Modding brand new cars?

[jeffmorris1956]

Are people allowed to mod brand new cars such as adding turbochargers, superchargers, replacing stock parts with aftermarket parts, etc? I thought that modding a brand new car will void the warranty and will fail inspection. I have been watching "Engine Power" TV show.

[shorod]

People are allowed to modify their brand new cars, but yes, it can void the warranty. Technically, a warranty claim should only be denied if the modification likely caused the issue at the root of the warranty claim. As you might imagine though, that can be pretty difficult to prove from either side. For example, let's say you installed a supercharger on your new car that's still under warranty. Five thousand miles later the rear universal joint fails, which should be covered under the drivetrain warranty. The dealership and Corporate refuse the warranty repair, claiming that the addition of the forced induction contributed to the premature wear and failure of the joint. How can you or the dealership prove one way or the other? However, if all that had been added was a cold air intake and no aftermarket forced induction, you would be in a much better position to claim that very slight power increase at high engine speeds could accelerate wear on a u-joint.

The general rule of thumb is that if you choose to modify a vehicle while still under warranty, you should also plan to have no warranty coverage. If you plan to modify your vehicle you may be better off to buy a slightly used vehicle that is just outside of warranty, saving money on the purchase price, make your mods, and hang on to the money you saved to make repairs as needed.

-Rod

[jeffmorris1956]

In 1970s, there were "gasoline shortages", high prices for gasoline, and high prices for auto insurance for some cars. In some countries like Japan, the bigger the car and/or the engine, you'll have to pay higher taxes. I don't know why people mod their cars so that they can take off like a rocket when the light turns green.