Quote:
Originally Posted by OCfromOC
I’m assuming you’re speaking for Canada?
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act protects against this kind of thing in America.
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FOR ALL USA MODDERS:
THE MOSS-MAGNUSON ACT WILL NOT PROTECT YOU
Practically speaking, no, the MM does not "protect against this kind of thing". This old modders tale MUST DIE.
(1.) The MM Act was not designed nor created to protect modders
That is, modders being people adding extra shit to their car. Rather it was enacted to ensure auto manufacturers couldn't have a parts monopoly via warranty blackmail. This is a subtle but massively important point because, for example, a piggy back is NOT REPLACING A STOCK PART, nor is removing cats. The MM act was created to allow you to replace a stock part with a certified equal stock part. So at best and from the start, trying to use the MM act to defend against warranty denial for a non-certified extra part you added, or a stock part you removed, is a stretch.
(2.) Auto manufacturers can deny warranty work on the spot.
There's no governing body that reviews warranty work denial. The manufacturer (or warranty body) basically says "no fuck off" and that's it. They don't have to prove a thing - the decision is 100% theirs at any time any where they chose. You have nothing to say about that decision nor does anybody else.
(3.) In the USA, the dealer DOES NOT make warranty decisions.
In the USA, the warranty is between you and BMWNA, the dealer is an independent business, not BMW, and has nothing to do with making decisions. Rather the dealers ARE responsible for "discovery", i.e., reporting what they find, and it's here that a "mod friendly" dealer might be helpful. But at the end of the day mod sales and service are chump change compared to the $$$ dealers make selling and providing standard service on BMWs. The dealer isn't going to lie for you unless they're horribly stupid. At best they'll bend the truth, but in large $$ cases BMWNA typically sends an engineer out so it's out of the dealer's hands anyway.
(4.) To invoke the MM act you have to get to court - and that'll take years
2-3 years or longer. If BMWNA denies you warranty work and you think it's not fair, then your only recourse is to sue, and that's going to be very difficult and expensive. This is because BMWNA has lots of lawyers and they will ask for delays and continuances since that's super cheap for them and massively expensive for you. And that's mostly because you have to pay for attorneys if you're not representing yourself and you have to let your car sit idle as it's the evidence in your case.
(5.) Your odds of winning your warranty denial court case are zero.
This is because even if we assume you make it to court - and the judge doesn't immediately reject your claim due to adding extra shit onto your car - BMW will have the engineers who designed the car / engine / software providing reams of expert testimony about why you're a dipshit whereas you will have nothing.
So, no, the MM Act doesn't protect you from adding non-certified parts to your car.
Please stop passing around this bogus information.