with a "checklist" and noted, xenon bulbs, void warrenty on headlight system. put it in the computer and whereever he went it would state that. Kinda makes it ridiculos <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Exactly ... And they wonder WHY there is some degree of deception from the consumer.. The day "they" became warranty police, is the day when egos and opinions started governing to some degree ... It's with anything like you say, be polite to those that have the power to screw you ... Sure, there is Magnuson Moss, but who has thousands of dollars to hire a lawyer over a mechanical repair? Service knows it and that's how they get away with most of the ludicrous denials ... I have a story too ... (imagine that) GM has what they call "TPC" (tire performance criteria) ... and a whole division dedicated to it and what combinations they put on vehicles ... I had a set of BFG all terrains just put on my 2000 Z71 (oem size) and a few months later I got a driveline vibration ... I took it to dealer "X" and they drove it, and technician said, "no issues with driveline, road test OK, customer installed over-size off-road tires" ... and put it in the computer ... well, I know it was not the tires, as I am an experienced wrencher ... I go to a couple other dealers and they see the notation in computer and won't look at my truck under warranty ... So a few months later I go to CO and drop it off at a local dealer there, and they look at it ... I got a good tech who already had the same vibe and told me he thought the rear diff housing was milled off-center ... He had been round and round with GM support and they told him of a few diffs in my manuf range that had issues so they told him already how to measure for it ... well, sure enough, it was machined off center, and put a side load on the rear driveline and wore out some parts pre-maturely ... Because I was out of town and the large parts order was a couple weeks out, they took a complete rear axle and prop shaft assembly from one of their lot units and got me on my way as I was on vacation ... This all came about because I was experienced, and articulate with the RIGHT people that took care of me ... Now what would happen if a non-experienced customer had this issue? They would have put a TPC qualified tire back on the truck, had the same issue, and potentially went to lemon law and buyback ... or worse, stuck with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJT13 Posted December 2, 2006 Report Share Posted December 2, 2006 i was always under the impression that any and all mechanical "upgrades" would void the warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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