steven4264
Member
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- Mazda 3
ya i even bought the extended warrenty as well its supposed to be 100K or 8 years but alot of good it does me at this point
atx blown ak 20k and mazda wont cover!!!
- Thread starter steven4264
- Start date
ya i even bought the extended warrenty as well its supposed to be 100K or 8 years but alot of good it does me at this point
Assuming Mazda's sales agreement is uniform and has the same language everywhere I have good news and bad news.
The good news is that they are very vague about "Alteration, modification, tampering, etc.." on Page 11 (2008) of your Warranty Information Booklet. They do not define what "Alterarion," "Modification," or "Tampering" are, nor do they use the typical "Including but not limited to" legalese, but rather a more informal "etc..."
The bad news is this: You are required by the terms of the warranty agreement to maintain your vehicle according to the appropriate service schedule outlined in the warranty booklet in order to be able to enforce the warranty. If you did not keep meticulous records and if you cannot prove with certainty that you followed Schedule 2 maintenance, they can deny you coverage based on the language on page 13 under "Your Responsibilities."
The argument will probably be made by someone that it is a warranty booklet and not a contract. But, if you look at the standard sales agreement that you signed when you purchased the car, it says:
"THE PRINTED NEW VEHICLE WARRANTY DELIVERED TO THE PURCHASER WITH SUCH A VEHICLE OR CHASSIS AND HEREBY MADE A PART OF HEREOF AS THOUGH FULLY SET FORTH HEREIN IS THE ONLY WARRANTY APPLICABLE TO SUCH A NEW VEHICLE OR CHASSIS AND IS EXPRESSLY IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE"
I am not a lawyer, but it seems that this language makes your Warranty Information booklet enforceable as part of the sales agreement, and you agreed by signing to follow maintenance according to the appropriate schedule outlined in the book.
In my non-legal opinion, it would seem reasonable that your act of modifying the car to increase performance would necessarily indicate a Schedule 2 Severe Driving maintenance plan, and if you cannot prove that you followed that maintenance plan and provide receipts, you might be up the proverbial creek.
You can probably argue that there was no transmission service required, even in Schedule 2, up until the point of failure. In other words, you performed all transmission service according to the schedule by virtue of the fact that none was required.
The "EXPRESSLY IN LIEU OF" language would also seem to make null and void any extended warranties you may have purchased, at least for the period that the factory warranty is in effect, even if it is unenforceable due to breach on the part of the purchaser.
Just my $0.02, and something you probably want to make sure you talk to your attorney about before you push to sue Mazda. This is where most disputes end up being decided in favor of the Manufacturer. It is quite insidious, but very effective for them in defending against large warranty claims.
shaggylemur
Member
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- 2007 Mazda3i Touring 42,000 miles
to me that sounds like the point that would end it but you still have a chance if you kept meticulous records of your service
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- 92 & 16 Meyatas
legally they have to prove that the modifications had a direct result in the failure of the part in question...of course that desn't mean they're going to oblige...good luck, maybe even the mention of an attorney will get them moving!
Not a very helpful comment, especially when you are perfectly free to read and understand the contracts and agreements BEFORE you sign them, and also you are free to elect not to enter into them.
I am neither advocating nor condoning any fraudulent or illegal business practices that some dealers may decide to engage in, but at the same time, I am neither advocating nor condoning complete ignorance on the part of the buyer.
And no, I do not work for Mazda.
In this case, I believe the outcome will be a determination that the car has been modified in violation of the contract. Notwithstanding their vague or absent description of "modification," the language there places the burden on the purchaser to clarify that definition before engaging in making changes to the car.
It is clearly stated that modifying the car makes the warranty unenforceable, and the buyer either knew or should have known that ripping parts out of the engine and replacing them with other parts with the sole purpose of increasing the output of the engine would be interpreted as a modification.
Again, IANAL, but if I were an arbiter or juror, this is how I would find.
steven4264
Member
- :
- Mazda 3
thanks for all your research if i dont make any progress in the next month i might just throw in the towl and get it fix myself, on the service paper it says that they suggest replacing the whole trany but the mazda mechnic said they think its only the torque converter going bad, i might take it to a transmission shop find out what really is bad and if it is just the torque converter have a new one installed and just trade it in for something else later down the road.
