[KeithO]

There was an article in the printed version (I didn't see it on the website) reporting on people having their warranties voided when they go in for service and the dealer finds out that the owner has been autocrossing. The case-in-point was an Evo owner that ran the car in the local SCCA region. When he took the car in for repairs (admittedly significant), they told him that they knew he was autocrossing it (they wouldn't tell him how they knew) and that he was going to have to pay out-of-pocket for the repairs - $7k.

They also discussed the situation with Subaru where you get a year's SCCA membership with the purchase of a WRX so that you can "experience the full potential of your car".

In the grand scheme of things, I suppose this is fair, but it is something to keep in mind.

[sgarnett]

I agree on the advertising, but other than that let's be realistic.

Anticipated average warranty costs are included in the price of the car - they HAVE to be if the manufacturer intends to stay in business. If abuse was covered by warranty (and competition IS abuse) they would have to add a LOT of money to the price of the car - both to cover the increased average warranty repair cost and to beef up everything to reduce warranty claims.

The reason we were able to buy cars even as close to competition-ready as these are is that the average customer is not competing and competition damage is not covered.

The business case for selling cars warrantied for competition would require a MUCH higher selling price, driving lower volumes, and therefore driving the price even higher.

BTW, if you browse sites like LS1.com it won't take long to find someone who blew a shift and then tried to get his bent pushrods replaced under warranty.