Mechanical warranties

[dnalunchie]

Hey guys I have a question about mechanical warranties you can buy for cars.

Im wondering what experiences people have had with these. Esspecially with performance cars.

For instance if someone brought and EVO and it had an exhaust and filter and it say put a rod through the block or the gearbox crapped out. What happens? Does the whole thing just get fixed or what?

Like I mean is a mechanical warranty a licence to flog the shit out of a car?

Also what happens if you brought a car and then say did an exhaust on it?

Does that void the warranty?


Also I know you can buy warrantys for cars from private sales, does anyone have any experience with this? Can this only be done on totally stock cars? Ie would they reject a corolla if it had mags and a zaust?

[Emperor]

When I got my forester I got a warranty with it(autosure). In the book it stated no modifcations were allowed, however I purchased it with;
Cat-back exhaust, pod filter & STi front brakes.
Blew the clutch and they replaced that with no questions.
Then I added a new intake, BOV and boost controller... Blew the gearbox.. They replaced that with no questions too.

It kind of depends on the garage doing the work, garage that did my clutch was sweet as, but then they did the gearbox he said he was tempted to tell the warranty company to say no because of the supporting mods that factored into gearbox failure.

[rollaholic]

we do a bit of warranty stuff at work. i've only seen someone from the actual warranty place come in to look at a car once... so like emp says i guess it depends a bit on the relationship you have with your mechanic - but by the letter of the agreement, most i've seen are void if the car is modified. also alot of things are NOT covered, (like for example fluids - so if you blow an engine you might still be up for a bunch of oil, coolant, etc) they dont cover wear and tear, and there is often a decent excess too. so pays to read carefully. like anything i guess

[TRD Man]

Different warranty companies apply different rules. But essentially, it's no different from any other insurance ... if you try and pull the wool over their eyes, don't get upset if they turn you down at claim time.

You need to be a little bit careful when buying warranties as not only can they be expensive but repair bills on non covered items can also. Remember the warranty is a contract between the car buyer and the warranty underwriter not the dealer who sold it. And they are a profit centre for dealers so there is a tendency toward the "she'll be right" principle.

If a car is modified when you buy it, read the warranty booklet thoroughly and ask the dealer how they will guarantee that the modifications will not void the warranty.
We would do this by ringing the warranty company whilst we are sitting with the customer, explaining the nature of the modifications and writing the representatives response on the carbonated pages of the booklet.

If you choose to modify a car after purchasing a warranty you should check directly with the warranty company so that you know where you stand. Once again, write down what they say.

In my experiences, warranty companies weren't too concerned about air filters or exhausts on normally aspirated cars but didn't like big exhausts on turbo models.

[Infinite]

i got a warranty with my evo 5 evan got it chucked in for free! with protector they payed for a gearbox rebuild and transfer case and rear diff lol. only cost me like 900 in excess's plus some oils as not all companys pay for oils and other little things like freight! just make sure YOU pick who the car gets repaired by else your car could end up like mine and back to marshalls transmissions 14 times untill u get sick of trying to get it fixed

[slighty_looney]

yea my mates series 7 rx had a mechanical warranty, he done a clutch and they replaced it, then he done exhaust and front mount and like any good batty it blew up, 3 weeks before the 1 year warranty was up, they payed for a complete crate motor and the install, all he had to pay was freight oils and the new turbos since the seals ate the old ones.

i wouldnt bother getting it for a toyota tho, specially not one thats a private sale and a corolla

[MR2SIK]

I had one on my aw11, claimed the clutch was wear and tear and refused to cover I found it to be a waste of time.
So read the fine print extremley carefully

[dnalunchie]

Nar to be honest since Ive sold the bike im wanting to buy sumthing half entertaining but i dont want to have to worry about expensive repairs. Im kinda toying with the idea of an Evo 4 a version 5 or 6 wrx or a st205. Basically something around the 8-10 k mark. I dont care about modding anymore but I dont want to have to pay to rebuild the subies gearbox, the evos rear diff or whatever the 205 decides to shit (Probably nothing)

[Emperor]

I had one on my aw11, claimed the clutch was wear and tear and refused to cover I found it to be a waste of time.
So read the fine print extremley carefully

Yeh, alot of warranties don't cover clutch, brakes etc.
Mine wasn't suppose to, yet somehow they did? Also the book said no oils/consumables are paid for by them.. But I never had to pay a cent on oil etc haha

[Lloyd]

You're picking a Subaru box to fail over an Evo 4? Ummm....

As has been said, general mods mean void warranty, especially if they contribute to the failure. Just don't abuse the car and it shouldn't be an issue. And I don't have good things to say about early Evo boxes/transfers. But if you ever need them replaced...

[Infinite]

Stay away from evo's with AYC its just not worth the hassel. theres some nice looking subaru's out there cheap but they are cheap for a reason and since owning one they are nice to work on being there n-s design but they tend to be more trouble than fun lol

[dnalunchie]

lol so once again the 205 wins this debate

[1I1]

AYC, main issue from lack of servicing isn't it?

Got a Toyota Warranty when i brought the corolla. Got my moneys worth out of it too. 4th gear synchro poked so had them throw a new clutch while the gearbox was out for the synchro - only thing i had to pay for was the clutch itself. Also water pump went so while that was being done I had them throw on new cambelt etc (again i had to pay for those bits). But they covered genuine fluids and sealants.

[Leon]

whatever warranty B1 and Stacey have on their Sti seems to be pretty decent, as they've had several little things replaced on that car in a low hassle manner.

As compared to B1's Levin warranty company who as I recall were a bunch of total and utter ratbags.

[Infinite]

AYC, main issue from lack of servicing isn't it?

Got a Toyota Warranty when i brought the corolla. Got my moneys worth out of it too. 4th gear synchro poked so had them throw a new clutch while the gearbox was out for the synchro - only thing i had to pay for was the clutch itself. Also water pump went so while that was being done I had them throw on new cambelt etc (again i had to pay for those bits). But they covered genuine fluids and sealants.

If u drive a car hard AYC aint for u. my AYC unit sht the seal and was leaking the ayc fluid into the diff and was classed as wear and tear so the mitsi dealer reworded it and i got it under warranty hehe my car had mags larger fmic gauges lowerd intake/exhaust and they just tend to tell the insurance company its standard the only thing they check was for burnt rubber up arround the gaurds...

[CAMB01]

And I don't have good things to say about early Evo boxes/transfers. But if you ever need them replaced...

Whats wrong with the early evo gearboxes and transfer cases?

[B_giB]

We got a warrenty on the Altezza when we got it, The servicing clause was a pain, every 6 months or 10,000 kms which ever occurs first, then within three days you had to send the coupon that the MTA approved workshop had to fill in and sign along with the workshops invoice.

We got our moneys worth by getting the trans fixed. only had to pay for fluids and excess. Unfortunatly the shop had it back around 5 fimes to get it right.

[Lloyd]

And I don't have good things to say about early Evo boxes/transfers. But if you ever need them replaced...

Whats wrong with the early evo gearboxes and transfer cases?

Just had a few issues with 4s and 5s, and GSRs aren't much better.

[CAMB01]

Ah yep, yeah those model evo's can have a few problems

[dnalunchie]

Ah yep, yeah those model evo's can have a few problems

my understanding was 1-3 were pretty much bullet proof. Just look at all the street 1-3's running 10's

also what company was b1 using on his sti?