Fees for Warranty Service

[frankeyboy]

I own a 2005 Sundance Majesta.  I have had it about a month and a half.  Recently the plastic brackets that attach the shocks to the metal framing of the cover lifter cracked and fell apart.  The lifter still works, but it takes a lot more effort to lift it.  I called my dealer to have it fixed and they want to charge me a $45 "truck fee" in order to send someone out to fix the cover lifter.  I don't think I should have to pay to have something fixed that is covered by the manufacturers warranty.  Is this type of fee normal or am I getting the shaft?

Frankeyboy

[Brewman]

Read your warranty.  In affect it says that there will be no charge for parts and labor but you may be charged by the dealer for a trip charge.
Not all dealers charge this fee, and it isn't unique to Sundance.

[rick_in_cleveland]

My Marquis dealer just started adding  a "service charge" to a warrenty call.  He says that Marquis has been after him for a while to do this and with the higher cost of gas  decided to enact one.

[SerjicalStrike]

The cover lifter has its own warranty which usually does not include any labor.

[drewstar]

I agree the fees are, imho a rip off.  It is my  understanding that just about all dealers have some type of fee, anywhere from $25 to $75.  

My dealer told me it was to help offset the cost of gas. I live 15 miles away.  

Here's $5 for the gas. keep the change.  

How a dealer can charge you $45 for a broken part they installed 1.5 months ago is beyond me.  In this circumstance, it seems unethical.

[J._McD]

I agree the fees are, imho a rip off.  It is my  understanding that just about all dealers have some type of fee, anywhere from $25 to $75.  

My dealer told me it was to help offset the cost of gas. I live 15 miles away.  

Here's $5 for the gas. keep the change.  

How a dealer can charge you $45 for a broken part they installed 1.5 months ago is beyond me.  In this circumstance, it seems unethical.

I think the price of gas is a rip off, but I still have to buy it to get to your house and I still have to pay the driver/technician his time and insurance expenses which I am sure you think I should "eat" because you "bought" the spa from me at your negotiated, discounted price.


Frankeyboy, You are expecting the cover lifter to be considered under the spa warranty, it is not covered.  That is not part of the spa has it's own warranty.  

What prevents you from taking the broken part off and taking it into the dealer.  I am sure he will be glad to get it replaced regardless of how it broke, but gee, 6 weeks and it broke, it is either a POS or it could actually have been broken and not a warranty defect in material or workmansip.  Any chance of posting a pic?

If it was broken by force or improper use, I would think that to be unethical, but still I have replace a great many customer mistakes in the interest of "Customer Service".

I think the charge is a disappointment to you, but there is nothing "unethical" about it, remember this is a business.  

And besides, he will have to take time off of his yacht to come do the repair eh!  How insulting.

[drewstar]

So Frankie, you should use your gas to drive to the dealer, and spend your time replacing the defective part. Because, after all, you're just the customer who bought it. Why should the dealer have to incur any costs or time to replace the POS he sold you?

In one breath, dealers here are chanting "go with a dealer who will service you after the sale"  And "yea, you'll pay a few extra bucks up front, but it's worth it"

but 6 weeks later the dealers crying about how expsensive it is to have  support customers.

Makes me wonder about statments like "Sure, buy your hot tub from Home Depot or Costco, but what happens when it breaks?"

Apparently the same thing if you buy it from a local dealer.

[wmccall]

This is somewhat routine, and can vary conserably from dealer to dealer depending on circumstances.  In my case My Dynasty dealer covers a huge part of the state, but I'm just accross town.  If I have a legitimate problem they never charge me that fee, but it is in the warranty.  They have sold tubs to people who live 60 miles away that it takes 90 minutes to get there, those people are charged the trip charge and the dealer has always been up front about that.

Oh, my dealer also reserves the right to charge that fee. If my tub isn't heating and my filters are clogged, he probably even then wouldn't charge, but if I called twice for the same problem, I bet he might.  On a big ticket item where the end user doesn't have to understand the device being used you almost have to have that option to make people think twice about calling. I do in-home computer service and I work on a lot of older systems.  If I repair an internet connection and then the user calls me and tells me they can no longer print, I'll go back and see if its something I did, but if its unrelated, I reserve the right to charge for the trip.  It makes people think before they call.

[SerjicalStrike]

Do you have a copy of the warranty on the cover lifter or know exactly what the name of it is?

Just so you know, the dealer will not get ANY labor credit from Sundance or the manufacturer of the cover lifter.

From the Sundance Warranty:

"This Limited Warranty does not provide coverage for the insulating cover, any item attached to, or installed on, the spa after the date of manufacture, or for gaining access to any component for repair or replacement."

also

"...although you may be assessed reasonable repairman travel mileage charges."

$45 is a reasonable amount.  How much do they normally get for a service call?

[frankeyboy]

Frankeyboy, You are expecting the cover lifter to be considered under the spa warranty, it is not covered.  That is not part of the spa has it's own warranty.  

The cover lifter has its own warranty.  Its 90 days on finish, and one year on everything else.  I actually just got off the phone with the sundance dealer and they said that within the first 90 days I don't need to pay the truck fee, but after that all warranty service calls are $45.  This makes me fee a little better, but it would have been nice if these fees were explained to me before we bought it.  And yes, I did ask about the warranty procedures, and somehow the salesman "forgot" to mention that truck fee.  Anyway, the person I spoke to on the phone yesterday mistakenly wanted me to pay the fee.  They will be here this afternoon to fix the shocks, and hopefully adjust the tension on them so they dont break again.  Below is a pic of the broken shock



Frankeyboy

[ebirrane]

Makes me wonder about statments like "Sure, buy your hot tub from Home Depot or Costco, but what happens when it breaks?"

Or with a costco spa you would spend $30-$50 for the part, and then $60-$90 per hour to have someone fix it.

Agreed though, alot of people don't think of this price (and alot of dealers apparently don't include it).  My dealer does charge something like $35 to come out and fix the tub, but it's a flat fee whether he is there 10 minutes or 3 hours.

It's a bit like insurance. I'm glad I have it, it saves me money, I paid alot to get it, but when there is an accident, I still need to pay that deductable.

-Ed

[Brewman]

 I actually just got off the phone with the sundance dealer and they said that within the first 90 days I don't need to pay the truck fee, but after that all warranty service calls are $45.  This makes me fee a little better, but it would have been nice if these fees were explained to me before we bought it.  
Frankeyboy

While it would be nice to have had the charge mentioned by your dealer,  as consumers I believe we have to be responsible for ourselves.  Reading your warranty prior to or at the time of sale would have shown the possibility of a charge, which you then could have asked about.  

Brewman

[vlady]

One of my questions when I was shopping was if there was any fees associated with warranty work.  I found that some dealers charged and some didn't.  The ones that charged said it was to pay for their gas mostly and was a flat fee.

[ebirrane]

Hmmm I was thinking of something... the mileage reimbursement right now is about .405 center per mile.

Dealers are generally spaced 50 miles apart, making the theoretical maximum round-trip 100 miles, or $40.50.

I wonder of mileage reimbursement comes into play for calculating these charges.

-Ed

[Spatech_tuo]

I called my dealer to have it fixed and they want to charge me a $45 "truck fee" in order to send someone out to fix the cover lifter.  

Frankeyboy

If its not a big nuisance, you might offer to wait until they're in your area on another delivery/service call to save the them on travel cost in exchange for them waiving the trip charge.