The Wonders of a Lifetime Warranty

[lfoo6952]

I started this new thread as a counterpoint to another thread about the morality of limiting the warranty to the original owner.

When I first started my guitar journey, and learned about great guitars from the likes of Martin, Taylor, Santa Cruz, Collings, etc, just to name a few, I was amazed to learn that these top name brand manufacturers gave lifetime warranties. I find that amazingly generous. Warranty repair work must eat a good chunk of their profits.

How many products that you know of that give you a lifetime warranty? Not many. The only other product I can think of is a Sears Craftsman tool.

We should all be thankful for that.

[Tico]

Originally Posted by lfoo6952

Warranty repair work must eat a good chunk of their profits.

Profit is calculated after all business expenses, and warranty work is an business expense.
The likely cost for the average (some zero, some thousands) warranty work is factored into the price we pay.

You write, "We should all be thankful for that."
I'm as thankful for the lifetime warranty as I am that the maker "gave" me tuning pegs - which could also be argued to eat into their profits.
Actually, they don't want my thanks; they want my money.

Warranties are not a gifts.
They are another part of a product/service that's included in a complex business transaction.

The lifetime warranty is worth whatever it added to the price of the guitar.
IOW it's a wash.

[rct]

I've played all kindsa places since 1975 or so and I've never needed warranty work from any of the three American guitar companies. It has meant absolutely nothing to me.

rct

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Originally Posted by lfoo6952

I started this new thread as a counterpoint to another thread about the morality of limiting the warranty to the original owner.

When I first started my guitar journey, and learned about great guitars from the likes of Martin, Taylor, Santa Cruz, Collings, etc, just to name a few, I was amazed to learn that these top name brand manufacturers gave lifetime warranties. I find that amazingly generous. Warranty repair work must eat a good chunk of their profits.

How many products that you know of that give you a lifetime warranty? Not many. The only other product I can think of is a Sears Craftsman tool.

We should all be thankful for that.

Sadly it's not looking too good for that Craftsman warranty either.

http://www.businessinsider.com/sears...kruptcy-2017-3

[tadol]

The lifetime warranties apply to defects in materials or workmanship - the assumption being that most of these will be found within a relatively short period of time -

But, the really good shops will also cover a number of problems that are natural and expected in the lifetime of an instrument - neck resets being the one that comes to mind immediately. Those do eat into the time a shop has available to do new work, and can cause financial difficulties - thats why these are limited to the original, registered purchaser. And its one of the reasons that there can be value in buying new, thru retail distribution.

Yes, the number of products that are like that are extremely limited - enjoy it while you can!

[The Bard Rocks]

I am a great believer in warrantees. Even if I never need them (and I rarely do), they are a measure of the maker's confidence about it's product. Many outdoor equipment (backpacking & climbing) manufacturers give life time warrantees as do many makers of non-powered hand tools. Remember Hyundai when they first came out? Not the best and sale were poor. Then they gave a warranty which far exceeded that of other car-makers. Sales began a steady climb up as did, fortunately for them, their quality.

When I get a lifetime warranty on something, I have learned to inquire, "Whose life?" It could be my life, the life of the maker or their live as a maker. OR... the "life of the product" as I learned once to my complete ire. I had a sleeping bag from S.... D..... who advertised it with what they termed a "lifetime warranty" and when the internal stitching gave out 10 years later, I was informed that it's life was up. Naturally, I no longer consider their products. If they hadn't been misleading and weasely, I would have kept buying from them.

Still, it continually amazes me how many firms will stand behind something that technically is out of warranty. So many of today's companies are FAR better at this kind of stand-up honesty than those of the past.

[LarryVe]

Greven gives his guitars a warranty for the life of the guitar, not the owner. I think he is the only one that I am aware of that does this in the guitar world.

[Hurricane Ramon]

I was surprised to learn that my newly acquired nylon single cutaway
is covered by a lifetime warranty to the original buyer of the guitar .

That was a nice surprise to learn today .

EZ :

HR

[Chuckie.egg]

Originally Posted by lfoo6952

I started this new thread as a counterpoint to another thread about the morality of limiting the warranty to the original owner.



When I first started my guitar journey, and learned about great guitars from the likes of Martin, Taylor, Santa Cruz, Collings, etc, just to name a few, I was amazed to learn that these top name brand manufacturers gave lifetime warranties. I find that amazingly generous. Warranty repair work must eat a good chunk of their profits.



How many products that you know of that give you a lifetime warranty? Not many. The only other product I can think of is a Sears Craftsman tool.



We should all be thankful for that.

Cross pens offers a lifetime warranty - repair or replace. Not that a lot is likely to go wrong with pens, but it's reassuring when a company stands behind its products. I have found Taylor customer support to be excellent.

[chitz]

Many auto parts I purchase had a lifetime warranty.

[rusty string]

Originally Posted by lfoo6952

I started this new thread as a counterpoint to another thread about the morality of limiting the warranty to the original owner.

When I first started my guitar journey, and learned about great guitars from the likes of Martin, Taylor, Santa Cruz, Collings, etc, just to name a few, I was amazed to learn that these top name brand manufacturers gave lifetime warranties. I find that amazingly generous. Warranty repair work must eat a good chunk of their profits.

How many products that you know of that give you a lifetime warranty? Not many. The only other product I can think of is a Sears Craftsman tool.

We should all be thankful for that.

problem with that is sears is on its deathbed, fortunately other stores are selling craftsman now

[BuckRogers]

This is one of the reasons that I am really looking into buying a new Martin from one of the forum sponsors instead of buying used.

The new models might be ~$100 more than I could find in a similar used guitar, but the warranty makes up for it in my mind.

[brianmay]

Yeah, thanks for that.

Rest of the World (especially Europe) we pay more and are lucky to get a year's warranty - that's it.

Enjoy the perk . . .

[Long Jon]

Originally Posted by brianmay

Yeah, thanks for that.

Rest of the World (especially Europe) we pay more and are lucky to get a year's warranty - that's it.

Enjoy the perk . . .

Yeah , but on the plus side Brian, we don't have the new vs. used dilemma that our poor American friends have to face.

We can just buy used ones, no warranty, no worries, saves on paperwork too as an added bonus.

[Purfle Haze]

Originally Posted by LarryVe

Greven gives his guitars a warranty for the life of the guitar, not the owner. I think he is the only one that I am aware of that does this in the guitar world.

Does Greven define what the "life" of the guitar is? How can the guitar owner know when it is "dead?" The snarky answer would be that it's life is over when it needs a warranty repair.