Reasonable Warranty Expectations

[Paul L]

I notified my dealer two months after purchase that my door gasket was frayed and leaking in two different locations. He agreed that it shouldn't be doing that and agreed to order another gasket under warranty and would notify me when it came in. Three weeks later (yesterday) I called him and he put me on hold for a few minutes and came back saying "I had a gasket here with your name on it but someone sold it (he is a one man operation). I'll get you another one. Quadra-fire won't cover it up under warranty but I will give you the gasket. No, I won't install it."

Quadra-fire's warranty excludes items such as gaskets that "are subject to normal wear and tear." Okay ... a gasket is certainly subject to normal wear and tear but at the same time a failure within two months is most certainly not normal wear and tear.

I still love my insert but feel this company is nickel and dimeing me over something that shouldn't be that big a deal. My opinion is that happy stove owners are a manufacturer's best sales people. I don't think they agree.

 

[tcassavaugh]

I hear you and feel your pain. I too don't think that the gasket should fail after a couple of months.......however, if he's willing to give you a gasket, i'd take it with a smile and put it on. not hard, at least the one for my summit wasn't. I went down to my local hardware store and got some gasket cement and put it on the next day. oh, btw, if its not making a seal, I don't think i'd be burning it until I replaced the gasket. jmho

 

[Paul L]

Thanks .... I'm sure I can figure out how to replace a gasket. Someone in my position that wasn't handy in the shop would be looking at paying someone to do this repair when it really is a manufacturer problem. Quadra-fire had an opportunity to make a customer happy with just a tiny bit of effort and failed, standing by a technicality in their warranty language. I shouldn't be surprised since their "customer service" never replied to my three inquiries regarding their ACC control instructional video that is totally incorrect. Stupid company with a mostly decent product.

 

[BrotherBart]

I have sworn for years that I was going to write a "sticky" on what you need to get in writing before you give the check to a stove dealer. This one may be the one that gets me going.

 

[Hogwildz]

If it frayed that soon, check the door adjustment. Sounds like the door is adjusted too tight.

 

[DanCorcoran]

If I had bought a new car and the windshield wiper started smearing or fraying after a couple of months, I'd be pleased if the dealer offered to give me a new set of wipers to install. I wouldn't expect the manufacturer to cover it under warranty. I hear your frustration, but I think the dealer was trying to do the right thing...

 

[Paul L]

If I had bought a new car and the windshield wiper started smearing or fraying after a couple of months, I'd be pleased if the dealer offered to give me a new set of wipers to install. I wouldn't expect the manufacturer to cover it under warranty. I hear your frustration, but I think the dealer was trying to do the right thing...

What if the tires wore out after 3,000 miles?

 

[begreen]

Early fraying can occur if the paint stick to the gasket and peaks the gasket surface when the door is first opened.

 

[bholler]

I would expect the dealer to just replace it. we sell stoves and if that happened to one of our customers we would just replace it and not submit a warranty claim. Now we would call the manufacturer and complain after we fixed it. Also I am not sure why a stove shop wouldn't just have rolls of gasket that is such a common item and a few rolls of different sizes are not that expensive to keep on hand..

 

[DanCorcoran]

What if the tires wore out after 3,000 miles?

New car tires are covered under a tire manufacturer's warranty. They are not considered consumables, as are wipers, filters, bulbs, etc. My Hearthstone Shelburne warranty specifies a limited one-year warranty for, "Stove cement and all gaskets – against breakage or deterioration." Each manufacturer specifies what the warranty covers. I downloaded and read the entire owner's manual and warranty before I bought the stove, so that I would understand what to expect. YMMV.

 

[Paul L]

10- 4 .... my only dispute is the difference between what is written and what is "right."

 

[DanCorcoran]

10- 4 .... my only dispute is the difference between what is written and what is "right."

I agree. I just think that the dealer providing new gasket out of his own pocket qualifies as "what's right". But I also think that a lot of the angst comes from having purchased a major new appliance that isn't perfect for the first year or so...disappointing. I hear that.