join 502streetscene.net

local forum to you since you're in the ville, plenty of people that will give you advice on where to take your X.

A few reputable evo tuners on there. Search before you ask though...lol

 

My, my.

Yes, we agree that, if the dealer sold the car with a warranty and those parts (etc), then the dealer should fix the car. Of course, if it's not in writing....

As to the rest, please note that I didn't rip on you for not understanding Moss-Magnuson (unless you are the Mitsu tech in question). I was ripping on the person being discussed, which I took to be a Mitsu tech that was saying stuff like "if you do X mod, your whole warranty is gone." People who work for car dealerships say this all the time and it just isn't true. Only things that are directly affected by an unauthorized mod are no longer covered by the warranty and - get this - if you end up in court, the dealer must convince the judge that the mod caused the problem ... you don't have to prove that it didn't.

I bring this up (quite often) because I believe that understanding exactly how warranties work is useful. I also think that telling the truth is both useful and moral. And the two are not in conflict; in fact, they are often congruent. The worst-case - which I really want to help people avoid - is this: you lie to the dealer because you think that the truth will void your warranty; in actuality, your warranty was safe because the mods you have are unrelated to the problem; but, now that you've lied, you're in a much deeper hole, the least of which is no more warranty.

 

I remind every person I see putting their car back to stock in attempt of making a warranty claim of this.

When I went in for a transfer case replacement with my modded X I asked the dealer to document in wiring and with a picture that the paint seal was still intact on my drain/fill plugs, and that they were the first to crack them. I did this just in case Mitsu Corp put up a fight, which luckily they did not and I was back in the road with a new transfer case a few days later.

 

Wanted to give everyone a update on what is going on with my Evo.

Mitsubishi denied coverage on the car due to the mods on the car. The extended service company followed suit and denied it as well becuase Mitsubishi denied it. Greg Coats purchased a engine out of a 2010 EVO with 12,000 miles on it and is installing it tomorrow at no charge to me. However the extended service is no longer good and is being taken off my car, which means when I take the car home it will not have any coverage at all.

The dealership offered to take the car back and I would not owe anything on it. I would not get my trade in truck back though (Was a F150 with a ton of mods, and they already sold it). So if I did that I would be losing out of my truck and that doesn't sit well with me.

The car still has the original fuel pump relay (black) on the car, and if the previous owner did not change that then I highly doubt he had the car tuned.

So the two options I have is to either take off all the mods the car has and replace them with the orginal parts, which I do not have and it would be pretty expensive to do that. Or to take the car back, replace the fuel relay, and get the car tuned. I live in Louisville so I would probably take my car to Automotion and let Blevins tune it.

So thats where things stand now. Would you guys do the same thing I'm doing?

 

Do you have anything in writing from them about the car still having a warranty when you bought it from them? Is you do and you really made no changes to the car, I would sue. But please read that second sentence carefully and take it to heart: only if you had a warranty (in writing) AND have not touched the car since buying it should you risk wasting money by suing.

In the meantime, absolutely fix the car, especially if someone will do the heavy labor for free. That will not alter your ability to sue at all and you want the car running, I assume.

ps. hey! you know what? the guy who wrote this is not a lawyer, but rumor has it that he can read and he uses this ability a lot

 

Yes, and I'd honestly count myself lucky the dealer was that cool about it and you got a new engine without ending up in court.

 

The car still had a factory warranty when I bought it, which I did not know because no one told me. I purchased a extended service contract with the car that was factored into the price. So yeah it is documented that I got it, and I was told everything would be covered if something were to happen. And I did not touch or change anything to the car.

 

Sounds like you have a legal foot to stand on, if you want to spend some money to pursue it.


However, If they are going to replace the engine and get it fixed and just leave you with no warranty, that actually doesn't sound bad in itself, because half of the people driving X's right now live in fear of "What if they don't cover ______ because of my mods?" You can live relieved that you know you can make the mods you want and you don't have to live in the confines of "warranty"

It's a shame things went bad, and it's why people on here hound people talking about buying used Evo's, but in all truth the X is fantastically reliable. The 4G63 engine might of been over engineered, but the the 4B11 and CZ4A chassis are generally quite reliable. I think with a new engine and a tune and the mods you have now, you'd be more then fine.

 

You said this before ... that you were "told" that everything would be covered. I was hoping for something closer to "I have it in writing that the car, as sold, was covered by the existing, transferable warranty (plus, maybe the extended warranty, as well)." At a minimum, I hope that the paperwork that you have lists the mods that were on the car at the time you bought it. Without one or both of these, I, personally, would not sue; the odds of winning would seem too low.

To be clear: power mods, even if you believe were not enough to raise the power by much, will usually not let you force them to honor a power-train warranty. Yes, some dealers are cool and don't bat an eye, but a jerk regional rep might not and you're in for a tough time in court. The judge sees the power mods and sides with them. That's why I, personally, wouldn't sue unless I had some kind of documentation that the warranty was still in effect with the mods that were on the car.

Good luck, either way. This stinks.

 

I love how so many people are posting on this thread giving you advice on what they think will happen in court. I am certain that 99.9% of all sales contracts from major dealers have an arbitration clause. You won't go to "court" but rather have a third party moderate your claim which will probably happen in some conference room of some law firm depending on where you live. The burden of proof according to the mmwa falls upon Mitsubishi. A denial of a warranty by a service manager should not discourage an individual for pursuing a legitimate warranty claim. I.e. a denial of a transfer case for an aftermarket hid kit.

This event should be a reminder to all buyers of used cars with third party warranties that If there are mods, have it in writing from both the dealership and warranty company that the said modifications are known to be on the car and that those parts will not void the warranty. Pictures and video are also good ideas when buying a previously modded car.

 

So you take a very limited view of the Kolev decision, I take it. (Not that the OP is in the 9th.)

In any event, whether it be a judge or a arbitrator, everything remains the same.

 

I'm glad you do some reading. However the 9th circuit withdrew its opinion and the only published federal court opinions all withheld binding arbitration agreements. All lemon law and mmwa cases I have had knowledge about occurred in arbitration. The romanticized view that you will be able to plead your case in front of a judge/jury is simply false. Your claim most likely will be heard by a third party arbitrator. either way, hopefully you are able to get enough supporting documentation for your claim.

 

Looks like I might have a lot more reading to do. But the difference between a civil suit in front of a judge and arbitration isn't as large as many people seem to think. The idea that the arbitrators are in the pockets of, in this case, the warrantors is a bit over-stated. And no-one has mentioned juries (so far), just as no-one has mentioned criminal action in this thread (so far).

The key, I believe we agree, is documentation. What some salesperson said to get you to buy the car isn't helpful at all.

 

Man what a mess..... I say just fix it and enjoy the car.

How much is stress worth to you? You'll "pay" the money you earn in hair loss trying to collect something.

I sued a landlord once.... I "won" but with reduced winnings. The time missed from work was worth more than the judgement. It was stressful, annoying, and generally a negative experience in my life.

I basically realized that all I "won" was dragging him to court and ruining his day too. It was very nice having the Judge tell him to his face that he was absolutely wrong and will find himself behind bars if he cheats someone again. But again I'll reiterate that it *cost* me money to do that to him, even though I "won".

So it basically comes down to whether or not you want to ruin their day. If they were serious jerks perhaps that will be enough for you to feel like you're even. But I wouldn't do it for the money. Seriously.

Good luck.

 

Hey OP that really sucks, hope you get it worked out best way possible. This is why I never trust what a dealer says and always always get that **** in writing


Good luck Bro