I haven't taken my MCS to the track, but there's a SOLO event coming up in the area this week. In looking at the warranty info in the manual under "Exclusions From Coverage" it lists 'Vehicles used in competitive events'.

So will driving my MINI in an SCCA event void my warranty?

 

jascooper,

Hmmm... It would seem to me that what BMW/MINI doesn't know won't hurt them.

Only name, rank, and serial number!

 

Since my local dealer has car(s) there, they would know.

 

Probably not the best idea if you want to be safe then I'd think. If you do any events people try to cover their butts by blocking out the VIN and remove license plates.

 

They are probably not going to care.

If it matters to you and you want to be weird about it, cover up the VIN number and remove the license plate for the event.

edit: great minds think alike, eVal. . .

 

I have no idea which dealers care enough to check up on but have heard enough issues from people with all kinds of cars that it seems like a good idea to be as stealthy as possible. I've never taken the car to any events myself so I can't attest to any of it personally - I'm sure more experienced NAMers like Yucca Patrol will chime in with the best advice

 

My best advice is usually to play dumb, so others even more experienced than myself might have better ideas.

Solo events in a stock car are not really what the dealers are worried about. They don't want you using the warranty and their mechanics as your personal pit crew for your racing season.

 

Just my 2 cents, but if a company markets a vehicle as a small sporty car that is great in the turns then they should not get too upset if you go out to a parking lot full of cones and to see how fast you can drive around them.

 

Also, the term 'Vehicles used in competitive events' is too vague to be legally enforceable. After all, if you enter your car in a car show where prizes are awarded, that's a "competitive event". "Street rallies" or "poker runs" are competitive events as well, even though they take place on public streets at normal, legal speeds and conditions.

Also, that sentence doesn't make it clear whether the car is only excluded from warranty claims resulting from the participation in the competitive event, or if simply competing once causes your warranty to be immediately and permanently canceled.

If you autocross your car once in 2007, and file a warranty claim in 2009 for peeling paint, I think MINIUSA would have a hard time legally denying the warranty claim based on your one-time participation in a "competitive event".

 

The Company's only purpose is to get you to give them money

 

I highly doubt your dealer is examining other MINI's at the event and taking note of the VIN, Color, License Plate #, etc to report to MINIUSA at a later date. They're there for the same reason you are, to have fun.

The Magnuson-Moss Act explicitly forbids a manufacturer from voiding a warranty unless they can prove that the part in question (Or in this case the specific action of driving your car in a "competition") was the cause of the damage to the part in question. They can't just paint a broad brush and void your warranty in it's entirty simply because you track your car.

They also have no way of proving beyond reasonable doubt that you track your car. Even a picture of you on the track in your car isn't "proof". There are quite a few MINI's with the same color combination I’m sure. As others have said, "Competition" isn't specific enough to be legally viable.

Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson-Moss_Warranty_Act

 

Ummmm....no? It even says in the act " unless the exclusion or limitation conspicuously appears on the face of the warranty"

And maybe things have changed....but my 2002 owners manual blatantly listed competition driving in the list of no-no's for the warranty.

But with that said....i highly doubt they will care. The only way i could see them giving you any trouble was if you hit a curb and then tried taking it in for suspension problems or something.

 

This all may be true, but from experience (because of other things, not competitive events) I can tell you that once service decides against something for whatever reason it is a very difficult road to hoe, and with that phrase in the manual they do have a leg to stand on when it comes to reasoning for denial of warranty coverage on a repair if you do participate in auto events. Of course things unrelated to mechanical connections to what they could blame on competitive event wear and tear, or the "driven too hard" rationale (and yes, I have heard that one being discussed) like paint would not apply by any logic I'd think.

Of course if you have the money you can fight/sue them when it comes to warranty repair decisions but that is beyond most of us and they know it. All in all though I know plenty of people here seem to enjoy taking part in things and do not have problems so it is doable.

PS: I do agree that the way they advertise these cars and others is misleading in that it looks like they are endorsing utilizing and experiencing the car's abilities and even taking part in events; however it really does not reflect the reality of how they handle service and view real usage of the cars.

 

Fwiw, there have been cases of this exact thing happening - I think the one I heard about was Subaru or Mitsubishi. Warranty repairs cost the companies a lot of money, I wouldn't put it past any of them honestly which is why it seems better to cya and the VIN/plates then not.

 

The below is a great idea. I currently drive a 2005 dodge srt-4 and had heard of dodge buying registration information from events and then sending owners a 'no more warranty' letter in the mail!!!!

 

The Magnuson-Moss act has been beat to death on many a forum.

What it comes down to would be you (one poor person) VS. BMW with a laundry list of well paid lawyers. Good luck with that.

Short story. Buy some cardboard and a roll of tape when you go to a competitive event involving 'excessive use' of your car.

 

I heard this too. It was Mitsu (specifically when the EVO IX came out)

 

no big worries I don't think. It was mitsubishi that used autocross registration against an owner once (it was an evo owner, one who had blown his motor with one too many drag launches). If you read the case, it sounds like the guy abused the car, autocross was just an easy way to DOCUMENT his abuse, despite the fact that it wasn't actually the autocross that killed it. If you aren't abusing your car, I wouldn't worry about it.

Also worth noting, BMW (as well as many other car companies, Honda, Ford, GM, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru) pays contingency prizes to class winners in solo, something that mitsubishi does not do. I've never bothered to try and hide myself at an event, and we've run our cars at autocross fro 2 years with no issues.

I really don't see how the magnusson moss act comes into play here. We're not talking about modifications (which is what that act covers), we're talking about "excessive use", something that a dealer most definitely CAN deny warranty claims for.

 

Just tell them it is a High Performance Drivers Education day. Register under an assumed name and list your car as something else, for the record.

 

Or open a secret(from your significant other) Orange savings account with ING and drop a few dollars in there every month for your emergency racing expenses. It adds ups, really. Not like you're gonna break your brand new car every month.

 

I just placed an order for an 07 MCS for the purpose of autocrossing. When at the dealer, I asked them if this sort of activity was discouraged. Their response was "Everyone here autocrosses in our leased MCS, make sure to send us pictures if you win, and to make sure to buy the extended maintenance package since you will go through brakes."

 

Just get the pre-approval in writing from the Service manager before you send them anything.. I wouldn't take a casual remark about them using a leased dealer car as tacit agreement they will cover warranty issues they could potentially blame on strenuous use (like a transmission problem, or suspension for instance) from auto crossing or whatnot. I've heard BMW trying to avoid warranty repair coverage with the speculation the car might have been aggressive driven on the street even - so on top of the things I've been told and gone though I know that there is a chance they will look for an excuse, I wouldn't provide the reason if you want to be careful.

 

Subaru owners like to tape over their plates because Subaru of America is known to have spies shoot photos of license plates at autoX events to deny warranty claims. I think the best policy is "don't ask, don't tell". There's no benefit in giving BMW NA any reasons to deny a warranty claim no matter how track/autoX friendly the dealer seems.

 

There is no general rule of thumb. In some areas dealers look for any reason to deny claims, in other areas you have dealers that sponsor and invite their customers to actively participate in track days. I've even seen a dealer do warranty work on a Mini decked out with race seats, a cage, harnesses, timing systems wearing Hoosiers and wrapped in a sponsors logo design that arrived on a trailer.

Mini offers a contingency program in Auto-X. While thats not tact approval it does show that Mini USA is aware that owners will use their Minis in more ways then running back and forth to work. If both you and your SA show a bit of common sense you can both reach a happy medium. When you show up for the 3rd set of brake pads in 20k miles they might look askance at you. The idea is be rational in what you do and take some responsibility for the minor things, show you maintain the vehicle and if a big issue does crop up a decent dealer will work with you.

We all know of certain dealers that no matter the issue will do what they can to beat you down and pay. Thats a fact of the modern automotive buying experience. So in the end join your local Mini Club and see how how others in the area have faired with the dealers in the region.

 

I guess they could... but I doubt it would.

My dealer is fully aware that I've autoXed and tracked the MINI at every possible opportunity. They 've never given me any grief for it... and I've made a couple warranty claims (cam chain tensioner and a few interior & exterior trim issues).