Pretty much should be #3 these days. About 95% of all rod breakage is due to operator stupidity and should be treated as such. In legitimate cases where the rod has a true defect, failure will occur almost immediately, in a fairly non stressful situation. It is also very evident to the factory personnel inspecting it once returned as to what the "real" problem was/is.

(I'll run down to the auto dealer later today and see how they feel about options #1 and #2 if I decide to buy...)

Make no mistake, when one buys an expensive rod it's for the cool first, and warranty whine second. It's called "warranty", and not "insurance" for a reason.

Good luck with this one.