" Dealers" Warranty/Trip Charges

[Brewman]

In the grand scheme of things, is a trip charge for a service call all that big of a deal?
 For a decent spa, we're shucking out say $8K, probably more if you count electrical, site prep, and the like.  
 And hundreds of dollars in interest for those who choose to borrow the money.
Or somewhat less than hundreds of dollars in lost interest from taking the money out of the bank.
Then we're paying hundreds of dollars per year to the electric company, and depending on the system, potentially hundreds of dollars per year for chemicals, filters, and such.
 And in the unlikely event that the spa needs service we worry about paying $60 (or whatever) to get the spa back up and running?
  If my spa breaks down in -20 degree winter temperatures, the last thing I'm fretting about is weather or not I have to pay for a trip fee.  
  
 Remember- there is no free lunch.  We all pay one way or another- business must recoup all expenses before they can make a profit.  Far be it from me to try to second guess how a spa dealer needs to price things to make a living.  



PS-

My Magtag washing machine just gave up the ghost last night.  
 When I get home from work tonite, I get the fun of wash machine shopping.

I'm thinking that Maytag isn't going to be the brand I buy.  They used to make a really solid washing machine, and used to charge a premium price for that reliability.
 But I'm with whoever posted farther back saying that the Maytag repairmen are not all the lonely anymore.  Notice how that add isn't running now?

Didn't Whirlpool just buy Maytag a few months ago?

[Gary]

Read your warranty and see if it states you can/may be charged a travel fee. If so, you have nothing to be upset about. When you buy a product you agree to the terms of the warranty.

[clover]

Brewman, that is a realistic response.  I commend your real life approach.  

Those who do not charge a trip charge, or at least say they don't, are obviously making an adquate margin on their particular brand to support their expenses.  Many dealers, even those who sell quality lines, like D1 that has been mentioned, must compete and play the shopper's game of negotiations IF he wants the business, thus they must be very competitive in pricing to get the business.  Maybe it is because he is not afforded the bragging rights or arrogance of being able to say his brand is number one out of say 140+ when maybe they are only number 3 out of 140+.

Regardless, the consumer wants the best quality at the best price and then everything free after that.  Why do shoppers think they are going to go broke needing warranty service.  Many of them may never need a service call and all of this fret could be over nothing other than their own imagination.

As for those who do not charge a "trip fee" for warranty work, they make money someplace to afford their expenses.  I am aware of one HS dealer who says they do not charge for warranty work, but written on the bottom of their sales contract, "all warranty services are provided at our main facility only".  THAT is a "bring it in" clause, because they do charge a trip charge to come out and it is not known until after the need arises, sometimes it never will.

I think the D1 dealer who says it up front, but in this case the shopper deceids not to buy, is at least being HONEST and could be a very good choice.  

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

It occured top me last night............... Many people wheel and deal, bargan, and haggle over the price of a spa. Some get a lower price, others get the dealer to throw in extras with the deal.............. Soooooooooo, if a "trip charge" is part of the warranty, bargin with the dealer to waive any trip charges while the spa is under warranty. Just be sure to GET IT IN WRITING on the sales contract.

(This next part I will remove if I get too many hate mails via PM  )

If the dealer wont agree to it, you might even mention something to the effect of, perhaps they don't believe in their product and it will need a lot of warranty repairs?

[wmccall]

If the dealer wont agree to it, you might even mention something to the effect of, perhaps they don't believe in their product and it will need a lot of warranty repairs?

My dad use to say that all the time to sales people pushing the extended warranties for washers, dryers and other appliiances.

My dealer, before they went on the run from the law use to have a trip charge, but if you worked with them, they waved it 90% of the time.  By work with them, I mean that if it wasn't an emergency we would try to get a couple calls in the same area.  It never took more than 2-3 days.

[Bonibelle]

Doc, I did just that and believe it or not, that was one of the reasons that I chose my dealer. He had no problem with coming to my house for warranty repair work with NO service charge (and no Fuel Surcharge!). I just went rounds with Sears over a warranty issue for my dishwasher and when they started on the extended warranty BS, I told them I feel like buying an extended warranty is like betting against your good judgment when you bought that item. You are betting that it is going to fail...and paying to prove it.  

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

My dad use to say that all the time to sales people pushing the extended warranties for washers, dryers and other appliiances.

hahahahahahahahahha, I ALWAYS do that, but go one step further. I'll ask if they think the extended warranty is necessary. Of course they say "yes", they're in sales  . Then I'll turn to walk away and say something like, "I think I'll go find something a little more dependable"....

You know, extended warranties are one of the most profitable acpects for many stores. Commmissions can be as high as %50. In fact, there's are some stroes that sell the merchandise at COST and make ALL their profits on the extended warranties.

[GoBlue]

In the grand scheme of things, is a trip charge for a service call all that big of a deal?
     
 Remember- there is no free lunch.  We all pay one way or another- business must recoup all expenses before they can make a profit.  Far be it from me to try to second guess how a spa dealer needs to price things to make a living.  
 

I own a sales/service business, although not spas.  It would be a huge deal for my customers if i charged for warranty work if they were not aware, in advance.  Not just a 8 pt. statement in the warranty, put a face-to-face admission that the warranty has strings attached.

I agree that there is no free lunch, but the spa dealer needs to be up-front about trip charges if he charges them.

[Brewman]

 [/quote]


I agree that there is no free lunch, but the spa dealer needs to be up-front about trip charges if he charges them.[/quote]

 Agreed- and it's totally to the businesses benefit to disclose this to any potential customers.  I gotta think that dealers who don't disclose this get confronted with irate customers when they get billed for a warranty call.

 My dealer doesn't charge a trip fee, but even if they did, I'd have still bought from them cause I wanted the exact spa I got, and trip fee wasn't part of the consideration.  Too small of a dollar amount for me to take too seriously.

 The original post asked about a dealer in some other part of the country charging a trip fee for an in warranty spa, and to me, why worry about something you can't control.  Will it impact you move decision- if there is no trip charge for warranty service I'll bring my spa with me cross country, but if there is a fee, I might not?

It's an interesting point for discussion, but largely unanswerable.  

[Bonibelle]

Brewman, maybe I read too deeply into things, but by the no warranty trip charge this is what I believed:
He probably didn't need to charge a trip charge because he didn't expect to make that many warranty calls...a good indication he has a reliable product.
He realized that if something says it is warranted, that means IF something breaks during that period, I should no incur ANY out of pocket expenses to bring it back to working condition.
If my dealer said, yes it is warranted, but I will have to charge you to come out to do the work, I don't really consider that warranted...beccause a spa isn't something that I can return to the store for repairs, part of that warranty has to include coming to the spa.
 :-/

[Reese]

He probably didn't need to charge a trip charge because he didn't expect to make that many warranty calls...a good indication he has a reliable product.

Sorry Bonibelle, but we always seem to be on different pages.  IMO, although it could be an indication it is a quality product, it is more likely an indication that they have factored the cost of warranty calls into the margin they target on the initial sale of the spa, either by proactive cost accounting or just by knowing that they need X margin on each spa to keep the doors open.  As Doc said, "free = something you pay for that is not itemized in the bill".  Granted, a quality product may require a smaller warranty contribution to the margin than one with lots of trouble, but unless you know each dealer's/manufacturer's margin, you have no way to know whether "no warranty fee" is an indication of good quality or a high-priced spa. :-?  

[Mendocino101]

Hi All,
( 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

This true but you must get your vehicle to the dealership for repairs they do not come to you.

[Mendocino101]

As it has already been mentioned here. I believe it is in most if not all spa warranties that a dealer "may" charge a trip fee. I think the reason that so many people have such a hard time with spas and comparing them to many other industries like autos or appliances is that most simply do not understand the size difference in the industry's. Spas simply are on a much of a smaller scale that is simply not reasonable to think they will always be the same as other industries.

[sledjunkie]

This is why people i tell you dealers don't matter, and the price you pay for your spa makes all the savings.
As long as you buy a good name brand quality spa with a good warranty which covers the parts and labor, you'll be all set.
Me, I don't care if my dealer charged me for travel. In fact I don't think we ever even discussed it. For all I know he does. I'd pay it if he said he did. Hell he's 2 hours away I'm sure he will.

I saved thousands on my spa, plus I have a 5 year warranty on the parts and labor.

Am I ever going to pay thousands in trips charges? Nope

Shop around, after your done, keep shopping
.

[Reese]

I saved thousands on my spa, plus I have a 5 year warranty on the parts and labor.

Since the search function only allows me to go back 50 posts, I couldn't find anything about the deal you got.  Would you please update me on how you were able to "save thousands" on your spa?