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Factory Warranty And Track Days


Barny

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Hi peeps, ive read that some have damaged their engines on the track in their meganes. Not sure if they had theirs tuned or standard.

I'm looking into buying a 265cup premuim early in new year.

 

If your engine dies or blows up whilst attending a driver training day, or a club sprint day, will the factory warranty still cover you?

I've never had an issue with BMW cars as I've had excellent rapport with the dealership and if anything ever was to happen on track they would take care of it as long as I had the warranty valid.

 

Other questions I would like to know wether it's a Clio or Megane. How safe are they with tracking them? Do you just run them and service them as per dealership standards, when ever the manual says to service it?

 

Appreciate any feedback, thanks.

Edited by Barny
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Each track/training day is different however I don't like your chances.

I was discussing this with the Autofocus boys: that Renault, despite advertising the 8:08 and 275R Megane III's as 'exactly the same spec as that which set the Ring time blah blah' most very likely won't honour any issues caused on track.

Edited by acrRS250
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The question of warranty is a complicated one. Keep the car in top condition, keep all your servicing up to date, don't drive it at the track every weekend, and you'll have a better chance of having any issues covered. If you're competing I'd expect to void warranty. A driver training or track day might be different.

 

My engine was replaced under warranty after a track day incident and there's nothing in the warranty specifically excluding it. If you would like to read more details, see the Clio III technical section engine failures thread.

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Then there's insurance which may void the policy if ever on the track. Which may be why some tape their plates or remove them altogether so there's no photo evidence.

 

As wade recommends, I change my oil every second track day as preventative maintenance.

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I just spoke to a couple dealerships and then Renault customer care to clarify. Short story, any track day even if it's a driver training day, includes club sprint days, will void the warranty. Even if no failure occurred that day at the track, and something happens later down the time frame of the warranty...the warranty is void. And in the written terms voids all warranty claims......But it will be up to the discretion of Renault whether any claim will be excepted.

 

Now it also comes down to the dealership and rapport you have when em. As they can put the claim through, but in short, you can loose your new car warranty soon as you hit the track.

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Lucky they aren't tracking your location.

 

Oops she threw a rod in the carpark of SMP!

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I just spoke to a couple dealerships and then Renault customer care to clarify. Short story, any track day even if it's a driver training day, includes club sprint days, will void the warranty. Even if no failure occurred that day at the track, and something happens later down the time frame of the warranty...the warranty is void. And in the written terms voids all warranty claims......But it will be up to the discretion of Renault whether any claim will be excepted.

 

Now it also comes down to the dealership and rapport you have when em. As they can put the claim through, but in short, you can loose your new car warranty soon as you hit the track.

As deb said when the Clio 2's were new I was told that there was no problem with warranty.

 

I had quite a bit of stuff replaced under warranty with the dealer being fully aware that I was constantly tracking and competing in the car....... I times they are a changing

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As deb said when the Clio 2's were new I was told that there was no problem with warranty.

I had quite a bit of stuff replaced under warranty with the dealer being fully aware that I was constantly tracking and competing in the car....... I times they are a changing

I find it a little odd that Renault, who takes their fastest front drive car soo seriously at the Nurburgring, and continually advertises how fast and well engineered it is on the track, voids a warranty if you use it in similar circumstances.

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Pretty sure a local dealer told me that the warranty covered track a year or so ago.

Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk

Yes we were told when I purchased without doubt that trackdays wouldn't void the warranty. I would never expect competition to be covered though.

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It's like BMW 4WDs (and probably many others) not being covered for off road use. Check out any SUV ad apart from Toyotas nowadays. If it's up a mountain then it's on a road!

Having said all that, how would they know?

Usually when you do a track sprint day, your name and car is registered which is later published with lap times and track and free for anyone to look up on the net.

But that's not really the point, it's more so, not having the support if something does go wrong if a manufacturers product fails which was designed and engineered for Motorsport. Then having the opportunity to deny the claim if used in that manner.

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Usually when you do a track sprint day, your name and car is registered which is later published with lap times and track and free for anyone to look up on the net.

But that's not really the point, it's more so, not having the support if something does go wrong if a manufacturers product fails which was designed and engineered for Motorsport. Then having the opportunity to deny the claim if used in that manner.

Ah yes, something more than the average track day...

I'm surprised that there's nothing on the Renault website about the details; what is more interesting is that it doesn't stipulate that track use voids it.

I guess to be on the safe side you could call Renault Australia and get them to email you staying yes (if they have said yes!).

But otherwise a second hand modified one from a forum member would be a good choice. Have you seen the classified section?

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Ah yes, something more than the average track day...

I'm surprised that there's nothing on the Renault website about the details; what is more interesting is that it doesn't stipulate that track use voids it.

I guess to be on the safe side you could call Renault Australia and get them to email you staying yes (if they have said yes!).

But otherwise a second hand modified one from a forum member would be a good choice. Have you seen the classified section?

Afternoon, yes had a look at some of the forum cars for sale. One was of interest but has sold already. I've decided I still want a car with warranty and I will purchase through dealership.

I find dealerships always sell for cheaper than private sales and I don't need to get it checked out, no need to worry if the private sale car has been tuned which will void the warranty etc. Also I don't like dealing with dreamers that still believe their car is still worth the new car price they paid over a year ago, no wonder most private cars sit there for months before selling.

Many years ago I bought a wrx private sale, turned out to be a cut and shut job. Only found out when my gearbox blew up, lost my new car warranty. Also had a full racv inspection on it prior to purchase and they never picked up on it. Neither did the mechanics at subaru till they ran some Id numbers.

Edited by Barny
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I asked my dealer this question when purchasing my Trophy R and was told that attending driver training days or club days where the car was driven on a race track wasn't a problem at all.

 

However, if the car was used for "racing" purposes then that was a different matter and any warranty issues would be dealt with on a case by case basis.

 

Obviously if you miss a down change and buzz the motor and it drops a valve or something then you're screwed. But if the satnav craps itself then maybe you'd be ok.

 

Fair and reasonable is the name of the game.

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Hi Guys,

I used to do warranty in a car dealership and the bottom line is your engine's ECU (your engines computer for the hairdressers amongst us ) is recording every second your engine is running and what parameters its doing. We can quickly identify if a vehicle has been abused, tracked or racing and has breached the recommended guidelines such as rpm,gear change, oil level,engine temperature and speed by simply plugging into your cars system. Also if your not using the recommended oil viscosity forget about putting a warranty claim in. Also not supporting your Dealership's service department the warranty officer will not put your case to Renault favorably. DO NOT LISTEN OR BELIEVE WHAT A SALESMAN TELLS YOU OR GIVES YOU IN WRITING! It is not his jurisdiction. And more often than not he no longer works at that Dealership. I have been in the motor trade for 20 years in sales and servicing. and what I am saying is gospel.  :nod:

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Hi Guys,

I used to do warranty in a car dealership and the bottom line is your engine's ECU (your engines computer for the hairdressers amongst us ) is recording every second your engine is running and what parameters its doing. We can quickly identify if a vehicle has been abused, tracked or racing and has breached the recommended guidelines such as rpm,gear change, oil level,engine temperature and speed by simply plugging into your cars system. Also if your not using the recommended oil viscosity forget about putting a warranty claim in. Also not supporting your Dealership's service department the warranty officer will not put your case to Renault favorably. DO NOT LISTEN OR BELIEVE WHAT A SALESMAN TELLS YOU OR GIVES YOU IN WRITING! It is not his jurisdiction. And more often than not he no longer works at that Dealership. I have been in the motor trade for 20 years in sales and servicing. and what I am saying is gospel.  :nod:

Hey rick, can you tell me with your previous experiences and warranty claims. If a customer had tracked their car in a club sprint day or driver training day and something went wrong with the car due to the product failing, not abuse from the driver, would you still cover the issue?

Let's just assume in this example a rod popped out the side of a block, not from bouncing the rev limiter, just product fail.

And would the customer still keep their warranty or voided from then on?

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Hi Guys,

I used to do warranty in a car dealership and the bottom line is your engine's ECU (your engines computer for the hairdressers amongst us ) is recording every second your engine is running and what parameters its doing. We can quickly identify if a vehicle has been abused, tracked or racing and has breached the recommended guidelines such as rpm,gear change, oil level,engine temperature and speed by simply plugging into your cars system. Also if your not using the recommended oil viscosity forget about putting a warranty claim in. Also not supporting your Dealership's service department the warranty officer will not put your case to Renault favorably. DO NOT LISTEN OR BELIEVE WHAT A SALESMAN TELLS YOU OR GIVES YOU IN WRITING! It is not his jurisdiction. And more often than not he no longer works at that Dealership. I have been in the motor trade for 20 years in sales and servicing. and what I am saying is gospel.  :nod:

 

 

Suggesting that not supporting your dealerships service department, won't give you a favourable outcome isn't true. If your car fails away from your normal dealer, Renault will have your car towed to the nearest dealership, no matter what relationship you've built with your normal dealer then goes right out the window.

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Basically...If the vehicle has been taken off a public road your pushing S#&T up a steep hill. just because its a club day it doesn't mean its endorsed by Renault unless they have sponsored the event. Sure they don't mind or any manufacturer mind club days as they are benefiting from the exposure. But when push comes to shove the vehicles are designed for public roads and "normal condition use" not for racing around tracks and sprint days. The advertising arm of any performance vehicle manufacturer sees things differently from the reality of what really goes on. For a rod to pop out of a side of a block the first thing the warranty officer will ask is why? There needs to be a plausible as we call it. The failure will need to be examined and a conclusion then given after the inspection. Usually to either wear,stress,or heat. Poor manufacturing is usually regarded as highly un-likely unless there are a number of similar occurrences that have been recorded by the manufacturer OFFICIALLY. A good example of this is the case against Porsche. Their Boxsters the 986 and early 987 models in particular. The  failure of the IMS bearing leads to a catastrophic engine failure. Where a class action in the U.S lead to Porsche repairing most the engines that imploded due to this bearing failing... Porsche still denies any responsibility that their IMS bearing was at fault due to poor design.

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Off course they tow it under warranty. The Dealership wants the repair work that either Renault or yourself will pay them.

Don't mistake a Renault dealership for Renault. They are usually a franchise retailer. They sell and endorse the product. They don't make the product... Harvey Norman doesn't make Sony Televisions but they sell and endorses the TV. It's not up to Harvey Norman to warrant a Sony Television. it's up to Sony. (This is just an example!) :wink:

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Off course they tow it under warranty. The Dealership wants the repair work that either Renault or yourself will pay them.

Don't mistake a Renault dealership for Renault. They are usually a franchise retailer. They sell and endorse the product. They don't make the product... Harvey Norman doesn't make Sony Televisions but they sell and endorses the TV. It's not up to Harvey Norman to warrant a Sony Television. it's up to Sony. (This is just an example!) :wink:

 

 

But its not towed to your preferred dealership - it's towed to the closest dealership who then do the work.

 

Like others, who have posted here, I've been through the process of having had an engine seize whilst at the track. It was replaced under warranty with no questions asked.

 

I'm not saying that will happen all of the time, however Renault and the dealership were exceptionally good to deal with in my case.

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But its not towed to your preferred dealership - it's towed to the closest dealership who then do the work.

 

Like others, who have posted here, I've been through the process of having had an engine seize whilst at the track. It was replaced under warranty with no questions asked.

 

I'm not saying that will happen all of the time, however Renault and the dealership were exceptionally good to deal with in my case.

Hi daz, that was a good outcome and great to hear it was replaced. May I ask what you told the dealership happened? And what was the problem that caused the engine to seize?

Also perhaps let me know which dealership if worst case happens lol

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See the engine failures thread in the Clio III technical section of the forum. Big end bearing failures are something of an issue in late model 200s and a few of us have had engines replaced after the failure occurred at the track.

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See the engine failures thread in the Clio III technical section of the forum. Big end bearing failures are something of an issue in late model 200s and a few of us have had engines replaced after the failure occurred at the track.

Thanks deb, just read through most of that thread of engine fails. I may have missed it, but it seems all the engine fails are clios (bearing issues) that have failed, and that no one really knows why they failed.

Hopefully it's not as regular with the megane.

I'm actually reconsidering Renault brand for a BMW instead. I don't know anyone from Renault and don't have any rapport with dealers to be able to get things sorted if things fail. Especially as I will be doing track work regularly.

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I've only heard of one Megane engine failure on the track, the dealer that did my engine replacement told me about it, it was also replaced under warranty.

 

As for the bearings, a manufacturing issue affecting the late 200s is generally suspected.

 

I think the key point here is that you're not going to get a guarantee from anyone and you're taking a risk if you track your car. Renault Australia have a track record of being pretty good about warranty work, but it's probably best not to assume that'll be the case if something goes wrong.

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And full of it! They can't not warranty your car for going off a public Rd, driveways are not public roads and they have to warranty there. Also plugging the ecu in wont tell you jack about if I've been on a track or not. You can look at shift points and engine and road speeds until the crown come home but you wouldn't be able to tell. Example, there is a public road in a closed off industrial estate where I work and it is a perfect 3.1km loop, I could and have driven it very very hard for periods of about 15-20 minute stints, as hard as I would on a track and had a failure and you wouldn't know if it were on a track or not. Only way is if it's tracking via factory GPS which would be in breach of privacy laws and the car manufacturer would be in the pickles then.

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Thanks deb, just read through most of that thread of engine fails. I may have missed it, but it seems all the engine fails are clios (bearing issues) that have failed, and that no one really knows why they failed.

Hopefully it's not as regular with the megane.

I'm actually reconsidering Renault brand for a BMW instead. I don't know anyone from Renault and don't have any rapport with dealers to be able to get things sorted if things fail. Especially as I will be doing track work regularly.

Have you had warranty claims from track use honoured by BMW? I think I've mentioned that they refuse to warrant any off road in any of their SUVs so I can't imagine they'd warrant track use for performance cars.

Mind you M division may be a different kettle of fish

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Have you had warranty claims from track use honoured by BMW? I think I've mentioned that they refuse to warrant any off road in any of their SUVs so I can't imagine they'd warrant track use for performance cars.

Mind you M division may be a different kettle of fish

I've had warranty claims sorted with the dealership but never had an issue from track work personally. My friend has, car issues at track, dealer fixed no questions asked. Also since I have rapport through this dealership it's not a problem. I can't comment on other BMW dealerships as I've never had to ask.

I'm getting the megane as it seems all is good, and for the price I can't find anything better in value on the used market for that price.

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It does seem to be variable... My cousin just got an M4 and I'm sure his dealer would be very kind to him (5 series and X5 purchased from the same place).

Decided on the cup premium?

The cup premium sold that I was after, but all good. I still have a car for now so when ever another great deal comes up I'll buy. 265 c premium seems to be the best deal but if a desperate seller has a 275 trophy at a similar price then I'll take it. Looking forward to one though.

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