Do you pay anything for warranty work?

[brentp]

That is very true.  It certainly costs money to bring the car to the dealer if it needs to be towed.  

This is why most car manufacturers now also include roadside assistance in their warrantees in the event your car is rendered immovable by the defect.  This includes towing service to the nearest dealer for repair.  

[Bonibelle]

Maybe they need to revise the meaning of warranty...

[Gary]

I disagree, . . . the manufacturer of the SPA determines how they are going to set up their warrantee program.  They can choose not to offer any warrantee if they wish.  They can choose to fully/properly pay the service center or come up with a structure where all parties 'share' the cost of the warrantee.  Consumers then can make a purchase decision based on what is offered.  

In my opinion, if a SPA company chooses to weasel out of their responsibilities to pad their bottom line by not properly paying the repair service company, they can choose to do that.  But, to me, that reflects very negatively on them as a business.  Consumers have a choice when it comes to this, . . . I did, and was very concerned about Sundance’s wording in their warrantee that allowed for ‘travel charges’.  So much so, that we decided not to buy that brand even though we like the SPA we were looking at.

The warrantees do read differently.  A couple of examples, . . .

Sundance: "There will be no charge for parts or labor to repair the defect, although you may be assessed reasonable repairman travel charges."

Artesian:  "There will be no charge for parts and labor within the above terms.  However, travel charges are not covered if you live outside a normal service area of the agent."

Any warrantee’s legalities can be debated, . . . but to me, those are completely different programs.  

Like I said you pay for it one way or the other.

[loosenupspas]

While the Coleman manufacturers warranty states a reasonable trip may be charged for warranty work.  My dealership doesn't charge our customers.  Entirely, a personal decision in all due respect to my customers.  If I sell it......I am not charging a trip charge. It is an educated risk.........after all how much warranty service should a tub require during its warranty period.......zero work is the case the majority of the time.  Coleman is basically failure free.  It is in any manufacturers benefit to build a product that requires no warranty work.  Certainly,  a manufacturer of spas,  speedboats or whatever factors in warranty costs into their respective margins and when their products fail less often their margins are fatter because they have had less expense on warranty work reimbursement.  But the manufacturers warranty work as a percentage of annual overhead expense probably never decreases, so a smart company will aggressively make adjustments as trends develop to minimize the warranty expense.  That has been my experience with Coleman......their tech support is very responsive to warranty issues and will adjust the manufacturing process to overcome issues.  The bottom line is the new spa really shouldn't need any warranty work, thus no charges are incurred.......

[Chad]

I think we found our new replacement for Full Foam vs. Thermopane.

[wetone]

The warrantees do read differently.  A couple of examples, . . .

Sundance: "There will be no charge for parts or labor to repair the defect, although you may be assessed reasonable repairman travel charges."

Artesian:  "There will be no charge for parts and labor within the above terms.  However, travel charges are not covered if you live outside a normal service area of the agent."

Any warrantee’s legalities can be debated, . . . but to me, those are completely different programs.  

Worded different but will give me about the same coverage if the selling dealer shuts down, as long as the selling dealer is around there should be no travel charges period for the duration of the warranty IMHO.

Here's a slight twist though, if I buy the Piper Glen and the Artesian dealer shuts down and no new dealer opened within 20 miles, and I need service on my Piper Glen, there will be travel charges from the next closes dealer/service tech guaranteed as Artesian nor Sundance or any other brand that I'm familiar with will pay for travel time.

John

[Steve]

 Coleman is basically failure free.  It is in any manufacturers benefit to build a product that requires no warranty work.  

Yep in a perfect world... Though I am glad to hear that there is now a manufacturer that tries to build a great product.... That differs so much from the rest of us building & selling that crap! Oy vey!

[Spatech_tuo]

Coleman is basically failure free.  It is in any manufacturers benefit to build a product that requires no warranty work.  

I saw Steve's post above and had to check to see if this was really posted. With all due respect to Coleman, the first statement is basically reality free. As far as the second statement, I think everyone figured that out but easier said than done.

[Steve]

I saw Steve's post above and had to check to see if this was really posted. With all due respect to Coleman, the first statement is basically reality free. As far as the second statement, I think everyone figured that out but easier said than done.

Now if only we could get a tech's point of view on the matter... That would REALLY put it into perspective!!! Oh wait... we just did!

No one is questioning Coleman's quality (well, not yet) but we just needed to reel ya back in a bit loosenup! This time, it's catch & release... Next time we'll have to bonk ya over the head and throw ya in the boat!

[loosenupspas]

Yep in a perfect world... Though I am glad to hear that there is now a manufacturer that tries to build a great product.... That differs so much from the rest of us building & selling that crap! Oy vey!

the better the product and less warranty work.......manufacturers makes more profit.  Tech support isn't an expense item....it is a profit center.  Think differently............

[Steve]

the better the product and less warranty work.......manufacturers makes more profit.  Tech support isn't an expense item....it is a profit center.  Think differently............

I don't think anyone disagrees with your train of thought at all. The reality is that EVERY manufacturer, whether in this industry or not, is attempting to build products that last without the need for repair.

Coleman certainly doesn't stand alone nor do they produce a more superior product than most every other manufacturer. Are they "higher quality" or "better" in any way? Very debatable and that statement would require you to obtain a great deal of ammo to back it up with. I don't think we need to go there…

It's not a matter of thinking differently... It's being realistic....

[loosenupspas]

You Steve a thinking man......exactly my point.  Old school thought believes for a manufacturer warranty work equals expense, more enlightened thinking sees warranty work as something through daily management of the production line as something that, in an ideal situation, could be eliminated.  Then all the money not spent on warranty service parts and calls falls directly to the bottom line.  Instead of fighting with the retailer and consumer about warranty work as a means of saving money, go in another direction and identify the trends and fix the problems.  Unfortunately, many many companies prefer the fight and frustrate the customer.  I use Coleman as a reference because I see them apply this idea of production management and as a result I do very little warranty work.  Anyhow....enuf of this thread

[loosenupspas]

You Steve a thinking man......exactly my point.  Old school thought believes for a manufacturer warranty work equals expense, more enlightened thinking sees warranty work as something through daily management of the production line as something that, in an ideal situation, could be eliminated.  Then all the money not spent on warranty service parts and calls falls directly to the bottom line.  Instead of fighting with the retailer and consumer about warranty work as a means of saving money, go in another direction and identify the trends and fix the problems.  Unfortunately, many many companies prefer the fight and frustrate the customer.  I use Coleman as a reference because I see them apply this idea of production management and as a result I do very little warranty work.  Anyhow....enuf of this thread

[Steve]

There's just a LOT of generalizations and assumptions there in assuming that most manufacturers don't care to address consistant warranty issues. What are you basing your information on specifically? I just don't think it's fair to make all of these unsubstantiated passing comments that perceive most manufacturers of not attempting to provide a great product to the end user and then ending it with "Anyhow....enuf of this thread". Do you seriously NOT believe that a LARGE percentage of manufacturers are working extremely hard at eliminating warranty and service issues? What is Coleman doing different than everyone else? :-?

Can you also explain your first couple of sentences? Am I being called "old school" and not a thinking man? :-/ (It would be the first time I've been insulted on this forum!   )

Steve

[Reese]

... Coleman is basically failure free...

IMO, this forum is at its best when everybody (mfgrs, dealers, salespeople, and consumers alike), leaves their brand preferences at the door -- sharing their expertise and knowledge in a non-biased fashion.  I think that if you had left Coleman out of the statement, and said "good manufacturers", or "the best companies", everyone would be agreeing with you.  You can't expect other industry people, who feel just as strongly about their product, to let a statement like that pass without challenge.  I don't think anyone is disagreeing with your concept, just the implication that Coleman is alone in that approach.