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Personally I would have no expectation of warranty coverage on a car that I was tracking whose failure was *obviously* accelerated due to competitive driving (things like wheel bearings or the clutch).

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Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

Exactly. I think that Mitsubishi is currently nearly down for the count and due to cost saving pressure they are probably enforcing this slightly more than Subaru, Porsche, etc. currently does. Don’t we hear stories like this from Subaru sometimes? All it may take is a single manufacture to start enforcing this and it could start the ball rolling for the others.



Ok, totally based upon the original Mitsubishi story that was published elsewhere on the web (not the Autoweek article) the guy showed up at the dealer and found out that his warrantee had already been "tagged". I was also under the impression that he had not been in for warrantee work before (i.e. there was a history of abuse). Who knows for sure, but it sounds like this was done at a level higher than the dealership (i.e. the mythical corporate spies that review public autocross results). So, MAYBE no matter how good your relationship is with the dealer, if those higher up than the dealers decide to follow the warrantee to the letter, then you might be in trouble.

Overall, I agree that the "wink wink, nudge nudge" stuff has to stop. Don't produce "performance" cars, market them based upon their heritage, offer free membership to clubs that promote warrantee voiding activities. If they want people to act/drive like "posers", then just sell the cars with anemic 90 HP engines vs something with real power.

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

After they cancelled my warranty, it was the only way out......


-Matt - I can laugh about it now........

While I agree with you on that, I would have the expectation that the damn bearings would be sized appropriately for the weight and speed capability of the car.

Moot point now anyway. Radicals have no warranty.

-Matt

Matt, I was hoping you could laugh about that now.

I agree that any manufacturer that is selling a car based in its performance should size the parts appropriately to take advantage of that performance.

I will also agree that if the criteria for negating a warranty is CLEARLY spelled out then its buyer beware. If its just something that is up to the whims of whomever you happen to contact (like Matt's bearing story) that is just unacceptable. The solution: Don't buy from them!

Personally I would NEVER buy a new car. Too many issues like this AND I find no reason to pay for the initial depeciation.

Just my $.05

Ron

Just a thought, I know there was a discussion in the past about insurance companies dropping "high risk" drivers when they found out about thier autocrossing activities (dropping the whole policy, autocross vehicle as well as any others on the policy). I wonder if there are any cases of car companies not honoring warranties on potential autocross cars if they find out the owner is autocrossing in general...like with a different vehicle. What proof do they really have anyway besides your name on a results list or something. If they can not honor the warranty as simply as that...what is to stop them in this case.

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Stephen Westerfield
2009 Infiniti M35 | 2007 Honda Fit Sport | 2005 Ford Mustang GT |2000 GMC Sierra |1992 Acura Integra LS | Super Westerfield Bros Acura Integra

no one should expect the dealer to honor warranties on cars that suffer damage due to racing...or abuse. that said....
I have heard other stories of dealerships cancelling warranties BEFORE any problems arose....warranty claims refused that had NOTHING to do with engine or mechanicals....even "common" problems to all cars in the line were refused warranty.
Southern States Nissan comes to mind. The service manager @ the new apex SSN is a real asshat....he has no idea how a car works....no familiarity with nissans....no idea what a 240Z is.....
It would not surprise me if they were checking out the website of the club they give all 350Z buyers a free membership to....ohhh look we can cancel alll these warranties.
Dealership service is a farce anyway. Most dealership mechanics have little or no experience. I would think the the Nissan dealer mechanic would know a lot about Nissans....NOT SO!....you are better off finding a real mechanic....avoid the dealership at all costs. I have never raced a car less than 20 years old....sooo im not really concerned with warranties.
I have NEVER had what I would calll "good" service from any dealership.
In fact...every time I took my Ford Ranger to the dealership for warranty service...It came back with more problems than it went in with...im not kidding. Monumental screw ups....EVERY TIME I TOOK IT IN. I have to wonder....did they even test it? were they trying to screw me outta money....somehow warranty work always had some stupid charge for something they did that was not covered. BLahhhh....never buy a new car.

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Paint don't make it go any faster.

If you are buying a new car specifically to build it as a race car, I have heard that you can "sell" back your warrenty. A co-worker has done this. He sold back the warrenty and bought a factory shop manual. Most new cars are dead reliable anyway, brand new models not included.

He said that he got a significant amount back doing this. He wouldn't say exactly how much.

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Todd Breakey
STS 42 - 1992 Sunburst Miata
Dammit!
"You souldn't play leap frog with a porcupine. You might get hurt." - Eliza