Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: Chris_H on December 26, 2006, 02:57:34 pm
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Chris’ favorite spa company changed their 2007 warranty.
Anyone want to break it down for me and tell me all the holes in it?
http://www.calspas.com/manuals/downloads/2007/2007_06_01_manuals_Spa_Portable_US.pdf
The warranty is on page 60 and 61 of the attached website.
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To begin with it states it goes through the dealer. That implies it is the dealers who bear the burden, not the manufacturer.
Next it states it is only good at the original delivery site. You cannot relocate.
Read the owner's manual for further exclusions. :-X
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You gotta love those guys.
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re: To begin with it states it goes through the dealer.
That implies it is the dealers who bear the burden, not the manufacturer.
This is from the Hot Springs Warranty:
WARRANTY PERFORMANCE
To make a claim under this warranty, contact your dealer. In the event you are unable to obtain service from the dealer, please contact Watkins Manufacturing Corporation, 1280 Park Center Drive, Vista, California, 92081, Attn: Customer Service Department (800) 999-4688 or via email. You must give Watkins and/or your dealer written notice of any warranty claim, along with a copy of your original purchase receipt indicating the date of the purchase, within ten (10) days of the time you discover the claim. Watkins reserves the right to inspect the malfunction or defect on location.
Now can we also go over every other spa manufacture
2007 warranty with a suspicious "microscope every word"
......"they suck fine tooth comb"?
Oh wait a minute...everybody else is perfect and have 100%
satisfied customers with not a single warranty "issue".
God forgive me....I forgot! ::)
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re: To begin with it states it goes through the dealer.
That implies it is the dealers who bear the burden, not the manufacturer.
This is from the Hot Springs Warranty:
WARRANTY PERFORMANCE
To make a claim under this warranty, contact your dealer. In the event you are unable to obtain service from the dealer, please contact Watkins Manufacturing Corporation, 1280 Park Center Drive, Vista, California, 92081, Attn: Customer Service Department (800) 999-4688 or via email. You must give Watkins and/or your dealer written notice of any warranty claim, along with a copy of your original purchase receipt indicating the date of the purchase, within ten (10) days of the time you discover the claim. Watkins reserves the right to inspect the malfunction or defect on location.
Now can we also go over every other spa manufacture
2007 warranty with a suspicious "microscope every word"
......"they suck fine tooth comb"?
Oh wait a minute...everybody else is perfect and have 100%
satisfied customers with not a single warranty "issue".
God forgive me....I forgot! ::)
From Cal spas warranty:
"...the factory authorized dealer is responisble for the performing all necessary repairs."
A subtle difference, but a difference.
However, I agree with Zep, any warranty can be taken apart; not just in the spa industry.
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It appears someone has nothing better to do with their time then attack the Cal Spa Warranty
Not that theres anything wrong with that
Chris H are you being out sold buy Cal it seems everytime a Cal thread comes up you bring up the link to the warranty.
2 words Broken Record Give us something else besides hearsay & the link
Happy Holidays Everyone
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How about "damage caused by a known or unkown problem". Crafty! Really only allows wiggle room for an unsavory dealer. But previous posts are right, most warranties can be picked apart if read closely.
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It appears someone has nothing better to do with their time then attack the Cal Spa Warranty
Not that theres anything wrong with that
Chris H are you being out sold buy Cal it seems everytime a Cal thread comes up you bring up the link to the warranty.
2 words Broken Record Give us something else besides hearsay & the link
Happy Holidays Everyone
I stopped trying to debate people on these forums awhile ago, but for the Cal warranty I will make a special exception. I brought this "Broken Record" up because someone on a different forum said it was changing for 2007. If it didn’t change, I would not have brought it up. It certainly is not hearsay as it certainly did change. If other manufacturers changed their warranty, I would do the same thing. Cal is just the only one that did it for 2007. It should also be noted, this is the 3rd different warranty for this manufacturer since 2004.
Consumers come to this forum for important information about spas. This manufacturer changing their warranty is important information for consumers to know and it should not be put at a discount as you are trying to do.
Cal, as one of the industry leaders with one of the industry’s best reputations, should be proud of their warranty and should have people that sell/service their spas explain the warranty to me and all the consumers on this forum. If someone asked questions about specifics on the Jacuzzi, Hotspring, Sundance, Marquis, and Caldera warranty I think someone would respond about the specific changes. You, as a Cal representative, should explain what changed as this is actually relevant information when purchasing a spa. Why don’t you do that for us? While you are at it, can you also explain why they have had 3 different warranties since 2004?
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"To begin with it (CalSpas) states it goes through the dealer"
So what?..Wouldn't that be the standard in the industry across the board?
Who else would you contact first?
I would think any home office is going to ask the customer to first "go through their dealer".
This is from the Hot Springs Warranty:
"To make a claim under this warranty, contact your dealer"[/i]
From Caldera Spa Warranty:
"To make a claim under this warranty, contact your dealer"
From Master Spas Warranty page:
"Your dealer offers prompt troubleshooting by phone or on-site warranty service by appointment"
At least Cal, HS, and some others proudly show their complete warranty details on their website...Several spa makers don't.
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"[At least Cal, HS, and some others proudly show their complete warranty details on their website...Several spa makers don't.
Amen to that. Try to find the warranty with some manufacturers and you might just find the holy grail along with it.
I personally don't think Cal is trying to get out of anything by stating you go through the dealer to obtain warranty help. For mfgs with dealers, that is the norm. Companies like Thermo have to go through a third party. I'd rather go through my dealer myself.
The only thing I've heard - and I have no idea if this is accurate or not - is that Cal may void the warranty if you don't use a 6 guage grounding wire. I think I heard that on this forum. Maybe someone can fill us in if this is the case or not. If it is the case, what is the big deal here? I know it would cost more to do a 6ga grounding wire, but other than that, I don't see the problem.
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Most of the changes have come on components to the tub not the major parts like structure and labour. As new product reliability increases like pump seals they have to add revisions to the warranty. When products improve you have to improve with them.
Changes for 07 lots of cosmetic like skirting,lighting,waterfalls.
They have dropped a few tubs combined a couple of starter series. They dropped a whole series, renamed the Victory series the VX line and it will have more options for price point tubs. There is no more unsightly CAL WOOD all synthetic filters have changed to a thread-in style. Im sure I missed some stuff but thats the jist of it.
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Most of the changes have come on components to the tub not the major parts like structure and labour. As new product reliability increases like pump seals they have to add revisions to the warranty. When products improve you have to improve with them.
Changes for 07 lots of cosmetic like skirting,lighting,waterfalls.
They have dropped a few tubs combined a couple of starter series. They dropped a whole series, renamed the Victory series the VX line and it will have more options for price point tubs. There is no more unsightly CAL WOOD all synthetic filters have changed to a thread-in style. Im sure I missed some stuff but thats the jist of it.
It appears Cal decreased the warranty on the heater for 2007. It used to be a lifetime warranty on parts and labor, now it is just parts. Should we assume the same thing as you said earlier about product reliability on the seals?
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(http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r165/tileman_photos/ratsass.gif)
;D ;D ;D
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re: If other manufacturers changed their warranty, I would do the same thing.
Cal is just the only one that did it for 2007
Since you made the statement can you provide credible sources that there were not one single change in any other spa manufucture warranty for the new 2007 models?
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I do not care what Cal Spas has written in their warranty, as it does not matter. Try to get reimbursement from them on a warranty is next to impossible.
I just tried to get a heater for a guy who has the so called life time heater warranty, guess what they told me no said it has to be chemical damage. I told them I find that odd seeing how the heater is not even in the water, they them hung up on me.
This only one story of many the same.
Cal Spas is a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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The XL Heater has always been lifetime on the Part but only five years labour never changed.
Too be brutally honest Cal is tough to work with on warranty but they do pay out with a little negotiating the longest Ive waited for reimbursement was 4 months and the shortest for them to cut a check was 5 days. If your forms arent filled correctly it takes quite a while but I am very diligent when it comes to money owed to us.
just recently we had an RGA tub situation It got approved in 6 days and we had a new tub in 17.
Gary sorry about your troubles seems really fishy
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re: Cal Spas is a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then why do you sell them if they are so much trouble?
(or why are you an authorized Cal Spa tech?)
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The XL Heater has always been lifetime on the Part but only five years labour never changed.
No where in the 2004, 2005, or 2006 warranty does it say labor is only 5 years on the heater. Seems pretty misleading and probably one of the reasons why Cal has such a reputation in the industry. Good to see they are finally being up front with consumers. I always knew there was something fishy with that lifetime warranty. Anyone else find the previous years warranties misleading?
Pathfinder,
For 2006, I never knew the Cal heater warranty was only 5 years on labor. The warranty does not state this; I think I was pretty reasonable to ask what type of hole is in the 2007 warranty especially with the realization that in previous years Cal did not state what the warranty actually entailed for the heater. That is a very large hole in the warranty.
Chris
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re: Cal Spas is a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then why do you sell them if they are so much trouble?
(or why are you an authorized Cal Spa tech?)
I only fix them, I quit doing warranty for them a couple of years ago, the recent heater issue I took on was because this person could not find anyone else and I felt bad for them. I retrofitted a regular Incoloy 825 15" heater in the spa and that works just fine.
I deal will lots of other companies and Master and Cal are the only two I hate dealing with.
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The warranty looks pretty standard and they even put a parts list in the owners manual.
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Too be brutally honest Cal is tough to work with on warranty but they do pay out with a little negotiating the longest Ive waited for reimbursement was 4 months and the shortest for them to cut a check was 5 days. If your forms arent filled correctly it takes quite a while but I am very diligent when it comes to money owed to us.
just recently we had an RGA tub situation It got approved in 6 days and we had a new tub in 17.
Gary sorry about your troubles seems really fishy
I'd venture to say this is where much of their troubles have emanated. If they make life difficult for their own dealers many of them end up not servicing the customer as well as they should and their reputation suffers. When a manufacturer properly backs their dealer the dealer then tends to give the same treatment to the customer. Now I know many Cal Spas dealers won't let this effect the customer (and I'm sure Pathfinder is this type) but it's only human nature that you pass some of the pain on.
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re: I deal will lots of other companies and Master and Cal are the only two I hate dealing with
Well my experience with CalSpas has been wonderful
and I have a friend that bought one 3 years ago and he loves his too.
I have spoke with CalSpas parts department a couple of times about
some possible upgrades or changes and they were very helpful and responsive.
My friend had some minor problem with the digital readout unit and they
fixed it immediately.
My CalSpas dealer was installing another new Cal tub in my area
and the install supervisor dropped by my house just to make sure
every was going ok.
I couldn't be happier!
:)
(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/ItsZep/Hot%20Tub/TubDeckJun-2.jpg)(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/ItsZep/Hot%20Tub/Xmas06009-12222.jpg)
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re: I deal will lots of other companies and Master and Cal are the only two I hate dealing with
Well my experience with CalSpas has been wonderful
Let's hope it stays that way and it sounds like you have a good dealer from your remarks which is a big plus.
When we hear stories like Gary's about Master or Cal he's certainly not saying everyone with that brand will be unhappy, he's just recounting his experience over some time frame. Individual results will certainly vary.
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In many cases - NOT ALL FOR SURE - it does not matter who the manufacturer is. If the dealer is great, then the manufacturer will look great in the eyes of the consumer.
If the dealers stinks, then the manufacturer will look bad in the eyes of the consumer.
A horrible manufacturer could possibly get lucky and have a great dealer that makes them look good. Most of the time, great dealers will find their way to the great manufacturers and vice versa.
The manufacturers must rely on their dealers to be their front line in making good on warranty and all other issues. If the manufacturer does not have a good dealer, they will get a black eye.
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In many cases - NOT ALL FOR SURE - it does not matter who the manufacturer is. If the dealer is great, then the manufacturer will look great in the eyes of the consumer.
It definitely matters who the manufacturer is but the better the dealer, the less the manufacturer matters, for sure!!!
Most of the time, great dealers will find their way to the great manufacturers and vice versa.
That's a good point. If you're a good dealer and not happy with your manufacturer's performance you look to move on to someone else who you think can help bring you to teh next level. Same with the manufacturers, they look to replace a poor performer with a good performer.
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Let's hope it stays that way and it sounds like you have a good dealer from your remarks which is a big plus.
When we hear stories like Gary's about Master or Cal he's certainly not saying everyone with that brand will be unhappy, he's just recounting his experience over some time frame. Individual results will certainly vary.
Correct! I still cannot get over the chemical damage claim on the XL heater though.
Would a recommend a Cal, NO WAY, but if you have one I wish you many years of trouble free service.