Just got off the phone with Harman and I’m concerned. What do suggest I do in this situation? For you dealers and refurbishers, is this anywhere near business as usual?
We wanted an Accentra 52i but it was a little steep for our budget. A dealer worked with us and found a unit in back that had been returned and refurbished, saying the customer switched models after a few burns because it was too much heat for the home. The salesman also said some part had been replaced due to factory recall thought he couldn’t remember which. In his words, their service techs had gone through the entire unit and declared it effectively new, including preserving the original warranty to begin the day a new customer buys it. They would sell it for $599 under MSRP (closer, at least, to what we budgeted). We paid a $500 deposit on the insert and ordered 7 tons of pellets. Install is currently scheduled for Sep 2.
I called Harman to verify that warranty by the serial number on our invoice. What they had to say alarmed me:
1.) They only build units upon receiving the purchase order and this unit was built November 21, 2013.
2.) The original customer filed a claim saying the unit wasn’t functioning, so they replaced the control board four times and the ESP twice.
3.) After still not functioning, the unit was removed from the original customer’s house on May 12, 2014.
4.) Warranties are not transferrable.
5.) The dealer should have returned this unit to the factory to be rebuilt, issued a new S/N, and granted a new warranty.
This sale (including our deposit) was going to total about $5350 after a $100 Harman coupon. It includes the black model insert, OAK, installation, liner and other parts, and local building permit. Looks like they were cutting losses at my expense because they were too lazy to ship it back to the factory. Now I’m starting to question whether they threw frivolous things onto the invoice as well.
Someone on this forum said Harman appliances can’t be discounted over 10% MSRP or the dealer risks losing certification with Harman. That’s a max $409.90 discount for this model by Harman’s $4099 MSRP. I thought this curious refurbishing history allowed me to get by with $599 off, but clearly it wasn’t worth it. I would probably go to another dealer if I 1.) I hadn’t paid a deposit and 2.) there were more dealers nearby.
See the attached invoice lacking only the sales tax. Does anything on there look like unnecessary upsell and how should I proceed with this dealer? Just pay the $599 difference to MSRP (or even just the $189.10 difference to the maximum discount off MSRP) and demand a new unit? I have the original owner's dates and claim numbers, so there's no denying what happened. I need to resolve this before shoulder season!
We wanted an Accentra 52i but it was a little steep for our budget. A dealer worked with us and found a unit in back that had been returned and refurbished, saying the customer switched models after a few burns because it was too much heat for the home. The salesman also said some part had been replaced due to factory recall thought he couldn’t remember which. In his words, their service techs had gone through the entire unit and declared it effectively new, including preserving the original warranty to begin the day a new customer buys it. They would sell it for $599 under MSRP (closer, at least, to what we budgeted). We paid a $500 deposit on the insert and ordered 7 tons of pellets. Install is currently scheduled for Sep 2.
I called Harman to verify that warranty by the serial number on our invoice. What they had to say alarmed me:
1.) They only build units upon receiving the purchase order and this unit was built November 21, 2013.
2.) The original customer filed a claim saying the unit wasn’t functioning, so they replaced the control board four times and the ESP twice.
3.) After still not functioning, the unit was removed from the original customer’s house on May 12, 2014.
4.) Warranties are not transferrable.
5.) The dealer should have returned this unit to the factory to be rebuilt, issued a new S/N, and granted a new warranty.
This sale (including our deposit) was going to total about $5350 after a $100 Harman coupon. It includes the black model insert, OAK, installation, liner and other parts, and local building permit. Looks like they were cutting losses at my expense because they were too lazy to ship it back to the factory. Now I’m starting to question whether they threw frivolous things onto the invoice as well.
Someone on this forum said Harman appliances can’t be discounted over 10% MSRP or the dealer risks losing certification with Harman. That’s a max $409.90 discount for this model by Harman’s $4099 MSRP. I thought this curious refurbishing history allowed me to get by with $599 off, but clearly it wasn’t worth it. I would probably go to another dealer if I 1.) I hadn’t paid a deposit and 2.) there were more dealers nearby.
See the attached invoice lacking only the sales tax. Does anything on there look like unnecessary upsell and how should I proceed with this dealer? Just pay the $599 difference to MSRP (or even just the $189.10 difference to the maximum discount off MSRP) and demand a new unit? I have the original owner's dates and claim numbers, so there's no denying what happened. I need to resolve this before shoulder season!
He told the OP it got returned because the previous owner said it produced too much heat for his house. There was no recall, it was a lemon stove! He can't remember probably going on 6 service calls, and dealing with what was probably a PO'd buyer all last winter? I don't believe it. Now if he had said, yes there were a lot of problems with this stove, but we have now gone over the whole thing and it's working fine, and we will personally back this up with a warranty, fine. I would not give this guy another cent.
Keep in mind it's possible he's seen this thread and could be preparing his response.