GM Performance Parts Transmissions warntyVOIDED if you drive lifted trucks?

[juanblzer]

A friend who lives in prescott valley, AZ recently bought a tranny from Bill Heard Chevrolet in PHoenix. He bought less than 3 months ago. It started acting all FUBAR on him last week so he took it to a dealership (what he was supposed to do, it does have a 3yr 50k warranty on it).

Here is the problem:
they told him that the truck is lifted (88'k5 with 4inches of lift) and that voids the warranty.
WTF?
He's trying to fight it.
I had a goodwrench motor that had warranty issues and had no problem with a dealership. My truck is heavily modified. His is stock other than his lift. What should he do. His dad is fighting it because supposedly he asked about the warranty and the lift correlation prior to the tranny purchase. THey still are arguing with him though.
Any ideas?
TIme to boycott?

 

[HarryH3]

[ QUOTE ]
TIme to boycott?

[/ QUOTE ]
A boycott won't do squat. First, he needs to READ the warranty paperwork VERY carefully and see if it really is excluded. If it is written in the warranty then he's screwed. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif However, if the warranty does NOT specifically state that the warranty is void when the tranny is installed in a lifted truck, then he can take them to small claims court. Odds are very good that he would win there. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

What anyone did or didn't say doesn't matter. Only the words in the warranty matter.

 

[juanblzer]

boycott won't do squat?
not buying products from a line that specializes in sales to automotive enthusiasts will make a difference. Nevertheless, the "boycott" part of my post was jokingly inserted. I have had several instances of warrantee (even verbal) held up by "higher-ups" in the company. Perhaps he needs to talk to the general manager or better.

 

[BadDog]

Yep, go up the chain of command. Usually they don't like to be bothered, and when you start up, they can reasonably expect you to go over their head and they know their boss will not appreciate being bothered. Result is they tend to just make it go away (within reason) unless their is a very good reason not to. Unfortunately, one example of a "good reason" is a company wide mandate to cut down on warranty loss... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif Still, that's the best start. Followed by small claims court. Their actual loss on the trans warranty will likely be significantly offset by the cost of court time, especially if it's likely they will loose, so that will inspire them to "do the right thing" and "save a customer" rather than risk it all in court with the associated cost even if they win.

 

[blazen91]

PM zcarczar to see what he says about this. He works at a GM dealership.

 

[m j]

[ QUOTE ]
Oh yeah we have a GREAT warrantee department
{for us, not so good for you Mr Customer}

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[Grim-Reaper]

That is FLAT OUT AGAINST THE LAW. Go look at the SEMA site. somehwere there is copy of this and it was hevily pushed by SEMA. Now the catch here it is the gearing. The said lifted and get that in writing. But if he's got 3.08 gear on 35's it is putting more stress on the tranny then would have ever been factoy....it's choice of words where they screwed up here.

 

[Hustler]

I would just complain up the chain of command. Everyone that you talk to, let them know about you asking about if it would still be warranty on a lifted truck. Also let them know that you are willing to take them to court if needed and that you will report them to all news stations, BBB, Attorney General, ect. Good luck.

Oh yea, I had a problem like this with a dealership in St. Peters, MO. I found out who was the owner of the dealership was and got his home phone number. After calling him at home, I got a call the next morning saying that the dealership will fix my problem. I guess the owner didn't like me calling him at home.

 

[dremu]

The thing you want to wave around is the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act, a federal law which states that use of aftermarket parts does not automatically void warranties in situations such as this.

The onus falls on the dealer to *prove* that the aftermarket parts (or I assume use thereof) is what broke the tranny, as opposed to it being your buddy's responsibility to prove that they DIDN'T. If that makes sense /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Now, the dealer may say that off-road driving, or a bad gear ratio/tire combo, or even the lack of a cooler, is what fried the tranny, and these are all legitimate.

OTOH, it sounds like the dealer is giving the runaround before they even look at the truck. Go google for the thing above and read up. I betcha once informed, your buddy will have a much better chance of shutting the dealer idiots up.

He *does* have an auxiliary cooler on the tranny, right? The dealer didn't let him outta there without one, did they?

-- A

 

[juanblzer]

alright,
my friend has 3.73 or 4.10s with 35 BFG Allterrains. He streetdrives his truck 99% of the time. He loathes bodydamage and this thing is more of show truck than it is a hauler or wheeler. I'm forwarding all these ideas. I'm pretty sure it has a cooler. Thanks for the info so far.