Did Quadrafire reduce its warranty?

[grommal]

Hi folks. I'm a newbie in this forum, and on the verge of buying a new Quad Isle Royale. Lots of great info here!

All the dealers I talked to touted the limited lifetime warranty, and showed me the warranty terms in the owners manual that also showed lifetime warranty (aside from exclusions for normal wear/tear and accidental damage). So far, so good.

But, the warranty information on Quadrafire's web site is very different. I downloaded the Isle Royale owner's manual, and also the warranty info in the Customer Care area of their web site. Both of these documents have the same lesser warranty information. If I'm interpreting it correctly, it's telling me that the Isle Royale is covered as follows:

7 years on the firebox.
5 years on the baffle plate and other castings.
2 years on the glass.
1 year on other original parts.
Firebrick and the baffle insulation board are not covered at all.
Not one single part is warranted for life.

Am I reading this correctly?

Thanks.

 

[jtp10181]

All HHT products sold after Sept 1 2008 have the new warranty. The consolidated the many many different warranties in to a one page table. Some units warranty was decreased while others increased. If something is going to fail from a manufacturing defect it should fail well before the warranty is up. Anything else is probably normal wear and tear.

 

[burntime]

They are now large enough with name recognition that they will slowly reduce coverage and producet quality. All companies do it... My hampton when I bought it had a lifetime on the firebox, not sure what it is today...

 

[grommal]

All HHT products sold after Sept 1 2008 have the new warranty. The consolidated the many many different warranties in to a one page table. Some units warranty was decreased while others increased. If something is going to fail from a manufacturing defect it should fail well before the warranty is up. Anything else is probably normal wear and tear.

So is the critical date the retail or wholesale sale? In other words, it appears that my local dealers have pre-Sept2008 stoves in stock, since their warranty papers were for the old lifetime warranty. Is that warranty in force if I buy the stove, or would I be subject to the new warranty terms?

 

[jtp10181]

Its based off the sale date to the end user. As I understand there was a grace period until Jan 1, 09 where if the product came with the old warranty in the manual it would be honored if it benefited the customer. Anything sold after that date has the new warranty not matter what the manual says.

 

[grommal]

Its based off the sale date to the end user. As I understand there was a grace period until Jan 1, 09 where if the product came with the old warranty in the manual it would be honored if it benefited the customer. Anything sold after that date has the new warranty not matter what the manual says.

Thanks for the info. I also decided to inquire directly with HHT about it, but I'm waiting for their response.

All 4 dealers in my area told me within the last two weeks that if I bought a Quad from them, I'd get the Quad lifetime warranty. Makes me wonder if they're uninformed, or trying to pull a fast one.

 

[jtp10181]

I would just get it in writing from the dealer. There would be a good chance Quad would cover something anyway especially if you have your original manual with the old warranty in it (if you get an old unit). But if you have it in writing from the dealer they would probably take it out of their pocket if Quad denied the claim.

I really doubt you would have to use the warranty outside of what the new one offers anyway. Most stuff that's going to fail will do so within the first few years.

Here is the current warranty in case anyone is wondering: (broken link removed to http://quadrafire.com/Customer_Care/hhtwarranty.pdf)

 

[kilbury]

At the bottom of the warranty page it does state that this warranty supercedes all warranties in existance. IMO, that means anything that had a lifetime warranty does not any longer. I think the dealers you talked with are incorrect. I would not be comfortable telling my customers that there was a lifetime warranty.

 

[stoveguy13]

life time warrantty is the lifetime of the product not your lifetime from my understanding the lifetime of a product defined by law is 7yrs.

 

[kilbury]

I agree with you on that and I think, I'm not sure 100% But I think Quad covers lifetime as long as something is in production. After the product is not made anymore Quad used to cover it for an additional 10 years. These manufacturers are pretty tricky when it comes to warranty!

 

[jtp10181]

At the bottom of the warranty page it does state that this warranty supercedes all warranties in existance. IMO, that means anything that had a lifetime warranty does not any longer. I think the dealers you talked with are incorrect. I would not be comfortable telling my customers that there was a lifetime warranty.

I brought this up with HHT (the supercedes thing). They said it only supercedes the warranty on products sold after Sept 1, 2008 which is when the new one went into effect. They will honor the old warranty on the old products as long as it can be established the purchase date was before the cut off. This is what I was told anyway... I talked to some people directly involved with the warranty process and approving warranty claims.

 

[kilbury]

Thats good to know.