View Full Version : Warranty! Very interesting!
Steve3961
30-01-2002, 18:42
Found a very interesting piece of infomation today about warranties.
It was a official piece of Audi literature.
It basically says that if you modify your car in any way you invaldate the WHOLE warranty!
Ie....if you lower it you don't just invalidate the warranty on the suspension you invalidate the whole car!
No mucking about all gone in a instant:confused:
I can get a exact copy if n e 1's interested.
They may say that - but it 'aint legal. Fair enough, if you lower it then you say good-bye to and suspension, driveshaft warranty. But they are just trying it on something totally disconnected (say the interior). I believe it is a european ruling.
i spoke 2 seat uk warranty department regarding a customer who wanted 2 chip his car 2 c where he stood on the warranty.
there reply was.
the car was made to b 156 bhp so any increase is not recommended and will invalidate warranty on pretty much anything assocciated with this mod (brakes, suspension, engine, gearbox, and so on) u will however retain warranty on parts such as trim + paintwork coz faults with these cant b directly linked 2 a power increase.
hope this helps
I guess if you lowered it you might get more vibrations & shake the car to bits??
Originally posted by roly
i spoke 2 seat uk warranty department regarding a customer who wanted 2 chip his car 2 c where he stood on the warranty.
there reply was.
the car was made to b 156 bhp so any increase is not recommended and will invalidate warranty on pretty much anything assocciated with this mod (brakes, suspension, engine, gearbox, and so on) u will however retain warranty on parts such as trim + paintwork coz faults with these cant b directly linked 2 a power increase.
hope this helps
I got the same answer from my dealer, too. This seems to be the "well-tried" practice.
I believe the law says that they cannot invalidate the whole warantee.... if you chip the car and the engine blows up then in theory the warantee may not stand on the engine, BUT BUT the company have to prove that the engine blew up because of the chip and that it wasn't just a coincidense that the engine was faulty already and would of blowed even if not chipped.
Thats what I was told.... no proof though.
Ben
BTW, I took my car to the local Seat dealership the other day to get some warantee stuff done (New car, bulbs kept blowing).... my car has the RSD210 conversion on it, PSS9 suspension kit, boost gauge.
They done the work without even mentioning the mods. One thing I did notice though was that my 29mpg average consumption (Average of 3000 miles) dropped to 27.7mpg. Even when I totally thrash the car I only managed to get it to drop to 28.8mpg so god knows what they did to it. Not sure why they needed to road test the car for new bulbs either.
Oh, and they left the stereo on, playing one of my CDs that I didn't have on when I left it.
Ben
Well, I used to run a parts department for Toyota and the policy that particular dealership held on modifications was only the parts DIRECTLY involved with the mod were effected. At the end of the day SEAT or Audi or which ever manufacturer is in question ain't gonna send a Guy down to check the car over and deny a customer a replacement of a faulty wing mirror because the car had been chipped. To be honest guys it's down to the dealership and the relationship you have with them. I can tell you from experience there is a s**t load of paper work involved with warrenties, getting the right vehicle details, filling out a detailed form describing the problem exactly, (and while all this is going on your trying to serve customers and answer the phone!) sending of an application but then the computer system crashes and you have to start again! AAAARRRAGGGHHH!!!! then 10 days later you finally get a reply, which of course is telling you that it isnt covered or you filled out the wrong box ect ect, guess what I'm saying is warranties, as far as the dealership is concerned at least are a pain in the ass, dealerships make little if any money on warranty work so it dosnt pay them to do it, if they can find away round it they will.
This does not reflect dealerships in general and this opinion has been formed through my own personal experiences.
Originally posted by BenS1
One thing I did notice though was that my 29mpg average consumption (Average of 3000 miles) dropped to 27.7mpg. Even when I totally thrash the car I only managed to get it to drop to 28.8mpg so god knows what they did to it.
I don't think you had a a CupraSi moment, they probably had the car sat still with the engine running, guaranteed to lower your mpg as there aren't any miles involved.
Cheers
Andy
Steve3961
31-01-2002, 11:09
ill copy the exact words onto here tonight, Id assume that it applies to all VAG cars though,
watch this space!
i run the parts department and the warranties at my dealership and there is so much work involved in warranty and so little money.
in my 4 years at the dealership i have never been requested 2 return any part (except accessories) 4 any reason regarding warranty.
i think most people on this site have good relationships with there dealer so it doesn't look like there is 2 much 2 worry about.
If I was married to SEAT Cheshunt then I woould be getting divorced now cos I dont think that we have a relationship any more lol!
Roly, maybe I am coming to you next!
Si
Back here in the Netherlands my SEAT dealer chips cars and does some tuning and you'll keep all your waranty? So I don't think it's European rule? Everything is possible, I could even put the Turbo in my Toledo 20V, except that the damn thing would kill me financially :D
There is even something like the "Hurricane" a new airbox?
Maybe you just keep your waranty if you let your dealer do the modifications? i.e. lowering, chipping
si
ur welcome 2 come and visit and any1 else who want's 2 is also welcome.
sounds like i could b makin more work 4 myself :eek: :eek:
ben
Steve3961
31-01-2002, 16:45
Right then, this is how it reads.....
"The customisation of vehicles with equipment not authorised by Audi is increasing more and more.
This involves changes to the engine, body, running gear and electrical system of our vehicles of which we as a manufacturer do not approve. If in such customer's make ANY claims under warranty we will reject them.
We wish to refer to the sales terms fof VAG vehicles, which state:
Warranty obligations are forfeited if parts have been fitted to the object of purchase has been changed in a way not authorised by the manufacturer.
Please point these guidelines out to your customers."
There it is boys and girls in black and white (well almost!)
Steve3961
31-01-2002, 16:49
Originally posted by roly
i run the parts department and the warranties at my dealership and there is so much work involved in warranty and so little money.
in my 4 years at the dealership i have never been requested 2 return any part (except accessories) 4 any reason regarding warranty.
i think most people on this site have good relationships with there dealer so it doesn't look like there is 2 much 2 worry about.
Most parts go back to Audi!
Muast be a seat thing!
Roly,
Could you mail me your work contact number please?
simon.*******@seatdriversclub.co.uk
Ta
Si
here's a quote direct from the seat warranty guide !!
Our products are sometimes subjected to modifications by their owners. When assessing a warranty claim, it must be carefully ascertained wether, from the technical viewpoint, a connection exists between the modification and the damage. For example, a claim regarding the paintwork cannot be rejected because the vehicle concerned has been fitted with a more powerful engine.
Performance modifications will NOT render the warranty for the whole vehicle void. In the case of modified units or parts, all faults are excluded from the warranty which can be attributed to the said alterations. This applies also to adjoining areas which have been effected by the increase in of stress. That means that the cause of damage must be established as exactly possible. In the case of unknown defects, which overwise do not normally occur, it must be assumed that they are due to the performance modifications.
i hope this helps some people.
regards
ben
si
contact number has been sent
Well done roly!
looks like case closed to me!
hang on I might print that off so I've got some back up if my dealer starts moaning about any mods!
Sausage
Well said Roly, so now when we get fobbed off at a dealership for mods we can say here mate read this!
Time to crack on then I thinks!
Si
Got your number mate and I will be giving you a call!