Ferrari Mailing List: Re: FNA Notice to Dealers

[Dennis Liu (bigheaddennis]

Yep, the letter is not artfully drafted, and it's certainly easy enough to
misconstrue, or in the worst interpretation, be read to threaten an overall
void-in of the car's warranty (which is a violation of Magnuson Moss).  BUT,
if you boil it down, the letter doesn't quite do that.  He writes:

>Any dealer fitting any non-genuine parts or accessory on a Ferrari that is
under warranty will be held responsible for all consequential repair costs
for that car for the remainder of the warranty period and Ferrari will also
hold dealer responsible for any other related liabilities, e.g., accidents,
personal and property damage, etc."

The key term is "consequential", which has a specific legal meaning, but
also means "flowing from".  Which is what Magnusson-Moss states; the
manufacturer can decline warranty coverage if it can demonstrate that the
problem flows from the aftermarket part.  So the letter, on its face, states
that the dealer will be held responsible for repairs that flow from
aftermarket modifications that cause the problem.

Again, the letter is not artfully drafted (from a legal point of view), but
the point of it is just to make clear to the dealers what FNA's position is.
It does not change FNA's liability under Magnusson-Moss.

Vty,

--Dennis


________________________________

From: Jim Brown [mailto:barchetta [at] verizon.net] 
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 2:43 PM
To: BigHeadDennis [at] gmail.com
Cc: 'The FerrariList'
Subject: RE: [Ferrari] FNA Notice to Dealers


I understand what you are saying. Maybe I misinterpreted. 
 
It seems to me the flavor of the message is to discourage by declining
warranty work because they have interpreted some sort of trending to
indicate that if you do "THIS" we will not cover it. Period! 
 
So in essence you're SOL before any real diagnosis is done to confirm that
YES your CEL was directly related to your installation of an aftermarket
exhaust. So say you have a faulty ECU from the factory (this never happens,
right? :-)) and it's failure just so happens to coincide with you installing
an aftermarket exhaust, you're screwed even though that wasn't the cause... 
 
As far as ECU flashing, I've actually been in that very situation. But I was
allowed to reinstall the OEM part before filing a warranty claim..... I
guess it depends on the comfort level of the dealer. I also guess they have
to take a hard line somewhere.
 
Jim

Dennis Liu <bigheaddennis [at] gmail.com> wrote:

        You're right about Magnusson-Moss, but that's actually what the
letter from
        FNA is addressing. In effect, if a modification causes a problem,
then FNA
        is going to decline to pick it up. The letter is notice to
dealerships of
        that. 
        
        Now, trying to be objective about it, and noting that FNA has, in
the past,
        been a complete scrooge on some warranty claims, I have to mostly
agree with
        FNA's position here.
        
        If an owner has aftermarket modifications done to the car, ***AND***
those
        modifications ***CAUSE*** a problem, then why should the
manufacturer be on
        the hook for something? Jim, FNA isn't saying, "change the exhaust
and
        we'll void the entire warranty", or even "change the exhaust and
we'll
        decline to cover damage to the transmission." They are saying,
"change the
        exhaust, and we'll decline to cover your labor charges to reset the
CEL and
        any consequential damage, such as catalyst failure." Now, it's still
        incumbent on FNA to show that the aftermarket exhaust caused the
damage, but
        it's hardly unreasonable to think that an aftermarket exhaust and
engine ECU
        mapping *can* cause a CEL illumination or other adverse effects.
        
        Vty,
        
        --Dennis
        
        -----Original Message-----
        From: Jim and Cheryl Brown [mailto:barchetta [at] verizon.net] 
        Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 1:19 PM
        To: Dennis Liu
        Cc: The FerrariList
        Subject: Re: [Ferrari] FNA Notice to Dealers
        
        Looks like Ferrari is jumping on the bandwagon that so many other
        manufacturers have joined. The magnusson-moss act I thought was
pretty clear
        about proof that a specific mod only affects a specific
system/component and
        not the whole car?
        
        I suppose tracking your ferrari will void the warranty next? If this
        isn't the case already.
        
        JB
        
        Ric Rainbolt wrote:
        
        FYI....
        
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
        ------------------------------------
        
        To all parts managers,
        
        Re: Use of Non-Genuine Aftermarket Parts
        
        
        Following an increasing number of vehicle failures and customer
complaints
        concerning the fitting of non-genuine aftermarket components, I wish
to
        bring your urgent attention to some of the possible consequences.
        
        FNA has observed more and more dealers becoming involved with the
fitting of
        non-genuine aftermarket exhausts, different specification
non-genuine
        wheels, Engine ECU "chipping" (i.e. re-programming), seat
modifications,
        steering wheel changes and suspension ride height adjustments to
name a few.
        Each of these has the potential not only to void a customer's
warranty, but
        could also result in the dealer being held liable for possible
product
        related issues.
        
        Examples of such potential problems include loss of airbag due to
steering
        wheel replacement. Engine failure or malfunction, check engine light
        illumination, damaged catalytic converters, due to engine ECU
reprogramming
        and or the fitting of non genuine aftermarket exhausts. Suspension
failure
        caused by the fitting of different specification non-genuine wheels.
Fender
        damage, uneven tire wear and handling issues caused by changing ride
        heights. These are just a few examples...the list goes on.
        
        As we have communicated to you previously. these modifications are
strictly
        against Ferrari policy for cars under warranty. I am astounded that
a dealer
        would carry out any of these modifications on any car of any age as
the
        potential loss certainly outweighs the short term gain. The vehicles
        warranty book clearly states " The limited warranty does not cover
misuse,
        negligence, overloading, or any type of modifications."
        
        The issue of exhaust systems is becoming more common since model
year 05
        cars have even more stringent emissions requirements and the
threshold for
        setting errors is very low. We have cases showing (e.g. 4 Tubi
systems in
        California last week alone) that with any exhaust modification, an
error can
        be set in the engine management system and a check engine light will
be
        visible on the instrument cluster. The long term effects include,
but are
        not limited to, excessive engine heat, catalyst failure, incorrect
air/fuel
        mixture, and possible engine failure.
        
        This practice must stop immediately. Any dealer fitting any
non-genuine
        parts or accessory on a Ferrari that is under warranty will be held
        responsible for all consequential repair costs for that car for the
        remainder of the warranty period and Ferrari will also hold dealer
        responsible for any other related liabilities, e.g., accidents,
personal and
        property damage, etc.
        
        Sincerely
        
        
        V.P. Technical Services
        FNA
        
        
        Director, Parts & Accesories Operations
        FNA
        
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