Chip + Warranty

[Robert Deis]

> but i'm not interested
> in buying a chip and voiding the warranty on my car.

There are lots of ways to address this, but first and foremost is a chat
with your service manager.

http://www.sema/org has a lot of good information about warranty law.  The
*LAW* says that nothing you do can void the warranty on a car unless the
dealer can *PROVE* that the failure is directly related to the
modifications you have made.  Burden of proof is on them, not you, and
that means that you'll win in court if it comes to that.

That means that when the water pump fails, your chip is no excuse for them
not to fix it.  When a hole burns through the piston from overboost,
though they can say that the modification causes the overboost condition,
and it's your problem. Seems fair enough.

Practicly, though, you may find yourself suing a big corporation that has
lots of money to spend on lawyers, and that can be a long frustrating
process that never gets anywhere.  So, even though the law is on your
side, it's not always a good idea to trust in the law to cover you. Even
though you're in the right, you don't want to have to fight this battle.

The best thing you can do is talk to the service manager- these guys
typicly have a lot of freedom in what they wearranty and what they don't,
and they are the guy you'll be arguing with later.  So instead of
arguing after the fact, chat with them ahead of time. Some know the law
and follow it well. Some don't.  See how he reacts to the idea of modified
cars, and chat about the warranty law and his opinions on how it works.
(Specific statues are available on the SEMA site.)

Try to make it a friendly discussion- usually the guy is eather willing
to work with you or he's not, and if he's not then it'll take that court
battle to convince him, which is a big waste of everyone's time. If he's
obstinate about it, thank him for his time and go someplace else.

--
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  Rob Deis                  "Let the people know beforehand what the law
  MiB3347                      is and what they are to expect."
  rdeis at io.com                              -- 18th Congress, Rec. 75