Dealer Says non-MOPAR Lift Kit Voids 100% of Warranty!

thats the problem with laws, we cant afford lawyers to help us enforce them.

its all well and good what the act says but like you said it will most likly cost you more trying to prove it than the repair costs.

big companies know you cant afford to go head to head against them

i have a friend who was illegaly terminated as a dealer by the automotIve manufacturer.

his options were sell the dealership
pump 2 million bucks into the showroom as they want

or TRY TO TAKE THEM ON IN COURT IF HIS POCKETS ARE DEEP ENOUGH

clogan said:

I guess what I'm saying is that they can and will do whatever they want. It may be illegal under Magnusson-Moss; it may not be. Either way, it's you that foots the bill to prove they acted contrary to the law.

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This is true insofar as it goes. However, I think it's less about cost than effort and a lack of knowledge.

For the most part, a consumer who's wrongly denied warranty coverage could--if they really wanted to fight about it--bring a suit in a small claims court to address the issue. In terms of cost, they'd need an opinion from a competent mechanic (a few hundred maybe) and the filing fees (usually under $100). They could appear pro se in front of a magistrate who may very well would rule in their favor based on very little evidence.

Would the consumer win? Would Chrysler or the dealer appeal? Who knows. But the consumer could always drop the suit and the cost wouldn't be terribly high to roll the dice.

Riccochet said:

And so goes the old saying "you gotta pay to play". Don't mod it while it's under warranty if you can't afford to fix it when it breaks.

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Think about this logic for a minute. Doesn't this really mean that if you can't afford to fix it when it breaks, then you should NEVER mod it? Whether in or out of warranty, if your mods break it, it's not covered, right? So don't mod, period.

In fact, to the extent this rationale supports modding at any particular time, I think it actually means that it makes more sense to mod while you're under warranty. At least in that scenario, you have a CHANCE of it being covered. There are many members who have gotten their driveshafts replaced "under warranty" when the reason the shafts were bad in the first place was clearly their huge aftermarket lift. They just happened to stumble upon a "cool" dealer and got a free replacement.

If they'd waited until their warranty was out, none of those free driveshafts would've been provided.

MTH said:

Think about this logic for a minute. Doesn't this really mean that if you can't afford to fix it when it breaks, then you should NEVER mod it? Whether in or out of warranty, if your mods break it, it's not covered, right? So don't mod, period.

In fact, practically I think it actually makes more sense to mod while you're under warranty. At least in that scenario, you have a CHANCE of it being covered. There are many members who have gotten their driveshafts replaced "under warranty" when the reason the shafts were bad in the first place was clearly their huge aftermarket lift. They just happened to stumble upon a "cool" dealer and got a free replacement.

If they'd waited until their warranty was out, none of those free driveshafts would've been provided.

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My dealer is very much like that. I raised the mod / warranty issue early with my salesman, and was assured that – except in the most unusual circumstances – only my aftermarket parts wouldn't be covered under warranty. I made the rounds with the service department, and even one of the sales managers, and heard the same thing.

This dealership also routinely installs mods for customers, and at any given time has 4-5 new Jeeps with lifts/tires/rims/bumpers etc on their lot, which are modded by a local 4x4 shop at the dealership's request.

After most of my mods were done a couple of weeks ago I swung by there to sell them my stock wheels. Just about every one of the sales guys, and a couple of folks from finance, came out to look at the Jeep, peer under the hood (most of them think an sPOD is "magic") and generally compliment me on my build.

I've e-mailed them links to aftermarket headlights (Daniel Stern, LED's, etc), as well as info on mid-range lift kits that would minimize hassles for specific customers.

In short, the letter of the law will initially be interpreted by the sheriff's deputy in the cruiser who stops you. Which is why that deputy is not allowed to also pass sentence.

If your dealership sounds like they're the type to battle you over every tiny little fix because you've modded your Jeep, then maybe you shouldn't mod it.

Personally, I'd find another dealer, or just fight em like hell.