PocketAces

After seeing the many problems people are having dealing with dealers, district reps, and service writers regarding warranty issues I have decided to help you guys in any way I can to resolve this issue. I work out of the house and for myself so I have the time and energy at this point in my life to put into leading this fight (though I will take ALL the help I can get).

First off, I want to let you know a little about myself so you know who it is that is helping you. My name is Kevin Laymon, and I am 24 years old, currently living in Raleigh, NC. My father owns a broker firm that designs and manages employee benefit packages for large corps here in NC. We are based out of Wilmington, NC and I run the office up here in Raleigh, NC. I say this because I deal with legalities ALL the time and I spend a lot of time dealing with professional, white collar, big-business owners. We have two on staff attorneys that can also aid me in this fight if needed.

Now for the problem I want to address. I think we can best fight them if we argue and show how they marketed these cars to us as "street driven race cars" and yet void our warranty if we race the car. I dont know about you guys but no one ever told me I would void the warranty until AFTER I bought the car. In fact, I requested a owner's manual to read prior to buying and was denied by the dealer.

Yes I know there are many specific problems that individuals are having and you will have more than your chance to address those issues but I do not think it is a good idea that as a whole we fight for one specific issue because that leaves many in the dark. I have called Mits Corp. and spoken with their Director of Customer Service (this is only a few steps down from the Pres of Customer Service) who is now EXPECTING a response from us.

What I am going to do is make up what's called a form letter and host it on my server. A form letter is a letter where I type up all the generalities and then you guys can download it, type in your own personal response, and then mail/fax it off.

If you are interested in helping with this, please send me a PM. We need a lot of things such as quoted and documented commercials, advertising slogans, literature, brochures, or anything else that can help show that Mits put us under the impression we were buying a race car that we could use for that very purpose. I really believe that if we do this right, we can get a response...if not, then Mits loses alot of potential customers and EVO 9 buyers.

I hate that I have to say this, but if you are a hater who hasn't had any problems with your car and think that is due to your incredible driving abilities, we really don't want to hear about it. No one has had their EVO long enough (36,000+ miles) to say they dont have any warranty issues. If you haven't had them yet, you can't say they aren't coming.

EV0lut10n_8

iTrader: (1)

i haven't had any problems yet (knock on wood) but i want to help anyway....cause i know i would be pissed if i was in the same situation as others..... sign me up

PocketAces

Thank you ... we appreciate your support, especially since you have yet to incur problems. We just wanna be able to drive our cars like they were meant to be without being under threat of warranty loss.

93civEJ1

iTrader: (7)

wont modding our car in anyway void the warranty? or is this just directed to the guys staying stock??which i am at the moment.

evo32

I am with heshamnaim on this one. I haven't had any problems but if I did and they jacked my warranty all hell wold break loose. So if you need anything I'm up for it.

PocketAces

Well this is directly related to racing a stock EVO, but under the Magnesun Warranty Act they cannot void your warranty for an aftermarket part unless they can prove it was the direct cause to the problem--the burden of proof is on them, not you.

This issue will definetly be addressed with the submission but is not the main focus at this point because that is a harder battle to win.

evomk8

Tell me one thing:

What do you want to do?

You better have a very well tought out, well reserached and intelligent response, or you will fail miserably in your petition.

This is not to stop you, but to make sure you are thoroughly prepared to make a case against a corporation that has corporate lawyers.
I would also suggest to refrain from legal threats right at the beginning.
Make your case based on the collected individual experiences. The experiences must be tied together and come to a logical conclusion. The question I asked in the beginning should be the starting point of your thought process. Thus, what do you want to do as a remedy?
They sure as heck will NOT warranty a clutch, NOT ONE auto manufacturer does. Your 5th gear problem sounds like a potential manufacturing error and as such should be covered.
Again, be constructive, professional and firm. I wish you good luck.

USP45

iTrader: (13)

Hey Kevin, go down to a Mitsubishi dealer (not where you bought the car) and ask for the dealer packet brochure on the Evo. It looks kind of like a full color newspaper like add. On the 11th page is a guy nealing in front of his Evolution and there is an add slogan saying"and then the voice commanded, GO FORTH AND MODIFY." I don't know, but this sure does look like they are supportive of doing modifications not to mention all throughout the brochure are pictures of the Evo rally racing. Just some fuel for the fire.

Savedsol

EvoMK8, not true. Some a-hole down the street burned his clutch in a S2000 down to nothing in in 8000miles. Honda replaced. His S2K buddy accidentally downshifted into 2nd (instead of 4th) at 100mph. Whoops! Pistons through the head! He had 5000miles, Honda made him pay 1/2

evomk8

For 2001 the Honda S2000 was number 5 on the national Lemon List http://www.mylemon.com/Lemon_Car_Complaints.htm
That's probably why the clutch was replaced.

7seVen7

i know what packet you are talking about bit in really really really really fine print at the bottom of the pic it says: "Mitsubishi does not cover unauthorized aftermrket tuner items or performance enhancements under its warranty. You probrably knew that though, didn't you?" that is an exact quote of the text underneath the pic.

PocketAces

I totally agree. My primary intial objective is to maintain a good relationship between Mits and its consumers. I am not going to mess with legal threats at all out of the hall and would probably lose if I tried that at any stage in the game.

What I want is for Mits to let us race our cars with stock parts.

wizardofoz

It mentions Mitsu not covering "unauthorized aftermarket tuner items" below that but does not mention any voiding of factory warranty. (Which makes sense with all that has been posted regarding warranty denial based on aftermarket parts)

I am like some of the others I have not had any serious problems yet but will be highly dissapointed (sugar coating it a bit) if they were to deny me warranty work based on the fact that I autocross. I have had some warranty work done on the brakes. They replaced the front pads and rotors which were obviously defective and not damaged as a result of abuse.

evomk8

OK. That's a good start.
The racing with stock parts is a very broad objective. I do understand that per your reference to the advertising you feel entitled to "race" your car. I would suggest to use another term for "racing". is very likely to rebuke a request using that term, since racing carries immediate severe usage implications.

Something like: "driving the vehicle under controlled performance conditions"....
You get what I mean.
I'd say (my personal opinion), should provide a no-hassle warranty on the part that seems to be breaking the most (the tranny apparently) for a full 36,000 miles. After 36k, the owner is o their own. That'd be fair in my opinion.
Feel free to disagree. I'd simply suggest to narrow down your objective.
Again, good luck.

mprtklr

iTrader: (7)

strictly, i hope you know what your putting yourself up to. i hope this isnt a ploy to make yourself look important, becuase you are setting yourself up for A LOT of liability. so think before you make these so called "help" claims. director of Cust. Serv. i would like a name to verify your claim of speaking with them. You creating a form letter puts yourself at some extreme liability. If someone uses your "form" letter and files it with a court, you have inadherent responsibility and liability from a counter suit, if you do what you say you do, i think you need to speak to an attorney first. and i dont want to hear" i alreayd have blah, blah blah" i dont want any response based on this, just be aware of the positioon your putting yourself in...