The Thread To Clear Up All Your Warranty FAQs

I've been noticing that many, many people are worried about upgrading even the tiniest of things, thinking that companies will void warranty. Now some of those things may be helpful to them in a huge way but yet in the back of their mind they are worried about the warranty getting void. This thread will hopefully clear up a few doubts some of you may have on your warranty getting void, or maybe help in arguing with your dealer in case they want to be stuck up fools and void your warranty for no mistake of yours. First and foremost, let me say a big part of your warranty getting void depends on your relationship with the dealer, and your talking skills. Now if you are friendly with your service people or can get friendly with them easily you should have no worries about doing a few minor upgrades here or there because the service people will be on your side. Then again if you know you have done no wrong and still the service guys want to void your warranty, just talk it out and maybe escalate it to the superiors. The bottom line is if you know the guys you can get away with even an engine swap (ok not literally) but if you don't (Or you go to some insane dealership) then they will decline warranty for even a seat cover upgrade. Secondly, even if you do cut wires and upgrade your music system, and your fuel pump conks off. The dealer cannot tell you your warranty is void. Because if the wires are cut the maximum they can void is your electrical warranty. This is just an example. So some common sense is required for dealerships like that who just try and find even a small fault to void warranty and give some half baked explanation to try and prove it. Now I'll write a short bit on some commonly used accessories which people are hesitant to fit - Sunfilms - Yes I've seen people thinking twice about installing sunfilms because of 'warranty'. Please go ahead and install sunfilms. Your warranty just cannot be void, it just can't. lol. Rims and Tyres - Well this can be a bit dicey sometimes. Generally no one will bother you about a + one upgrade i.e if you make your tyres a bit wider, or upgrade to 1" bigger rims. For rims see that the offset is pretty much the same, if they are deepdish or have a huge lip then the dealer may be right. Now if you have a lower variant and upgrade to the size of a higher variant even with non OE wheels it is perfectly fine and the dealer has no right to void warranty. Sometimes if your car is sold abroad with larger wheels and tyres you can probably even upgrade to those. This again depends on your talking skills. Air Filters and Exhausts - If you do in for a drop in filter i.e a stock replacement filter then the warranty should not be void. So go ahead with this for the slightly better breathing your engine gets. In theory even if you go for something bolt on, maybe like an air intake kit like a typhoon you may just be able to argue your way out of getting your warranty void. But the stock replacement is a safe option, and yes it can make a difference in terms of performace depending on the engine. Again the exhaust if bolt on you might be able to argue your way out of it. Or just make sure that only your exhaust related warranty is void. Warranty not being void for exhausts is rare though, just to warn you. Lighting upgrades - Headlights not bright enough? Go ahead and upgrade. If you change the bulbs to a different bulb with the same wattage, maybe say a Philips Extreme Power then the company cannot say anything to you since the wattage is the same as stock. If you want higher wattage, then as long as separate wires are used along with relays and cutouts generally no one will really bother you. Same for HIDs, they use a totally different set of wires so don't be worried in going for them. For these it largely depends on the installation, and as long as a neat job is done with proper connectors used etc then its really not a big deal at all. ICE upgrades - This is what most are scared of. But why? For head units for most cars there are wiring harnesses available. So there will be no cutting of wires for installing an aftermarket HU. Also get speakers of the same size as original speakers or even use spacers. If installing an amp then make sure to leave the original speaker wiring as is and run new cables to the amp and from the amp to the speakers. Same in the case of installing a sub woofer. The logic is that you have not touched the factory wiring, and it is left alone so they really cannot void your electrical warranty. OEM part Upgrades - On cars like Skodas, VWs, and BMWs many OE parts and accessories are sold internationally. They are plug and play and fit perfectly. Let me take the example of Skodas. The Yeti doesn't come with bluetooth in India but there is an accessory available in the UK which will make your Yeti bluetooth compatible. It is plug and play and probably takes 2 hours to install. It is an original Skoda accessory. So a Skoda dealer cannot say anything to you at all. Same is for other cars, everything from bluetooth modules to sports seats to paddle shifts and steering wheels are available. If its an original part for your car don't hesitate to upgrade. For all Tuning Boxes - Only one thing to say. Remove before giving your car for a service, unless you have bought it from the dealer like the MKB tuning boxes sold by Autohangar for Mercedes. Will add to this if I think of more. Please add your own if you want. SO guys, please go and enjoy your cars. And don't hesitate to make them better, because no car is perfect. But you can make it almost perfect with some of these small upgrades. Hopefully this post has helped a few people.

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