"Your car has been tuned."
-Prove it.

What's their next move?

 

They show you a piece of paper where their tech "confirmed the car has been modified/tuned"

Or not even go that far. Because they know they'll win either way. Even if they're bluffing, by the time you actually prove otherwise, in court, you'll have spent the equivalent of a new engine/transmission/repair

 

Yup.

I knew I was screwed as soon as he walked out to the car and went "Those don't look like the stock wheels and tires"

I should have just said "Thanks, no thanks" and not wasted anymore of my time.

 

Now I need to see if I can wrangle a test drive a Focus RS. I've just read lots of reviews that the ride quality is junk on the road.

But it ticks the boxes for quick, more room, etc.

 

Solution to the problem: don't mod the car til it's out of warranty. Unfortunately the warranty language does explicitly state that modifications void the warranty.

You are being an adult about it -- most people would throw a tantrum and refuse to accept that they gambled and lost.

Still frustrating.

 

"If there isn't a solution, there isn't a problem."

But now I know the entire drivetrain no longer has a warranty. Hence the desire to get rid of it pronto.

Also read on a different forum Ford isn't allowing any test drives of the RS. Not even salesmen are allowed to drive them apparently. That's a tough proposition to drop $40k on a car without being able to drive it.

 

Depends where you go. Girlfriend bought her CMax used from a Ford dealer and they let me, 21 year old drive it around their couple mile loop. And the mustang GT. I'll attest to the "rides like a ******* F350 King Ranch towing package with no trailer."

Edit: Maybe it was different because we were actively buying a car from them at the time.

 

A big part of the reason I don't own an S2000 is that back when they were new the Honda dealers weren't letting anyone test-drive them. It's bizarre, Porsche has no problems with test drives on cars that cost three times that much.

--Ian

 

That's the other reason why I don't own an ST. Local Ford dealer told me they were required to do a credit check on me before they would let me test drive one, you know, to make sure I could buy one. ************, do you see this bald spot? Of course I have credit, don't insult me.

So I went to a different dealer

 

That was super dumb about ST's. It's like "OHMYGOD A SMALL CAR WITH MORE THAN 200 HP better have your racing license to take a test drive"

meanwhile you walk into the VW dealership and ask to drive a GTI and they toss you the keys without batting an eye, cuz it's nothing new.

 

I dunno, I mean I get it, they probably had a bunch of dumbass kids in there thinking they were going to joyride the thing because it was OMGNEW! but its fairly obvious I'm not some 20yo jackass.

Agreed. Test drove several GTIs as well. Zero ***** given by the sales guys and dealers.

 

he walked into my garage, and was treated with the service and respect he deserves

including the test drive and the dozen stalled attempts

 

Yeah, I walked into the Porsche dealer, balding, middle-aged, and fat. No questions, no credit check -- I *am* their target market.

(That said, I didn't buy one).

--Ian

 

I am a jackass and have always gotten test drives without that bullshit.

 

I'd contact SOA just for the hell of it. You have nothing to lose.

 

...except time

As soon as the word "modification" enters into any of the conversations, said conversations are just useless wastes of time from that point on. SOA will brush you off even faster than most dealerships in those cases.

But if you're bored.......

 

I don't know. If he isn't a dick to them and explains what happened, didn't install crazy power adders, etc... they might throw him a bone or discount a new trans if that's what it takes.

I'm not sure what the process entails, but he can always stop once it looks to be fruitless. I've seen SOA do things that totally didn't make sense to me because of how obviously someone modified a car. They do give folks a break sometimes, fwiw.

 

Welp, you would know these things, so we'll defer to your expertise.

Tell us more about your personal 1st hand experience with SOA..............
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SOA paid for my leaky fuel rail, even though the TSB didn't apply to my year of WRX, and I was way out of the warranty period anyway.
Agreed with they do give people breaks once in a while. This was after arguing with another dealership for a week. Took it to a different dealer and they told me "call SOA they might actually pay for it".

 

Kinda different considering your issue coulda killed you, and there is a specific recall for that part being potentially dangerous/deadly.