What is the obsession with warranties?

[cb1111]

Having a second ECU and then putting the original back in for warranty work is the definition of theft of services.

This would make you an actual criminal. A petty criminal, but a thief nonetheless.

Actually, that would be warranty fraud (but yes, theft of services in some states) but may actually rise to the level of a felony depending on the value of the repair.

That makes it more that petit theft. Most states cap petit theft at $300 and you can't get much at the dealership for less than $300.

The point is that warranty fraud and theft of services isn't some minor prank. If the dealer is motivated enough, then you could end up in court and walk out with a criminal record.

 

[Chogokin]

If you're concerned about the warranty...then don't mod. Its pretty simple. If you get a tune and then have engine issues...take the car to the dealer and let VW decide whether they'll fix your car. If the dealer can't determine if the failure came from the modification...then VW will send out their own tech to evaluate and decide. I've seen it go both ways. You roll the dice when you decide to modify your car. Friend of mine got a new trans in his IS20 swapped wagon. He went to the dealer with the JB4 installed. Intake, IC, downpipe, suspension mods....they still gave him a new transmission.

Maybe VW should offer an option to opt out of a warranty for a lower price. I would think the cost of the warranty is included with the price of the car. There are guys that throw the warranty out the window the day they get the car.

 

[tigeo]

If you're concerned about the warranty...then don't mod. Its pretty simple. If you get a tune and then have engine issues...take the car to the dealer and let VW decide whether they'll fix your car. If the dealer can't determine if the failure came from the modification...then VW will send out their own tech to evaluate and decide. I've seen it go both ways. You roll the dice when you decide to modify your car. Friend of mine got a new trans in his IS20 swapped wagon. He went to the dealer with the JB4 installed. Intake, IC, downpipe, suspension mods....they still gave him a new transmission.

Maybe VW should offer an option to opt out of a warranty for a lower price. I would think the cost of the warranty is included with the price of the car. There are guys that throw the warranty out the window the day they get the car.

Woah! Great idea on the opt-out.

 

[Genegenie]

3 words: piece of mind. True story(s): had 2 cars (low miles 40k ish, one owner, good condition, service history, no bad crash or insurance claim history) whereby if on day one of purchase I'd torched / fired / burnt them out but not claimed on the insurance after a year I'd have been ahead financially . Ok I was twice unlucky but things like head & oil sump gaskets, battery, clutch, exhaust, wheel bearings, wishbone (steering suspension) linkages, gearbox bearings, car park damage (a biff or two here, a scratch or two there), vandalism (once just 'for the heck of it' when parked in a well-off / well to do / rich area !), etc, etc. It can add up. Quickly & scarily....

 

[wizmk7gti]

I bought mine intending to go stage 1 after about 12k. Figuring any bugs should show up by then. But not wanting to void the warranty messed up my time table. The only things that failed were my a/c condenser, out of warranty by 3k miles and my audio which was replaced but not repaired. Got tuned at 66k . Sorry I waited so long.

 

[Striker23]

I’m not a rich man at all and major issues would of course hurt my wallet. I drive my GTI every day and wanted it as fun as possible. I smile every day leaving work and seeing it in the parking lot. Firing it up and hearing the louder exhaust, seeing my accessport come to life, and knowing that It’s a very capable car make the 10 hour work day worth it. I was tuned after 2 weeks of ownership. Didn’t want to drive it around stock not enjoying myself and just waiting for something to go wrong. If problems arise I’ll deal with it.

 

[seanmcd1]

Again, my intent has been missed by some as this is the second time I've commented to this point - of course I think warranties are a good thing on a new car - I never said they weren't. It's just that some seem to nearly obsesses over it to the point that it's being touted as the end-all-be-all of car ownership and is made to seem that without it, folks would be one repair away from teetering on the edge of financial ruin...hahaha...at least that's how I read it sometimes here, other forums, FB groups. It's great to have don't get me wrong and sure, glad both of my newer VW have 6/72, but it's not top of mind to me.

I think some people are simply living beyond their means. Either they bought the car when they really shouldn't have, or they have calculated a certain amount of money to go towards a car and everything else is stretched to the limit. They simply can't afford to cough up a large amount of cash for a repair, but they are OK with making a monthly payment for a newer vehicle covered by a warranty. Not everyone is focused on turning their car into a race car either, and they have other things that they need to focus on financially speaking - so they are not willing to dump a lot of money into it one way or another, but they want the car and they want the performance.

 

[sloopercat]

I think some people are always out there. Any scenario described always fit some people.

 

[shovelhd]

I haven't heard of anyone getting busted with a JB1/4 or NPM. I know someone that works for VWoA and he said something about looking at the long term fuel trims...but there is nothing concrete that can show you ran a JB4.

I can see if you sent it all the time, there might be trends, but one full throttle shot a day probably wont be enough.

 

[GTIfan99]

I've modded every one of my personal cars within days of leaving the dealer. The one time it bit me on the ass was my 08 STI, but even modded, because so many 08's engines failed and I had a good relationship with the dealer, the engine was rebuilt once and replaced twice under warranty, even after a tune. I had an old, paid for, high mileage NC Miata that had a rod bearing go bad. I paid $700 for a low mileage used engine, $800 for clutch, and a shop put it all in for $1500. In reality, I buy new cars because I get bored and something cooler comes out, warranty doesn't fit into my decisions. No for our primary family car, I keep my wife in a car with a warranty, roadside, and paid maintenance, because it makes things easy for her and keeps her in a nice new, safe car.

 

[norsairius]

Yeah, I think people need to understand that they need to pay to play.

I'm fairly paranoid about maintaining my warranty so I'm among those that ask about it a lot around here. I'm not of the type though that wishes warranty would cover issues that come up due to modding though, I understand that to be unreasonable. I just want to make sure I'm aware of what mods will affect the warranty and how. That said, I consider myself to be among the more risk-averse car owners out there so my mods are going to be pretty low-key and more cosmetic in nature for now.

I think people's past experiences factor into this too. I've used my warranties in the past and even if affordability of repairs isn't a huge concern, it's also just nice to not have to spend the money on them (I don't think anyone's disputing that). Though in one situation, we had to replace the engine on my wife's Audi A4. Thankfully Audi and the dealer contributed 1/3 of the cost each, but we were still on the hook for the last 1/3. It was a lot less than we expected to pay, but it was still a lot.

 

[GTIfan99]

Yeah, I think people need to understand that they need to pay to play.

I'm fairly paranoid about maintaining my warranty so I'm among those that ask about it a lot around here. I'm not of the type though that wishes warranty would cover issues that come up due to modding though, I understand that to be unreasonable. I just want to make sure I'm aware of what mods will affect the warranty and how. That said, I consider myself to be among the more risk-averse car owners out there so my mods are going to be pretty low-key and more cosmetic in nature for now.

I think people's past experiences factor into this too. I've used my warranties in the past and even if affordability of repairs isn't a huge concern, it's also just nice to not have to spend the money on them (I don't think anyone's disputing that). Though in one situation, we had to replace the engine on my wife's Audi A4. Thankfully Audi and the dealer contributed 1/3 of the cost each, but we were still on the hook for the last 1/3. It was a lot less than we expected to pay, but it was still a lot.

The reality is, even modded, VW is covering know issues like the water pump/thermostat housing issues. The reality is, modding isn't what causes factory parts to fail within the warranty period, but it's become a good excuse to deny coverage for some manufactures and dealers.

 

[Ridebjj]

Actually, that would be warranty fraud (but yes, theft of services in some states) but may actually rise to the level of a felony depending on the value of the repair.

That makes it more that petit theft. Most states cap petit theft at $300 and you can't get much at the dealership for less than $300.

The point is that warranty fraud and theft of services isn't some minor prank. If the dealer is motivated enough, then you could end up in court and walk out with a criminal record.

I've got a good story of doing this to get a new engine in a pickup truck, about 25 years ago. I bricked the engine, 100% my fault but I couldn't get by with no transport and was in over my head on the financials to begin with. After that I learned to not buy what I couldn't afford.

That aside, has anyone ever heard of anyone ending up in court for "Warranty fraud"? I can't recall ever hearing of it. They assume every claim is fraud until proven otherwise, so they can avoid honoring it, right? That's what I've learned from hanging around here, anyway.

 

[avenali312]

The one time it bit me on the ass was my 08 STI...the engine was rebuilt once and replaced twice under warranty...

This is wild.

I try to not mess with my warranty after my somewhat lemon of an MKV FSI GTI. New long block, dual-mass flywheel, and a couple of HPFP would have cost me thousands out of pocket. Probably not a ton of cases like that, but I can be patient until at least the powertrain warranty runs out.

 

[GTIfan99]

Actually, that would be warranty fraud (but yes, theft of services in some states) but may actually rise to the level of a felony depending on the value of the repair.

That makes it more that petit theft. Most states cap petit theft at $300 and you can't get much at the dealership for less than $300.

The point is that warranty fraud and theft of services isn't some minor prank. If the dealer is motivated enough, then you could end up in court and walk out with a criminal record.

Give a single case or precedent for your claim.