warranty / dealer issues with aftermarket parts?

hey guys, i guess i'll get this started that i'm pretty new when it comes to actually modifying the car with aftermarket parts so i had questions about the warranty and dealers before i proceed.

 

i bought my car used from fitzgerald and they gave me the warranty already on the car + another warranty authorized by fitzgerald themselves not subaru.

 

my questions come in for the aftermarket parts.. do they totally void warranty? for now i'm only thinking of doing suspension things like the cobb springs / sways and later on moving to performance mods. i kinda have doubts because my friends tell me if there is a problem and i take it to the dealer, chances are the dealers going to try n pull a fast one n say it was due to the mods and not fix it.

 

just wondering if any of you had experience with this, thanks

yes they can completely void your warranty

 

it varies greatly from dealer to dealer however

No they cant. They can however not warranty if something broke as a result of an after market product. Example: if you put aftermarket sways on and your endlinks go. They probaly wont cover you, but if you are STGII and your endlinks go with stock sways. They will fix it. The only exception might be the ECU. Since the ECU contols many systems if you mess with the ECU and some thing goes out control by the ECU the can say you are responcible.

practically they can and do (sometimes). hey deny warranty coverage and then you get to fight with them and SOA about it.

modify at ur own risk lol s'all good i'll go ahead with it

 

have any of u had trouble with the dealer though?

i called my salesman and asked him what they frown on for warranty coverage, he pretty much said anything emissions related would be a problem, and since i don't plan on removing my cats, i didn't see this as a prob

 

you could always save the old parts for reinstall if needed

my questions come in for the aftermarket parts.. do they totally void warranty?

I had the dealer install an SPT catback as a part of the deal when I bought the car. I asked the service manager if they installed an after market downpipe if it would void warranty. Answer: yes. I asked if I had a downpipe installed and I (for example) threw a rod bearing, if it would be covered under warranty. Answer: no. So, while you may be able to argue with the dealer/SOA about whether a particular mod does or does not affect a warranty issue on the vehicle, you might find yourself in court to win the argument. Then you may end up spending more on legal fees than it's ultimately worth to fix the vehicle - not to mention all the hassle. Bottom line (and it's been said in many other threads), if you can't afford to pay, don't play.

Counterpoint: Who here has had first hand experience with this? I get the feeling we are more afraid than need be. People are more inclined to write up about a bad experience, we all read about someones bad experience, and perpetuate the feeling dealers just love to deny warranties in threads like this.

 

Do you risk your warranty by modifying your car? Yes. If they are a good dealer though, and you are bringing them a problem that is most likely a warranty issue, they'll cover you.

 

My experience is that they covered me. I have a Stg. II car, short shifter, shifter bushings, and mostly aftermarket suspension. I had a center diff problem which many with non-modified cars have had, and they covered it, no questions asked. I'm sure they could have found an excuse to not do it given my mods. YMMV, but they are there to make money, and keep customers. Customers stay if you treat them fair, and right. Do a reality check though, blow an engine with a 20g bolted on, don't expect them to fix it.