...Or end users that are unrealistic in their expectations. Have you ever considered that aftermarket performance products are always going to be a risk? If they weren't risky, they wouldn't be aftermarket but rather factory supplied.

 

dealers are promoting aftermarket performance products. Do they ever say there is any risk to your engine? Look at SEMA thread recently regarding GM or ones about DC SRT. Everybody wants into "tuner" game. If these manufacturers are "selling performance" they should logically expect customers to modify/customize their vehicles. Can't have it both ways---sell their own aftermarket performance products--then deny warranty claims. Obviously there are limits,but who can you trust to tell us specifically what "safe limits" can be reached? Manufacturers don't, dealers don't/don't know, or even problems with tuners' chips. All use advertisements showing "racing" scenarios and then deny warranties for racing. Most of us maintain our vehicles exceptionally well and want to keep performance enhancements safe. We just don't seem to have reliable info saying what those safe limits are!

 

You folks with the "holier than thou" responses should consider that the costs for warranty claims are already included in the price you paid for your truck. Ford is going to cover all costs in the sale price of a specialty vehicle and make a profit or they'd discontinue the vehicle, end of story. The money is already there and that's one reason why the Magnussen (sp) Act puts the burden of proof on the manufacturer to prove an aftermarket part caused the warranty claim. It's all a big actuarial game for the manufacturers. The money not paid out in warranty work goes towards profit.

 

Just gettin in a post before the moderator gives this on the the 'ol heave ho!

 

CYNTAXX - I think you are missing the point. This is not about holding the aftermarket responsible for their parts (which I think they should be) it is about holding OEM's responsible for parts that they did not put on the car or authorize or test to be put on the car.

There is an occasionaly dealer who will sell chips and warrant them. This is also wrong, because it is the OEM that ends up paying, not the dealer. In this case the dealer is wrong, not the customer. The dealer should not have sold/installed the chip, unless they are willing to swallow the cost themselves when something goes wrong.

Also, this debate has nothing to do with cracked foglights or misaligned bumpers. Those things are obviously the manufacturers fault, and should be fixed under warranty. I don't think anyone at any point said anything to the contrary. We are talking about damage that occurs to the vehicle as the result of modifications to it (by the customer) that can substantially change the performance of the vehicle (such as a chip or pulley). The cars are NOT designed for this nor are they tested for it nor are there any claims made by the OEM that you can do this, therefore, why should they be liable?

Unclemole - Your statement is not true at all. Look at the Focus. Ford loses money on every single one they sell. Because of the limited production and the enormous cost to manufacture and test (many many many times over) a new vehicle such as the lightning, the OEM's do not generate as much profit as you would think (if any). The dealers (who do nothing but stick it on their lot) are the ones that reap all the profits off of these specialty vehicles. These vehicles serve the purpose primarily of "polishing the blue oval". They are Halo vehicles for the brand.

 

You guys are dreaming if you expect to get a details card with your chip... The tuners are paranoid that the competition will learn anything new from them...

In some cases the Tuners are reading each others chips to learn how X got Y performance.... They would also worry that Customer x would bring tuners chip and card to them saying my your chip JUST like this BUT add more Z to make it faster.

While I agree that it would be helpful for the end user I doubt you will see it anytime soon...

Doug

 

95 Saleen- Man, where's that BS flag when you need it? I'm sure your opinion would come as a big suprise to SVT and Bill Ford. Guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

My fault.
The BS flag is at the cleaners.
It had BS all over it.
Been getting a real work out the past few days.

 

Here Raoul you can use the meter. It also has been getting a workout lately but it still works

 

Are you calling BS on the fact that Ford...and other OEM's lose money on certain cars?

HA HA HA

Do your research. It's a fact, not an opinion.

 

My portfolio tells me Ford lost money on every car last year.

 

He he...well...no not really. They realized profit on vehicles but a number of other expenses (::cough firestone cough:: and one-time write off's caused profits to go bye bye.

In general the big 3 lose money on their small cars and subsidise those losses through large profits on their truck and SUV's.

 

95 Saleen, am I right in assuming you are talking about only SVT vehicles, and not FoMoCo vehicles in general? please clarify/elaborate.

LMAO Raoul and JeffsLightning. my BS flag is clean and ready to go but i can't figure out how to post it!

 

I am talking about big 3 vehicles in general, not SVT. But there are issues with SVT as well.

The problem with specialty vehicles like SVT's is that they still have all the high development costs associated with a new model, but they have very small volumes, which makes it difficult to break even or see a profit. Building an vehicle like an SVT for an OEM isn't as simple as throwing some aftermarket parts on it and sending it out the door. It needs to go through grueling amounts of testing (since the Lightning was a truck, it still had to go through some off-road durability testing, as ridiculous as that sounds) not to mention all the government mandated tests, plus the vehicles have to meet emissions and safety regulations. It's not like building a car on your own, or even like going to a tuner like Kenny brown or something. There is an enormous amount of costs associated with it when you are an OEM. This is why it is quite a challange.

SVT claims that they have recently been able to turn a profit, so that is a good thing. However abusing the warranty program, assuming that they price that in for you to do..is BS. Unfortunately, I left my BS flag in the back of the truck and it blew away at about 120mph.

 

LOL, and thanks for the info man.