Just got back from my 5 Star Dealer (picked up the passenger cabin pollen filter as my wife has terrible allergies) and decided to talk to the service manager about Stage 1. He grabbed his #1 tech guy, who happens to own an SRT4 with Stage 1 installed, and this is what they told me:
A very recent discussion this dealer had with DCX revealed that if you buy DCX components and have the dealer install them, it will not void your warranty. These guys claim that they have done many of these and tend to lean in the customer's favor on warranty issues, service, etc. My past experience with this dealer, albeit on much less sensitive issues, seems to support this claim. They are talking about roughly $500 installed for my auto tranny version, but warned me that it will NOT pass California smog tests unless you get a total goofball for a smog tech who doesn't collect all the data he should. Yes, you can say that they're telling me what I want to hear, but I've only had really good experiences at this dealer. Of course, should I get serious about this upgrade I'll press them harder and insist on something in writing, then dig a bit deeper still, but at this point I certainly haven't been swayed away from the idea of adding Stage 1 at some time in the near future.
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