If BMW voids your warranty . . . .

[Spoolin55]

Having this issue right now. My car is usually serviced at a different dealer but I moved.

I took it to this dealer with a transmission warning light on and they are saying they won't even run a diagnostic because of my downpipe.

All that is on the car is intake and DP.

SA says Powertrain warranty is voided because of that...

Never had this issue at other dealer with more mods then I even had now.

I should have known better but it was close and I was worried about driving it far to the other dealership.

[ShocknAwe]

I cant get my head far enough up my ass to make the connection between your DPs and your transmission fault.

I'd pull the car and go back to your other dealer.

[Spoolin55]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Has anyone gotten this voided crap from someone who works for BMW NA? Like a regional service manager? BMW NA is the people you need to talk too... not some smuck in the service dept.

I use to work for a Volkswagen dealer in Washington DC area. We worked on about 150 cars per day! A big service department so say the least. You might get some SA(service advisor) to say that voided bs crap... or even a service manager... but when push comes to shove... the regional service manager from the manufacture will approve the work. They will cave in! It is simply cheaper for the car manafacture to FIX the car, then to fight it out in court! Even for stupid things that should not be covered "under warranty" or even a "good will" - the regional service manager (RSM) will approve the repairs.

I can remember a few cases where it was silly stuff that we should have had teh customer pay for... but RSM told us "just fix it"!

Case one). This guy drove his car for 48K miles. He NEVER changed his oil. It came in three quarts low on oil! And the engine only hold 4.3 quarts! The engine was ticking like you would not believe! it was low on power and in bad shape. It needed a new engine to the tune of $8K! but since the car was still under the powertrain warranty... and EVEN though two dealers had told him no proof of oil changes and no stamps in his maint book... no warranty!!! BUT.... our RSM approved the repair!

The RSM told us... even though we are correct, in that the customer did not do ANY service to the car... other than put gas into the car... VW corperate would loose money trying to fight this in the courts. SO... VW paid us to repair the car under warranty.

Case 2). We had a customer who drove the car until the timing belt broke. At that time VW called for a 60K mile change of the timing belt and rollers. The car had like 72K miles. When teh belt breaks you need a new cylinderhead and MAYBE an engine too! Pistons get damaged. Well... this car only needed a new head. It was several thousands as well. But VW ate the repair. Because.... they would have to provide experts in court... provide tests data from engines that were driven with NO maintance vs ones that got serviced. In the end... it is just cheaper for the car maker to eat the repair and call it: "Good Will".

Now sometimes after the warranty period is over... the RSM would also cover repairs. That is the good flip side. This was mostly pro-rated, but miles out of warranty and time/months. But that is the good side of the car makers.

So... I seriously doubt a dealer can void or even denie a warranty covered part.

1. Talk to the service manager. If that fails, arrange a meeting with the RSM from corperate HQ. Normally he comes once per month.

2. Read your warranty book! Go seek teh advice from a law firm that specializes in these things. Norammly a firmly worded letter to the Service dept AND to the corperate HQ - will make them shake in their boots - and cave in.

3. Stand your ground and do not buy into this "your warranty is voided BS".

Good Luck,
David

BMW has just done this to me...

I made the mistake and took my car to a dealership I don't normally deal with.

My car has a BMS Intake and Downpipe.

I took my vehicle in for service for a transmission temp light that came on I dropped it off and told the SA about the mods and that if this would be an issue here at this dealership I would deal with my normal service center...

He assured me that there would be no issue and to continue.

I did that and get a call the next day stating that my car was flagged by BMW NA and that my Powertrain warranty has been voided.

They would not even complete a diagnostic. Wanted me to Pay like 300.00 Dollars to do that. After an exchange of not so nice words I left furious
picked up the car (mind you its driving perfectly fine now with no issues) to my normal dealer like 40 miles away by my office.

He took it in did the diagnostic and standard service and found no problems with the trans or the vehicle...

He did say that he saw in the system that BMW has voided the powertrain warranty.

I asked him how that worked considering they just serviced the car and he replied because no parts were needed to be ordered it "passed through"

Now my concern is if anything does go wrong with the car now I am gonna be screwed and stuck with the bill.

Should I fight this now legally before a problem happens or wait if god forbid something does happen and then deal with it?

[Spoolin55]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

I cant get my head far enough up my ass to make the connection between your DPs and your transmission fault.

I'd pull the car and go back to your other dealer.

Yup I agree. I did that Just posted above... :/

[JimD]

To have a cause of action - a right to sue - you must be damaged. A dealership saying they are going to do something isn't a cause of action. If you had not been serviced by the second dealership you could sue for them to honor the warranty. Once you were taken care of, your right to sue went away.

BMWs intent is either to 1) protect themself from damages your modifications cause (legal); or 2) scare you into not bringing your car to them for warranty coverage (not ethical, might be legally permissable). I would ignore their words and wait until they deny warranty coverage. Then mention Magnuson Moss and tie in sales and see if they do not back down.

Tie in sales are per se (automatically, no discussion) illegal under Magnuson Moss. An obvoius tie in sale would be for the manufacturer to say you only have a warranty if you have them do all your service work. It is also a tie in sale for them to say you cannot intall after market parts, however. The ONLY way they can be legal is to show that the after market parts caused the damage to the car. If they can't, they loose.

Only prep work you might do is to understand how to file a small claims suit against them. Having the form with you during the discussions might help. Other prep work would be having the better business bureau phone number handy and any consumer protection group in your area. Showing you know what to do next could cause them to think a little.

[Spoolin55]

Originally Posted by JimD

To have a cause of action - a right to sue - you must be damaged. A dealership saying they are going to do something isn't a cause of action. If you had not been serviced by the second dealership you could sue for them to honor the warranty. Once you were taken care of, your right to sue went away.

BMWs intent is either to 1) protect themself from damages your modifications cause (legal); or 2) scare you into not bringing your car to them for warranty coverage (not ethical, might be legally permissable). I would ignore their words and wait until they deny warranty coverage. Then mention Magnuson Moss and tie in sales and see if they do not back down.

Tie in sales are per se (automatically, no discussion) illegal under Magnuson Moss. An obvoius tie in sale would be for the manufacturer to say you only have a warranty if you have them do all your service work. It is also a tie in sale for them to say you cannot intall after market parts, however. The ONLY way they can be legal is to show that the after market parts caused the damage to the car. If they can't, they loose.

Only prep work you might do is to understand how to file a small claims suit against them. Having the form with you during the discussions might help. Other prep work would be having the better business bureau phone number handy and any consumer protection group in your area. Showing you know what to do next could cause them to think a little.

Thanks for the advice! Lets hope it doesn't end up going down that path...

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by Spoolin55

Yup I agree. I did that Just posted above... :/

Again, transmission has very little to do with your downpipes and dci. If they want you to pay because of a previous flag, I would push back and bring that up. Now, if your turbos fail, you would have less of an argument as the DP is touching. Best wishes to ya.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

I cant get my head far enough up my ass to make the connection between your DPs and your transmission fault.

I'd pull the car and go back to your other dealer.

Thinking out loud here.

DPs can increase power gains, which can cause additional stress on the transmission because HP is above stock.


Anyways, my BMW dealerships knows I have camber shims on my Z4M, as well as everything else in my sig modification wise.

Hell, when I did an alignment I told them to install my H&R 30mm swaybar....and they did.

Never had any effect on my CPO warranty.

[Spoolin55]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

Thinking out loud here.

DPs can increase power gains, which can cause additional stress on the transmission because HP is above stock.


Anyways, my BMW dealerships knows I have camber shims on my Z4M, as well as everything else in my sig modification wise.

Hell, when I did an alignment I told them to install my H&R 30mm swaybar....and they did.

Never had any effect on my CPO warranty.

Agreed but only to a certain extent. I am just curious if anyone has had a warranty issue pushed back at BMW NA and been successful!?