I am considering the purchase of a 2003 Cobra Convertible from an invidual. The gentleman like to tinker and has made modifications to the car including changing the pulley on the SC and installing a chip to enhance the fuel/air mixture. My local Ford dealer has informed me that this voids the warranty and extended warranty on the engine and drivetrain. The car only has 9,000 miles and is immaculate. Has anyone come accross this issue?

Thanks.

 

just be aware its 36,000miles or 3 year warrenty. Which even comes first. so find out when the car was made in 2003 you may only have 9 months left on the warrenty.

 

he said that it has an extended warranty, if you have a problem with the car i doubt they would notice those mods. or you could switch the pulleys back, be sure to get the stock one if you buy the car.

 

Get the stock pully from him and if you have any problems with the car thats warranty related then put the stock pully back on and pull the chip and take it in. No one will be a wiser.

 

Unless the damage was directly caused by the mods, it does not void the warranty. A lot of dealers will bluff you on this. The ball is in their court to prove the mod directly caused the failure of the component in question.

Example 1
Your Power Steering pump goes bad...not related to either of the mods. They could not say that you voided the warranty.

Example 2
You blow your motor because you missed a shift (went a gear lower instead of higher) That one is arguable...could the engine have survived if the stock SC pulley had been in place?

Also, unless they can prove you track race your car, the extended warranty is applied the same way as the factory warranty.

Get the factory pulley and chip/programm from the guy and whenever/if ever you take it into Ford for service or repair, put the stock stuff on it. Less hassle than fighting with them over something totally unrelated.

 

i doubt they will notice the pulley but atleast switch the chip back to the stock one.