4 Pipe Exhaust for GTI - Kiss Warranty Goodbye?

[blue_reality]

Hey All,

I'm considering getting a 4 pipe exhaust for my GTI with Oettinger rear skirt to match, but have a few questions.

http://www.oettinger.com.au/golf5_rearskirt.jpg

Will it void warranty? (I'm assuming yes)
With the Oettinger Rear Skirt, I think it needs to be painted which means it won't match the rest of the car?
Is there a way of modifying the existing factory skirt to accomodate the extra exhaust?
Has anyone on here done the 4 pipe for their GTI? I saw some pics and I think they look really fantastic, and goes with the balanced look of the Audis and VW's.
And finally, anyone have any idea how much all these bits and pieces cost?

Cheers.

This is the info from their site...

OETTINGER stainless steel rear silencer manufactured in high grade polished stainless steel.

With a larger bore Ø70mm. For a sporty sound and more power.

double pipes left / right, each side Ø 2x76 mm with 19° slanted cut off, perforated inserts and OETTINGER scrip.

[h100vw]

Hey All,

I'm considering getting a 4 pipe exhaust for my GTI with Oettinger rear skirt to match, but have a few questions.

http://www.oettinger.com.au/golf5_rearskirt.jpg

Will it void warranty? (I'm assuming yes)
With the Oettinger Rear Skirt, I think it needs to be painted which means it won't match the rest of the car?
Is there a way of modifying the existing factory skirt to accomodate the extra exhaust?
Has anyone on here done the 4 pipe for their GTI? I saw some pics and I think they look really fantastic, and goes with the balanced look of the Audis and VW's.
And finally, anyone have any idea how much all these bits and pieces cost?

Cheers.

This is the info from their site...

OETTINGER stainless steel rear silencer manufactured in high grade polished stainless steel.

With a larger bore Ø70mm. For a sporty sound and more power.

double pipes left / right, each side Ø 2x76 mm with 19° slanted cut off, perforated inserts and OETTINGER scrip.

VW would have to prove that the exhaust was a cause of any warranty claim. ie, electric window stops working, the exhaust had nothing to do with that. If the cat died then maybe they might have a go at avoiding the claim but would still need to prove the exhaust did the dirty.


Gavin

[Guy_H]

Hey Blue,

There is about a dozen customers cars running it - Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane for certain - most have comnmbined it with side skirts / front bar, but a couple have done rear bar only.

What colour do you have, I have some pics customers sent me, I'll post them up for you!

Most of the time, we use the APR Quad tip exhaust with the Oettinger bar (more economical!)

[blue_reality]

Hey Blue,

There is about a dozen customers cars running it - Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane for certain - most have comnmbined it with side skirts / front bar, but a couple have done rear bar only.

What colour do you have, I have some pics customers sent me, I'll post them up for you!

Most of the time, we use the APR Quad tip exhaust with the Oettinger bar (more economical!)

Hi Mate. Yeah looks great. Would be great to see any pics you have of white.

I've got a white 5 door. With the people that have done rear bar only. Have they painted it same colour as the car, retaining factory colour of sideskirts? Or do they paint it all?

Or can we make the new rear bar the same colour as current rear bar (that dark grey)?

And what is the cost for exhaust and rear bar compared to exhaust, rear bar, sideskirts and front bar?

Thanks for your help!

[Guy_H]

Hey Blue, you have PM - Its a pain having to resize these pics all the time! - here are some from the web:

[Guy_H]

Blue, send me your email, I have a couple of other pics on a white car, but struggling to attach pics - info@hp.net.au

[FJ Steve]

phuk....even for a GTI, that looks good.

[blue_reality]

Thanks Guy. The APR quad looks so good but $2000 makes it a tough decision.

I guess including rear bar etc it gets close to $3000.

[mrx]

VW would have to prove that the exhaust was a cause of any warranty claim. ie, electric window stops working, the exhaust had nothing to do with that. If the cat died then maybe they might have a go at avoiding the claim but would still need to prove the exhaust did the dirty.


Gavin

I think the onus would be more on you to prove that it didn't cause the problem. A lot of it would depend on your service manager, and how much of a prick they wanted to be. The stuffed cat would just be chucked in with all of the other warranty returns, VW themselves wouldn't actually know what mods were on your car unless the dealer told them. Having said that, I wouldn't be too worried about an exhaust affecting warranty - just keep the old one to put back on if the need ever arises.

[origin]

If I done that much mod.. I won't put my car services at vw dealer.

SOme nut would try your car

Better go to the properly mod services center...

This is from my experience...

[gareth_oau]

I think the onus would be more on you to prove that it didn't cause the problem. A lot of it would depend on your service manager, and how much of a prick they wanted to be. The stuffed cat would just be chucked in with all of the other warranty returns, VW themselves wouldn't actually know what mods were on your car unless the dealer told them. Having said that, I wouldn't be too worried about an exhaust affecting warranty - just keep the old one to put back on if the need ever arises.

I disagree mrx, I still think we live in an "innocent until proven guilty" society.

I believe it is the onus of the manufacturer to demonstrate that the mods you made have taken the vehicle outside its safe limits.

I dont think an exhaust could ever do that (however, a bigger turbo and some NOx, then who knows??)

If yr case was correct, manufacturers would even force us to go back to the dealers for services, new tyres and even wiper blades etc, or we'd run the risk of voiding the warranty, with limited ability/resources (read cash) to prove we'd done nothing wrong.

[Maverick]

I disagree mrx, I still think we live in an "innocent until proven guilty" society.

Not as far as warranty is concerned, take a look at the court cases and the ACCC determination on this matter.

I believe it is the onus of the manufacturer to demonstrate that the mods you made have taken the vehicle outside its safe limits.

It's entirely up to you to prove that it didn't which can be pretty well impossible.

If yr case was correct, manufacturers would even force us to go back to the dealers for services, new tyres and even wiper blades etc, or we'd run the risk of voiding the warranty, with limited ability/resources (read cash) to prove we'd done nothing wrong.

I take my car to the dealer for this reason, I know that this goes a long way towards good will and that the dealers do have leeway on warranty repairs. It's not worth a small saving to take your car elsewhere and only take the car in for warranty repair because they're not going to treat you as well as a customer that only services their car at the dealership.

For a start they will check the work done to the car, may ask for proof of service and will be less likely to push warranty claims through.

Each to their own but I would rather not have warranty hassles and am happy to pay the bit extra for piece of mind. Sure the dealer service isn't perfect but at least you have one place to go for any problems and they can't point the finger at something another mechanic may have done.

[mrx]

I am speaking from experience rather than hypothesising. One of the dealers in Perth has a very strict no mods policy and the other one doesn't seem to give a rats.

I was told in no uncertain terms that due to a modification that the repairs that my car was in there for would be at my expense. For the record the modification was totally unrelated to the fault. It wasn't VW themselves that decided this, but the service manager at the dealership. Who knows what would have happened if I'd tried to fight it and get VW involved. I'm sure it would have been more heartache, money and hassle than anything else. Instead I simply went to the other dealership and had the fault fixed under warranty without issue, and have been going there ever since for warranty work.

Maybe VW themselves are fair, but you don't even get that far if your dealer doesn't let you.

Just like speed cameras, you, as the owner of the vehicle are guilty unless you can prove it was someone else driving.

Here's a tip: Stay away from Perth's most trusted car dealer & his 117 apprentices.

[FJ Steve]

I was going to ask if you were "Skippered" out of the place.

When I was looking for the .:R I went to the "trusted" showroom. Asked if they had any....guy didn't even know, and then said (after checking inventory) that it would be a couple of weeks.

Went to our good mates in Osborne Park, and they had a test unit (with 4000kms on it) and plenty more at a drop of a hat.

Off topic I know, but I will never go to the "trusted one" again.

[gareth_oau]

i usually mod my new vehicles (in a tasteful way of course) and never had any warranty issues.

In fact, I purchased a new SS commodore a while back, and had it tricked up from 230 to 290KW. I had all the servicing done by Bill Lee (not a holden dealer) and the cluch went after 6 months.

Holden replaced it under warranty, no probs.

But I suspect yr right, you need to determine what the dealer is like