| Author | Message | ||
     Geoffg |
Just a quick question, my dealer tells me that the warranty on a new Buell will be voided if I do not use H-D brand oil. Is this true? Seems kinda silly, since H-D simply packages someone else's oil anyways. Or is the dealer simply trying to sell me oil? | ||
| 420at145mph |
sounds like bullshite to me | ||
| M1combat |
Do a search... There's a LOT of info on this site about that exact issue. IMO people are told that by dealers who are punks (to put it nicely). You CAN do YOUR OWN maintenance on your bike w/o voiding your warranty. I believe it was the Magnussen Moss act that set the precedent. If you DO your own maintenance be CERTAIN to keep ALL records. Also... Don't take MY word for it  . | ||
| Ingemar |
The issue has been brought up many times on another forum I am with (sportsters, my previous bike). M1combat is right about The Magnussen-Moss act. Do a search in google and you'll find all about it. If the dealer believes they can void warranty, let them put it in writing and bring up the Magnussen-Moss act. And watch their faces... Everything in the user manual is stuff you can do yourself without voiding warranty, provided you have the right tools and skills to do so. My Buell user manual (and I say mine because it appears the US manual is different) does not explicitly say I need HD oil. In fact, it neatly lists the grades etc, but recommends HD oil. Almost all hd dealers here sell other brands oil besides HD oil. Hope that helps, Ingemar. | ||
| Geoffg |
Thanks, guys. I've always done all my own maintenance on all my vehicles, and never worried about voiding warranties (of course, most of my vehicles are far past warranty anyways)--seems that as long as I use good-quality stuff and do the work correctly (unlike many dealers on both counts), there should be no problems. | ||
| P0p0k0pf |
From my experience with warranties, the law states that OEM maintenance items must be provided free of charge if no aftermarket replacement can be used without voiding a warranty. IE: if you have to use a Ford air filter in your Ford, the dealership has to provided it free of charge. Of course, aftermarket items with insufficient specs or ratings are different. IE pumping regular gas into a car requiring premium, or using crappy oil. | ||
| Dyna |
the law states that OEM maintenance items must be provided free of charge if no aftermarket replacement can be used without voiding a warranty Correct, so I would use that law & the dealerships statement to get free lifetime oil changes  | ||
| Jasonxb12s |
What are they gonna do? Taste your oil? Put chocolate syrup in the beeatch... | ||
| Geoffg |
Jason, what they told me is just that I have to be able to show receipts for the oil--see, they really just want me to buy the stuff, they don't really care what I do with it! Personally, I think it's BS, but I'll cross that bridge when I get down to it. | ||
| P0p0k0pf |
S-c-a-m If it really affected your warranty, they'd use a method to prove the oil is HD. Receipts don't. I bet Buell Customer Svc. would love to know that tidbit of info.... | ||
| Whodom |
You can find LOTS of info on this on the internet. As I understand it, the gist of the Magnussen-Moss Act is this: if any vehicle manufacturer requires you to use ONLY their parts/oil/etc. or their warranty is void, then they are required to provide you with these items during the warranty period AT NO CHARGE. I've seen a lot of posts on the net about H-D dealers pulling this crap, especially back before H-D changed their position on whether synthetic was bad or good. I found the act quoted on a Ford diesel website: (this is a U.S. law by the way) The Magnusson Moss provisions are contained in Title 15 US Code Chapter 50 Section 2302 (c): "(c) No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer's using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade, or corporate name; except that the prohibition of this subsection may be waived by the Commission if - (1) the warrantor satisfies the Commission that the warranted product will function properly only if the article or service so identified is used in connection with the warranted product, and (2) the Commission finds that such a waiver is in the public interest." The above section prohibits a warrantor from requiring use of purchased parts from the same source as the original equipment or some other specified source . It allows use of aftermarket purchased parts from other sources unless the Federal Trade Commission has granted to the warrantor a waiver of this section of the law. edited by whodom on May 28, 2004 | ||
| Fullpower |
A warranty can not be voided on the basis of the brand name of parts and lubricants. To suggest otherwise is unethical and and contrary to the Magnuson-Moss warranty act. That is a federal law spelling out the consumers rights and the manufacturers responsibilities. find a new dealership to spend your money in.... dean |
