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Extended Warranty Cancelation

.phase

Ready to race!
Hey All,

OK, so after having my car stock for nearly a year, and reading up a lot on this forum (yes, I've been a lurker, and, yes, this is my first tuner), I'm diving into the world of mod/tuning. Getting a p-flo cai this weekend, and Stage 1 tune later this month.

At the time of purchase, I thought it was a good idea to get an extended warranty, but now I'm thinking it wasn't the greatest decision. I've read that dealers will turn you down for service with mods and tunes. I've also read that they have to prove that the modification was a direct root cause to the failure. But in any case, it looks like they have the right to refuse service. I've heard that shops now are pretty cool about it, and understand that, well, this is a tuner car.

Just moments ago, I read a myfastgti forum post that even if the dealerships turn you away, you can go to a verified shop that accepts warranty repairs, and have them do it while they turn the other way to all your mods and tweaks.

Does anyone here have first hand experience with this? Care to share your knowledge and experience?

Does anyone know a verified, non-dealer shop (Orange County area) that will take care of me in the event, god forbid, something catastrophic happens?

Trying to figure this out to see if I should cancel/keep my extended warranty. Would probably get back around 2k if I get a prorated refund.

Thanks in advance!
 

rmchung

Ready to race!
You'll be fine with your mods. I assume you're in Orange County, CA and not Orange County, NY. With that in mind, Commonwealth VW is quite good as a dealership to take your few years of service to. I've never had a trouble with them for any warranty work and/or service with a modded car. If you don't want to take it to a dealership, Pacific German in Lake Forest is a reputable shop. There are other VW shops in orange county, too many to list.
 

Carbon Steel

Go Kart Champion
Since it is a significant investment (2K extended), i'd bring it in for an oil change or, just go in and talk to the service manager and see what he says.
 

.phase

Ready to race!
You'll be fine with your mods. I assume you're in Orange County, CA and not Orange County, NY. With that in mind, Commonwealth VW is quite good as a dealership to take your few years of service to. I've never had a trouble with them for any warranty work and/or service with a modded car. If you don't want to take it to a dealership, Pacific German in Lake Forest is a reputable shop. There are other VW shops in orange county, too many to list.

Yeap, Orange County, CA. I've been going to Fladeboe just because they're close to work in Irvine and I can just drop off and come back in the evening. Their service department isn't great, though. Went in for a really bad squeaky rear window and they did nothing to remedy it and had to come back again and leave it in for 2 days and have to drive a boring Passat around.

Thanks for the first hand account of Commonwealth! And I just heard from a friend personally, too, that Pacific German would do the job.
 

.phase

Ready to race!
Since it is a significant investment (2K extended), i'd bring it in for an oil change or, just go in and talk to the service manager and see what he says.

Good idea. I just wonder what motive these guys tend to operate on. Whether it's "Yeah, you're under warranty, we'll get paid by VW headquarters anyway." Or, "Yeahhhhh, you're under warranty (and we're gonna get credited for that), but you also have to pay for such and such because of so and so." ;)

I'll engage them in a casual conversation next time to get a feel, though. Thanks!
 

BIGCUMINSTDI

Passed Driver's Ed
On my 2013 VW golf tdi I like to replace my exhaust muffler with a gti muffler. Will the dealer void warranty for replacing with the gti twin pipe muffler?
 

johnny_p

Go Kart Champion
With the amount of crap gone wrong in my car, and the horror stories others have posted, there is no way I will own this car out of warranty.
 

McQueen77

Banned
Ive had things replaced and repaired under warranty and i informed my dealer i was tuned. I also purchased an extended warranty and then cancelled it a few months later, getting about 90% of my money back. Youll be fine, just go to the dealer for a regular service, tell them about your mods and feel it out.
 

nolaquen

New member
For the people that cancelled their extended warranty, was the prorate a straight/linear percentage? When the refund hit my account, it was a LOT less than I calculated. Just gearing up for the phone call.
 

Modshack1

Go Kart Champion
For the people that cancelled their extended warranty, was the prorate a straight/linear percentage? When the refund hit my account, it was a LOT less than I calculated. Just gearing up for the phone call.

Read your policy to see how the cancellation works.....Technically if you're still under factory warranty, the aftermarket one never kicked in. That said, these extensions are all about PROFIT for the dealer. Unlikely you'll get all your money back (or even a fair percentage) even if never used. Mark-up on those is 100%. The dealership paid the warranty company (who will have varied refund policies), Paid the salesman handsomely (who will not be happy about giving you money back), and the whole list of other administrative costs come into play.
 

nolaquen

New member
Read your policy to see how the cancellation works.....Technically if you're still under factory warranty, the aftermarket one never kicked in. That said, these extensions are all about PROFIT for the dealer. Unlikely you'll get all your money back (or even a fair percentage) even if never used. Mark-up on those is 100%. The dealership paid the warranty company (who will have varied refund policies), Paid the salesman handsomely (who will not be happy about giving you money back), and the whole list of other administrative costs come into play.

Thanks for the quick reply. I didn't see anything in the cancellation part of the policy that mentioned the prorating occurring after the dealer cut. If I cut the purchase price in half, my numbers start matching what they actually sent me.

Given the last part of your post though, I can't tell. Are they *supposed* to prorate based on the purchase price? Or on the net purchase price minus dealer profit?
 

Modshack1

Go Kart Champion
T
Given the last part of your post though, I can't tell. Are they *supposed* to prorate based on the purchase price? Or on the net purchase price minus dealer profit?

No problem. They're not "supposed" to do anything...It should be spelled out but may not be...These policies are often vague for the exact reason you've just discovered. It really depends on the aftermarket companies refund agreement with the dealer. If they gave all the money back, the dealer kept their half of your payment as Profit. If the company didn't give the dealer anything back, the dealer Ate the profit in your refund. No way of telling how this all worked unless spelled out clearly in the agreement..
 

nolaquen

New member
No problem. They're not "supposed" to do anything...It should be spelled out but may not be...These policies are often vague for the exact reason you've just discovered. It really depends on the aftermarket companies refund agreement with the dealer. If they gave all the money back, the dealer kept their half of your payment as Profit. If the company didn't give the dealer anything back, the dealer Ate the profit in your refund. No way of telling how this all worked unless spelled out clearly in the agreement..

Gotcha. Thank you. As you mentioned, it wasn't spelled out. Just that it would be prorated based on time/mileage (for my calculations, I went w/ the one in their favor), and subtract an admin fee (spelled out, and reasonably small).

We'll see what happens when I call. I don't use this dealer for anything, so I have nothing to lose.
 
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