Worth a Free T-Shirt?

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nuke
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2013 5:17 pm
Location: D/FW, Texas

Worth a Free T-Shirt?

Post by nuke »

Dear DiabloSport,
I am writing this to inform you that I have just saved your company $158, and I would like to request some sort of free merch in return. After all, $158 is a still a lot of cheddar, wouldn't you agree?

Not one to just go around asking for free stuff, I am prepared to provide evidence of my good deed. So before deciding on my request, please take into account the following:

I recently made some mods to my vehicle, which of course necessitated using my DS inTune-1000-DCX to facilitate some performance tests in an effort measure the mods' effects. It was while performing these tests, (more specifically - data logging 0-30 and 0-60 runs) that my car's gas pedal assembly broke away from the firewall during an especially forceful application of full throttle.
The consequences of a lead foot
The consequences of a lead foot
lead_footed.jpg (78.31 KiB) Viewed 12968 times
Luckily for me, my car's throttle is the "fly by wire" type, so I was able to just place the gas pedal in my lap and work it by hand so that I could make it up to the local Dodge dealership to seek out a replacement. Once there, I was informed that they did have what I needed, but that it would cost $158, not including sales tax.

Now, I think we can all agree that my gas pedal would have never been broken if the DS inTune-1000-DCX were not such a fun and useful product. Therefore, it stands to reason that DiabloSport is responsible for my broken part, and thus DS would need to pony up the cost for the replacement gas pedal. However, I could not just blindly allow DS to replace my pedal for $158 when there was a chance to remedy the situation less expensively.

So I broke out my JB PlasticWeld and went to work.
JB PlasticWeld to the rescue2
JB PlasticWeld to the rescue2
jbpw2.jpg (74.6 KiB) Viewed 12968 times
JB PlasticWeld to the rescue1
JB PlasticWeld to the rescue1
jbpw1.jpg (77.54 KiB) Viewed 12968 times
And I am happy to report that my efforts were quite successful. I now have a working gas pedal again, and I have been able to resume my performance testing...and DS did not have to pay Dodge $158 for a new gas pedal assembly. That's a win-win-win in my book!

Now that you have all the facts of the case, I am certain your decision, whichever way you go, will be the right (and just) one.

Yours truly,
The Nuke

P.S. I am 6'8", so any clothing items you send me will need to be extra long/tall.
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Mike_Levy
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Re: Worth a Free T-Shirt?

Post by Mike_Levy »

Good luck finding a T-Shirt in big sizes from DS. They don't have any. I've been waiting for 5 years.

Anyway, why would that not be covered under warranty? A mechanical failure like that should be covered, even with a completely modded car. :o
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nuke
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2013 5:17 pm
Location: D/FW, Texas

Re: Worth a Free T-Shirt?

Post by nuke »

Mike_Levy wrote: ... Anyway, why would that not be covered under warranty? A mechanical failure like that should be covered, even with a completely modded car. :o
This car is the first vehicle I have ever owned that was purchased new from a dealership. No one else has ever owned it, and it had less than 20 miles on it when I took possession of it. I have never known those two things when acquiring a vehicle.

So something like a 5yr/100K mile warranty is a completely alien concepts to me. Previously, a warranty was just something that was explicitly stated as not being part of the sale. So in having that frame of mind, I'm not surprised that it never even occurred to me to see if they would replace it for free under the warranty.

If I would have had an inner dialog about getting another pedal under warranty, I'm sure it would have probably gone something like this: "You stomped on it over and over until it finally couldn't take any more abuse and snapped. For you to ask them to then give you another one for free is just chicken sh*t and you know it."

Even now that I consider it and realize that is the wrong way to look at it, and that I should have asked for a new one under warranty, it still feels strange to picture myself doing it...But, that's just my mal-adjusted brain dealing with an unfamiliar situation.

I know I need to do a better job of holding the other side accountable for the warranties and coverages I'm given as part of a product purchase, especially on something so expensive as a new car, but until I can get UN-subscribed to the whole used car paradigm that I used to live by, I know I'm doomed to have similar outcomes on similar situations in the future.

But I digest...

Speaking of my car, it's been several hours since I have done anything to/with it, so I'm signing off...cause if I go too long without driving it, cleaning it, working on it, or just standing and staring at it while pondering what to do next, I will start to get the DTs...and I don't like the DTs!

Nuke, OUT!
jwdemon
Posts: 91
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:44 pm

Re: Worth a Free T-Shirt?

Post by jwdemon »

You Dummy!

I've been buying used cars my whole life because I always knew I could repair and mod them and never worry whether anything was under warranty, but that IS the best reason for buying a new car, THE WARRANTY.

That part was obviously defective and they need to know about it in case this is happening to others and they have to start a recall. GO GET IT REPLACED UNDER THE WARRANTY!
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nuke
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2013 5:17 pm
Location: D/FW, Texas

Re: Worth a Free T-Shirt?

Post by nuke »

jwdemon wrote:You Dummy!

I've been buying used cars my whole life because I always knew I could repair and mod them and never worry whether anything was under warranty, but that IS the best reason for buying a new car, THE WARRANTY.

That part was obviously defective and they need to know about it in case this is happening to others and they have to start a recall. GO GET IT REPLACED UNDER THE WARRANTY!
I will let them know about the broken pedal assembly and that I have "fixed" it myself the next time I take the vehicle in for service. However, because I went all "scorched earth" in my method of repair, they would not be able to simply replace the pedal assembly with a new one and be done with it. I didn't want to merely remedy the part failure, you see....noooo, I wanted to "fix its wagon good!" so it wouldn't give me any more problems...and also learn its lesson for crossing me in the first place. So I Plasti-Welded the whole pedal assembly to its mounting block, and ne'er shall the two ever come apart again, I assure you.

So to replace my pedal now, they would also need to replace the plastic block the pedal assembly normally bolts to (which is in turn bolted to the firewall), and I don't think me willfully damaging other non-defective parts in order to effect my own back-woods repair on a defective part is going to be covered under any warranty.

Oh well, you live and you learn...

Nuke, OUT!!
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