New Car Warranty and Mods Question

[slt]

I'm expecting my new 130 any day now, and I'm not planning to leave it stock-standard for very long. Can I please get some advise on what I can and can't do before I void the new car warranty. Having lived with the staggering 1-year warranty on my '93 110 TDi, I don't want to spoil the 3 years on offer now lol

Things of concern in particular:

- heavier springs & shocks, polyair in the rear
- long range fuel tank (replacement + aux)
- rear air locker
- dual battery

Thanks in advance.

slt

[TimNZ]

You'll need to run it by your dealer, as they will be doing any warranty work. You should be fine with the fuel tank and second battery. If you don't change the ride height you should be fine with changing the springs and shocks. There is not much room to move with the ride height in the front of the puma due to the angle the engine sits on, about 90-93mm bump stop clearance is the max you can go before running into trouble with the front prop uni joint.
As for the rear locker this is a no-no with my dealer, its a pity the 130 doesn't have traction control and abs like the 110. Like I said, you'll have to run it past your dealer, or be prepared to remove any items if they think they are causing problems.

Tim

[scott oz]

If the cause of the fault, the subject warranty claim, is in LR's view attributable to the modification you've done then the onus will be on you to prove it was not the cause.

This can be very difficult and require you to get an expert usually an engineer. It is more difficult if you fit the modified part.

The consumer affairs departments who handle complaints are not likely to accept your view's against LR engineers given LR have the "supposed" advantage of designing the vehicle.

I was there once against a fraudulent motor overhaul done on a jag. The consumer affairs Dep advised that with the complaint we "should" have an engineers report on the motor which required it to be taken out & stripped down, spent $1,500 BUT won the case.

[Bigbjorn]

If I was a manufacturer, I would be warranting what I sold you. Any warranty after you had modified the vehicle or not had it serviced by my authorised dealers would be on the basis of UFI-UFI. This may not be the legal position as decided by the social engineers in our courts, but it is the moral position. I am old enough to remember 6 weeks-2000miles warranty and was in the industry when brands desperate for sales introduced 12 months-5000 miles warranty to the horror of all others. You have bought a complicated piece of machinery designed by accountants, assembled by third world illegal immigrants on minimum wage. What did you expect?

[dmdigital]

Don't know about the Polyair, but if you put HD Land Rover springs in you'll still be covered in that department. The LR ones are also fairly cheap to buy.

My dealer fitted a Traxide dual battery system so that wasn't an issue for me.

Best of discussing it with them.

[Blknight.aus]

do what I did, get all the mods done pre delivery and then the mods are covered by warranty.

[Allan]

Things NOT to modify in any way or LR will not pay if there is any problem found with your vehicle following the changes.
1. Diff, do not fit an airlocker. If the diff dies you will be responsible for the cost, these diffs are known to die.
2. Suspension - do not lift the vehicle or change the shock absorbers as any noise, vibration etc will be blamed on these modifications and they will suggest that you take it back to whoever did the modifications to see if they can source the problem.
3. Do not change the wheel size or offset. If there is any problems with oil leaks at the swival housings or bearing failure it will be blamed on your wheels.
4. Do not change the tyre size because LR will also blame you for your choice of tyre size as the cause of any problem.

All of this information has been gained first hand. It appears that the only mods you can safely get away with is a winch, bar, dual battery and possible snorkel. When I had problems with my vehicle, the dealer had to fax LR Australia telling them what mods I had done before they could carry out any warranty work. The dealer has since told me that LR are currently highly vigilant of any modifications so PLEASE tread carefully.

Allan

[BigJon]

- heavier springs & shocks, polyair in the rear
- long range fuel tank (replacement + aux)
- rear air locker
- dual battery

1: Possible problems with front propshaft. Also any body cracking, chassis cracking, etc blamed on aftermarket springs / dampers.

2: Any fuel system failure (pump, injectors, etc) will be blamed on the aftermarket tank (fuel contamination).

3: Failure of axles, uni joints, etc blamed on locker.

4: Shouldn't have an issue.

[SVX37]

I know many of you have posted your comments based on past experiences so I thought I should balance the views on here.

In my experience, it doesn't matter what after market modification is done to the vehicle. Landrover have to prove (and here is the key point) IN WRITING that the modification caused the defect to the car. Once you receive this, you can then take it back to whoever did the modifications as you would then be covered by their warranty.

In addition, it actually comes back to the dealer. I had a series 2 Disco. A few issues happened 6 weeks after warranty expired. One dealer in Melbourne said no can't help me at all. I rang 2 others, same story. Rang another and they told me to bring it to them. They contacted Landrover and had all items covered so the morale of the story is just don't accept their no the first time and don't let them bully or frighten you with the old - "I won't be able action the warranty as you have mods!"

[BigJon]

. Once you receive this, you can then take it back to whoever did the modifications as you would then be covered by their warranty.

I would like to see an aftermarket fuel tank supplier / installer pay for a fuel system overhaul (think big $$) on a late model diesel Land Rover. Parts alone could cost $10 000 or more....