[Monsieur_G]

Can you take your car in for service with an after market catless downpipe installed, or will that void the warranty?

[B_Rice]

It depends on how cool your SA is.

[Luminous]

Originally Posted by Monsieur_G

Can you take your car in for service with an after market catless downpipe installed, or will that void the warranty?

Yea just be totally upfront with your SA and ask them before hand. Ideally you should ask around for a referral for a mod friendly SA. The key is to be upfront so they can make sure a mod friendly tech will work on your car and not flag your vin.

[Monsieur_G]

Originally Posted by Luminous

Yea just be totally upfront with your SA and ask them before hand. Ideally you should ask around for a referral for a mod friendly SA. The key is to be upfront so they can make sure a mod friendly tech will work on your car and not flag your vin.

Thanks a lot, that was very helpful. I'll check this weekend. Do you have a DP in mind?

[BEM-S4]

Check for a dealer w Dinan in house. They tend to be more friendly towards this stuff.

[RoundelM3]

OK - one more time - aftermarket mods do not "void the warranty". If you have an issue/problem that could be related to the aftermarket part, the repair may not be covered by the car's warranty. Otherwise, if you have an electrical problem (for instance), the downpipe won't be cause for denial of coverage. Same would go for suspension or anything not related to the turbo or exhaust system.

That said, doing a modification like that on a lease car is not a great idea, unless you plan to buy it after the lease is up. For sure, you will need to reinstall the OEM downpipe and any other removed/replaced OEM equipment, including runflat tires, at lease turn-in.

[Fabspeed Motorsport]

Hot note:

This is a lease

[Monsieur_G]

Appreciate it fellows.

[mike@x-ph.com]

We plan on going FBO on our next shop leased car this summer.

As long as you return the car the same way you got it, they should be fine with it.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Monsieur_G

Can you take your car in for service with an after market catless downpipe installed, or will that void the warranty?

One more thing to consider: if you install a catless downpipe, you're technically making your car illegal to operate on public roads in the U.S. This is a federal law that's effectively patrolled by each state's inspection system.

While you may very well find a mod-friendly dealer to have your car serviced, it will almost certainly not do state inspections on your car -- you will need to find another place to have that done quasi-legally.

That the car is a lease introduces another wrinkle: your lease agreement. Read it carefully. On many, if you alter your car in any way to make it either illegal for intended use or operable as a race-only car -- which, to an agency, a downpipe would certainly be a sign of, whether it's intended or not -- it could void your lease agreement immediately and put you on the hook for the term balance and other penalties.

I really, really would think twice.

[Dylan86]

This is why I bought as opposed to leasing, this time around. Went through a battle with VW already on our last car, which was leased. You're modding THEIR car, it's not your to mod (in their eyes).

I would do it, but only if the dealer was good with it, otherwise I'd take my oil changes elsewhere to avoid issues. Warranty work? If it HAD to go back, I'd put it back to stock form (take intake, DP, tune out etc) and have no worries. Yea that's a bit of a headache, but safe. If you return a leased car, that's flagged as modified, you can end up being forced to buy out the car, or sued.

[rich8566]

Originally Posted by Monsieur_G

Can you take your car in for service with an after market catless downpipe installed, or will that void the warranty?

Don't do this on a leased car. Not now, not ever, unless you buy the car. At that point, have at it, and since you own it, you also own the good, the bad and they ugly.

[Monsieur_G]

Originally Posted by Dylan86

This is why I bought as opposed to leasing, this time around. Went through a battle with VW already on our last car, which was leased. You're modding THEIR car, it's not your to mod (in their eyes).

I would do it, but only if the dealer was good with it, otherwise I'd take my oil changes elsewhere to avoid issues. Warranty work? If it HAD to go back, I'd put it back to stock form (take intake, DP, tune out etc) and have no worries. Yea that's a bit of a headache, but safe. If you return a leased car, that's flagged as modified, you can end up being forced to buy out the car, or sued.

I appreciate the advice, I definitely don't want to be forced to buy it or get sued for that matter.