" Dealers" Warranty/Trip Charges

[JUST ME]

Hi All Dealer,

Lets say that I live in Salt Lake and buy a hot tub from a dealer "manufactured by one of the top companies"  In November-05.  Now its August-06 and I now live in Kansas City, will the local dealer of this hot tub charge me a trip charges to come out and fix under warranty because I did not buy it from him??

All imput would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Just Me

[BIGPOPPA]

when you deal with a copemyes im not sure if they will honor the warrenty.  But one from a top company, warrenty will transfer with original owner no matter where you go.   just kidding with you on your spelling

BIGPOPPA

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

Trip charges for warranty repairs are usually at the discretion of the individual dealers. While you may be able to argue this type of charge from the dealer that originally sold you the spa (if there was no mention of it at the time of sale), I would think that if you choose to move you're at the mercy of the new dealer servicing you.

[JUST ME]

Hi Dr. Spa,

So if someone buys a Maytag washer at Best Buy and they need it fix, the appliance company that is a Maytag authorized servicer should or could charge a trip charge AND get paid from Maytag ( because they will get paid from Maytag) to fix it under warranty??

If this is the case I would love to have someone ( a hot tub employee) call me to fix there appliance under warranty.        ( and get paid twice for the job)

I just dont understand why this could or should happen.  Its under warranty from  hs, d1, sundance or any other  manufacture. No one should be charged under a warranty repair no matter were they buy it.

In my opinion,

but thats

just me

[Reese]

I'm not a dealer (everybody clear on that now? ), but my understanding of warranty claims is that the manufacturer compensates the dealer at a rate that is usually much lower than the dealer's normal service fee.  As a result, warranty claims are not a money-maker for the dealership, rather a cost of doing business.  Some dealers charge any fees provided by the warranty, even if you purchased the spa from them.  Others seem to feel that since they made a profit on the sale, and the warranty helped close the deal, they have a reason to eat the fees so the customer is satisfied.  The dealer in your new locale has little to gain in this situation.  You aren't likely to be buying a tub from them, since you just bought one.  About all they have to gain is your chemical business, and potential referalls.  They may decide that there isn't enough profit potential there to eat any warranty service losses.

Some dealers on this forum say that they treat customers that move into the area like their own and don't charge a fee, either in hopes of generating repeat business, or as part of protecting their and their brand's reputation.  I'm sure they hope that any of their customers that move would get the same courtesy.  Customers that find themselves in that situation should consider themselves fortunate.

I imagine this was all spelled out in the warranty when you bought the spa.  If it was a concern, perhaps you could have found a manufacturer that doesn't provide for a fee in their contract.  It's too late now, so try to look at the bright side, at least you were able to move across country and still have someone available to fix your spa, even though at a modest fee. I know -- easy for me to say, it's not my money! 8-)

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

I'll try to explain this in an understandable way.......

I think we can all agree that a service company, or service tech is entitled to get paid for the work they perform.

So lets take your maytag example. Say maytag wants to become more cost competitive but doesn't want to lower the quality of their product. They still need the same amount of profits to stay in business but want to sell their product at a lower price. They know the average number of warranty repairs performed on their product. They also know what they pay out for those warranty repairs. If they change their warranty to requiring the customer to pay a "trip charge" they can lower what they pay out for warranty repairs to the techs (no longer paying for their travel time), thereby lowering the cost of the appliance (by that amount). Or, it may simply be a way for them to not raise their prices, as the cost of materials going into the product rises.  As a consumer you're simply getting a lower initial cost yet bearing some of the costs of any needed warranty repairs.

So, maytag is now PAYING the service companies LESS to do any warranty repairs that they were paying before. Remember. a service tech is entitled to get paid for the work they perform. Now some dealers may waive the trip charge as a "service" to their customers, but remember, THEY TOO are entitled to making at least enough money to break even....... maybe even a profit   They're making a "profit" when they initially sell the spa, and more than likely, if they're waiving the "trip charge", their tacking on a little extra to the initial cost to cover that.

Free = something you pay for that's not itemized on the bill. Warranties are not free. It's an expense that's calculated and added into the total price of the product. Reduce the warranty and you can reduce the cost of the product.

I understand how a trip charge doesn't seem fair. We're not used to it and it appears to just be an extra cost. In reality, it's something you've ALWAYS paid for, it was just paid for upfront and not itemized on the original invoice.

Going back the beginning of your post. No, they're not getting paid twice, persay. But, rather than getting paid 100% from maytag, they're now only getting, say, 70% from maytag and the remaining 30% of the "total cost of performing the repair" is coming from the customer.

Hi Dr. Spa,

So if someone buys a Maytag washer at Best Buy and they need it fix, the appliance company that is a Maytag authorized servicer should or could charge a trip charge AND get paid from Maytag ( because they will get paid from Maytag) to fix it under warranty??

If this is the case I would love to have someone ( a hot tub employee) call me to fix there appliance under warranty.        ( and get paid twice for the job)

I just dont understand why this could or should happen.  Its under warranty from  hs, d1, sundance or any other  manufacture. No one should be charged under a warranty repair no matter were they buy it.

In my opinion,

but thats

just me

[Vinny]

Hi Dr. Spa,

So if someone buys a Maytag washer at Best Buy and they need it fix, the appliance company that is a Maytag authorized servicer should or could charge a trip charge AND get paid from Maytag ( because they will get paid from Maytag) to fix it under warranty??

If this is the case I would love to have someone ( a hot tub employee) call me to fix there appliance under warranty.        ( and get paid twice for the job)

I just dont understand why this could or should happen.  Its under warranty from  hs, d1, sundance or any other  manufacture. No one should be charged under a warranty repair no matter were they buy it.

In my opinion,

but thats

just me

This is one of those debated topics and it seems in the hot tub world some dealers do have trip charges even to it's own customers. And Maytag isn't Maytag anymore either!

[Reese]

... if they're waiving the "trip charge", their tacking on a little extra to the initial cost to cover that.

Free = something you pay for that's not itemized on the bill. Warranties are not free. It's an expense that's calculated and added into the total price of the product. Reduce the warranty and you can reduce the cost of the product.

I understand how a trip charge doesn't seem fair. We're not used to it and it appears to just be an extra cost. In reality, it's something you've ALWAYS paid for, it was just paid for upfront and not itemized on the original invoice.

Excellent point!

[Brewman]

Hi All Dealer,

Lets say that I live in Salt Lake and buy a hot tub from a dealer "manufactured by one of the top companies"  In November-05.  Now its August-06 and I now live in Kansas City, will the local dealer of this hot tub charge me a trip charges to come out and fix under warranty because I did not buy it from him??

All imput would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Just Me

 Short answer is it depends on the specific dealer.  Some may, others may not.  
Some dealers charge all their customers trip fees, even ones who bought from them.

[JUST ME]

Hi All,

Thank you Venny for letting me know what Maytag is or is not.

As a appliance repair company owner we do not charge our customers to repair there appliances under warranty not even if its 50 or more miles away. Maytag ( or what ever manufacture GE, Whirlpool or LG ) pays the repair company, and it don't matter if it is a $250.00 or a $900.00 washer its fix for free under warrnaty



A 1 year parts and labor is just that 1 year parts and labor. ( NOT  because you didnt buy it from me I will charge you a trip charge to fix your appliance that you didnt buy it from me

( Is Ford still Ford)  If I buy a new car no matter what Ford dealership I take it to if it is under warranty I get it fixed for free. They dont charge me just because I live in a different  city.

just me

[Vinny]

Hi All,

Thank you Venny for letting me know what Maytag is or is not.

As a appliance repair company owner we do not charge our customers to repair there appliances under warranty not even if its 50 or more miles away. Maytag ( or what ever manufacture GE, Whirlpool or LG ) pays the repair company.



A 1 year parts and labor is just that 1 year parts and labor. ( NOT  because you didnt buy it from me I will charge you a trip charge to fix your appliance that you didnt buy it from me

( Is Ford still Ford)  If I buy a new car no matter what Ford dealership I take it to if it is under warranty I get it fixed for free. They dont charge me just because I live in a different  city.

just me

My parents owned Maytag and lasted forever and I bought a Maytag because of how good they WERE and that was what my comment is about. You Maytag repair people aren't lonely anymore! 8-) I remember Jesse White!

Yes, Ford is Ford but Amana is Maytag is Whirlpool, Chrysler is MB (or is it the other way around) ,LG owns Zenith ...

BTW, I'm on your side. But the analogy was said not to be the same. Apparently the selling dealer made the money to support you and it is up to them to service you unless you move and take your tub. But a couple of weeks ago Bonibelle was upset that her plumber charged her a gas fee or something like that.

I guess some industries are not doing the trip charge thing yet.

Since you repair Maytags, both my washer and dryer have a problem ...

[Brookenstein]

I could be wrong here, but I thought it had more to do with some dealers just have trip charges and some dealers do not, not whether or not you actually bought the tub from them.  (Though, I could see that also being a part of it, especially if it wasn't there brand of tub...)

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

Hi All,

As a appliance repair company owner we do not charge our customers to repair there appliances under warranty not even if its 50 or more miles away.

A 1 year parts and labor is just that 1 year parts and labor. ( NOT  because you didnt buy it from me I will charge you a trip charge to fix your appliance that you didnt buy it from me

I understand this, but tell me, how do you cover the costs of doing the warranty work, and the possible 50 mile, 100 miles round trip, of travel costs?

( Is Ford still Ford)  If I buy a new car no matter what Ford dealership I take it to if it is under warranty I get it fixed for free. They dont charge me just because I live in a different  city.

THANK YOU for using this example........... "no matter what Ford dealership I take it to".......... So ah, the dealer isn't covering a cost of coming to YOU. Vehicle expenses (tires, gas, oil, wear and tear, not to mention the wages of the service tech doing the driving). Remembr, we're talking trip, or trravel charges, and there's no travel costs when YOU BRING IT IN. Bring in your spa and I guarantee no dealer will charge a trip charge  

I own a number of vehicles. The high end one actually has a warranty that includes towing if it breaks down. The Izuzu PU though? If it wont run, the dealer will fix it for free, but I have to pay the tow truck to get it there (trip charge)

[JUST ME]

Hi Dr Spa,

I would not have a problem paying for a trip charge for excessive miles, but to charge me a trip charge in town for a warranty job just because I did not buy the spa from them is outrageous and more so if I bought the spa from you ( not you per-say (sp))

Don't you dealers get paid from the manufacture? If not why to you do warranty work? If you do why do you charge the customer a trip charge?   ( what is customer service, not much in the spa world by what I see)

I would love for someone to post on the forum were it says in the warranty that there is a trip charge for a repair, or is it that the dealer is just blowing smoke up the comsumers a$$ and the manufacture has no idea that the dealer is messing up the reputation of the manufacture by doing so, or is it that we as consumers are just so stupid that we just sit back and take it.

I still have not seen what Tex has to say about this (can hardly wait)

I was 110% ready to get my diplomat from a D1 dealer until I heard this $hit, now I wonder if all dealers do this?

I wait to see, but thats,

just me


ps

bull $hit towing is trip charge,, please pay me trip charge to fix the compressor on your (yes your) $2000 frig that is under warranty and then give me a smile.

pss

That is why I have towing on my insurance,  so please charge me insurance so I dont have a trip charge.  thank you

[JUST ME]

Hi to all that are viewing this post,

Even if you are not a dealer, what do you think about a trip charge?

And did you know the the local dealer would or could do this to you, and now it is nice to know that if you move and take the tub with you that this could happen to you.

I have not even gotten my tub, but this really makes me think.

Would also love your input.

This makes me mad,  if you knew that General Elecrtic would do this to you but Whirlpool would not what company would you buy from?

But thats,

just me