A little trick that a local rider's wife(who happens to be a civil lawyer)told us a few years back was that 99 out of 100 times if a consumer just files the $25 dollar lawsuit with a local court to have served to the dealership, the dealership ended up settling out of court to have the item "covered" under the warrenty at no charge to the consumer. The thing is, many times it cost the dealership even more money to defend its case than to just replace the part or parts in question.

So if you got an issue with a dealership who is being stubborn on a potential warrenty issue, spend the $25 to file the case in court. The dealership isnt going to like paying the bill for the warrenty defense. Its alot cheaper to pay a $10 per hour mechanic and their cost for parts, than it is for a $250 or more per hour defense lawyer, plus any possible negative publicity.

 

Not only that, but under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, if a dealer is found guilty of breech of warranty, it is a violation of federal law. Because of this, the courts generally reward the consumer with attorney fees and court costs. Here are a couple of copy and pastes from a page explaining the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

"Tie-In Sales" Provisions
Generally, tie-in sales provisions are not allowed. Such a provision would require a purchaser of the warranted product to buy an item or service from a particular company to use with the warranted product in order to be eligible to receive a remedy under the warranty.

Consumer Lawsuits
The Act makes it easier for purchasers to sue for breach of warranty by making breach of warranty a violation of federal law, and by allowing consumers to recover court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. This means that if you lose a lawsuit for breach of either a written or an implied warranty, you may have to pay the customer's costs for bringing the suit, including lawyer's fees.


There are certain cases where the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act doesn't protect you. One is if the item you added to the bike is a cause for the failure - say you add a PCIII, it fails and you burn a valve. They don't have to cover you. The other is where things are expressly forbidden in warranty itself, such as competition. If you run your bike down at the local drag races each week, then, (if the warranty specifically prohibits competition and off-road use), they aren't liable if the motor chunks a rod. Another is reasonable maintanence - if you ride the bike 20,000 and never service it, you're out of luck. So keep your receipts.

Read your warranty and see what it specifically prohibits. Anything else is ok.... as long as you've got the time and cash to defend your rights.

Link to the act http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/h...0_50.html#PC50

 

Convo is going deep here. When I recently purchased my 06 Deuce, I was giving the warm and fuzzy dealer tour, which included a stop at the friendly service dept. Those nice guys were trying to sell me on a stage I & II and told me its covered under warrenty.

 

Here's another place to get a quick take on warranty stuff. It's the SEMA organization; members are aftermarket parts manufacturers.
http://www.sema.org/main/semaorghome.aspx?ID=50096

 

Yep. I recently received a flyer in the mail offering "a special winter sale on Stage I and Stage II upgrades" from the dealer. You know, someone will eventually file a class action lawsuit against HD for these warranty threats. It would be easy money for a lawyer.