mods, warranty and dealer.....

[miamie92m3]

Please excuse me if I sound like a newbie..... I would like some general feedback from those who have modded their cars and how the service people at the dealer react, any tips, or horror stories welcome too. I had a P 987 S with H&R springs, exhaust and intake with no issues at all. I'm considering mods to my M including springs, exhaust, possibly short shifter, pulley and chip. Are these considered bolt-on with no effect on warranty? (aside from chip). Thanks,

[King Tut]

Here is my experience. I had an E46 M3 with K&N intake, headers, and full exhaust with no cats. My car started up real rough one cold morning, and I could barely drive it. I took it to the dealer. They called me and said the MAF sensor had failed and they replaced it the car was ready to be picked up. They never mentioned my mods and the MAF is located inside the K&N intake. I now have my E92 M3 with similar mods, and I have brought it in twice and no mention of my mods. As long as the part failing can be justified and BMW will reimburse them they will replace or fix it. Dealers aren't out to get their customers. If that was the case they would have none. There are horror stories out there though so results will vary.

[ideliver]

It really depends on the stealer....my stealer told me that if I put on lowering springs he would void the warranty on the entire suspension...

This conversation occurred because I was asking about labor charges for spring installation as there are not a lot of European independent shops around...

[///V\3Dude]

My Sales Person told me that, the dealer must proved that the mod indeed caused the damage or failure to void it. Also Dinan parts are designed specifically for BMW's might want to check them out:-) but it all depends on which dealer you go to.

[MN M3]

That whole, "the part has to be the direct cause of the failure" line is from the federal warranty law. Frankly, it's a joke. The truth is that, except for an air filter element or an axle-back exhaust, any mod will void your warranty. Different springs? Suspension warranty is gone. Tune? Powertrain warranty is gone. On and on. I'm sure there is someone who will say (as those above have said), "It depends on your dealership - they didn't say 'boo' to me about it." That's because the repair they asked for was pretty standard and "cheap". The second a large problem creeps up and BMW NA gets involved, it's over. They WILL notice the mods, and they WILL deny the coverage. I've gotten into may discussions with those who say, "But the company will have to PROVE the mod caused the failure." No, they don't. All they have to do is SAY it caused the failure. Now, you have to go and hire experts, sue the company, and win a judgment in order to get your car repaired. Are you really going to go through all that? No, you aren't. Plus, since the company has hundreds of engineers and experts, the chances of your winning a case is next to zero.

It doesn't matter if it's Dinan or anyone else - a non-BMW part voids the BMW warranty. If Dinan wants to "warranty" the repair, that's a different issue. BMW isn't involved in it.

Bottom line - if you mod, the warranty is gone. Accept it. Don't be a douche and try to restore the car to stock in order to get around the fact that you CHOSE to mod the car and don't want to accept the consequences. There's a word for that - fraud.