Does anyone have any positive or negative experiences getting a warranty repair after tracking or autocrossing? How about repairing a failure that occurred on track?

I'm close do sealing a deal on a used '07. I've always tracked older car...an FD3s actually so warranty was not a factor. I see no point in buying a newer car if Mazda has a history of voiding warranties or denying claims because of HPDEs, track days or autocrossing.

I have no modding intentions until several years from now. I've been sucked into that dark vortex all too recently. I may eat these words later though.

 

You can PM me your experiences if you prefer.

 

Dealers vary on how well they service the customer so someone having a positive experience doesn't mean the same will happen to you. Calling roadside to tow you from the paddock with a busted trans is a sticky situation. You might want to stop by the dealership every few weeks with doughnuts. Having an honest, friendly relationship with them might help. It did for me until the service writer quit.

 

Understood. Much what is posted is from the negative side of experiences.

 

Overall mine have also been negative. But when I told them about a a high RPM misfire coming out of turn 8 at Watkins Glen I had no issues.

 

Gotta feel the dealer out.

For the most part, mentioning anything happening at the track is not a good idea. Yet, there's one local dealer near me which supplies parts and sponsors a Mazda race team, which is very open to motorsports talk when I visit them.

On another note, a guy next to me in the paddock a few track events ago experienced transmission failure in a BMW M3. Saw him a recently, sporting a new tranny. Dealer replaced it under warranty. Guy did not mention anything about the track day.

 

Overall I've had good experience with my local dealer. I've always been honest about how I've used the car, but I've also gone out of my way to develop a good relationship with my dealer. That includes letting them to do the occasional overpriced service work - work I would prefer to do myself, but work I know they make good money on.

If they dealer only sees you when you're pissed off because something broke, chances are they aren't going to go the extra mile for you. Throw 'em a bone once in a while, and they'll be more likely to see things your way when something breaks.

At the same time, if you blow something up specifically due to autocrossing or track use, don't expect to get it covered under warranty. I've seen guys overrev a car at the track, then moan that they couldn't get a new motor under warranty. Duh - you f***ed it up, it's your responsibility to fix it.

I've been tracking/autocrossing Mazdas for close to a decade, and in my experience they tend to be more tolerant than other manufacturers, but it still tends to come down to the relationship you have with your local dealer.

 

From the www.mazdamotorsports.com Team Support Program when signing up for membership ( https://www.mazdamotorsports.com/web...isclaimer.html ):

"Purchaser acknowledges that all Mazda vehicle warranties are voided if the vehicle is used in any Competition events."

This concerns me about all the talk that certain dealerships play nice with people that they know participate in anything from autocross to HPDE to whatever. Ultimately they have Mazda backing them up if they wish to void your warranty, it seems.

Having discovered this, I just realized I brought my car in for warranty and maintenance work today with an SCCA annual tech sticker on the windshield. And the doors probably show dirt around where my magnet numbers were from this past weekend's autocross event...

Given that (and if anyone from my dealership is reading this), I have been very nice to them, and they have been very nice to me; I hope we can keep this good relationship going!

Edit: Sorry about the 1 month necropost

 

I never take it to the dealer so no problem ...

 

Good idea!

Just take it to TeamRx8