Should 2nd. Buyer Receive Guarantee ?

I live an hour from Conrad Johnson by car. I once brought my MF2100 amp there because one channel went out. I was the second owner. I provided them with no ownership information, nor did they ask for any. They replaced a couple fuses and did a complete system check of the amp to make sure it was up to specifications, and to make sure nothing faulty cause the fuses to blow. They shipped it back to my house (in a new box!) so I would not have to drive over (weekday) to pick it up. The bill for this: $0.00

I doubt they offer this as a free service. They probably checked the serial number to determine the age and since it was within the warranty period, they did not charge me. The written policy of no warranty transfers is probably to limit their potential liability, however depending on the situation will fix things without too much fuss.

When you see factory "refurbished" items for sale at various auction sites like Ubid.com it ususally comes with a lesser warranty (90 days instead of a couple years). Some of these items are new. They sell them on clearance / closeout as refurbished so they can increase their profits on the fire sale by shortening warranty period.

A warranty is an additional cost of manufacture based upon the estimated useful life prior to failure(mean time to failure) and the marketing value of providing customer service. It represents the "integrity" of a company in the mind of many. Only in the mind of manufacturers it represents extra cost which always is a trade off against potential sales.

That said, it sucks when high end audio manufacturers who sell units for interplanetary prices expect buyers and used buyers to accept the risk that their 5,10,30,000 brain child is really thrown together with crap and it's caveat emptor.

Bill E.

I am a firm believer that a manufacturer should service any of their products regardless of the owner or the place purchased. At the same time, I don't think its unreasonable for a manufacturer, at their sole discretion, to charge a reasonable fee for this service. Honoring 2nd owners should positively effect the value of the original owners investment. As a long-term business strategy, it's good business. It also implies that the manufacturer has faith in the business and their products. Possibly some manufacturers don't have good long-term vision.

On a related topic, who really cares about warranties? When buying equipment, do you even ask about the warranty? When buying new from a bricks and mortar dealer my expectation is that if something goes wrong, that the dealer will do whatever it takes to makes it right. In a few cases I've been disappointed, but the majority of the time the dealer does the right thing. Overtime, guess where I steer my business?

I have very little that I can add to the above comments except to stand firm with my fellow consumers....The companies that make this stuff supposedly make it to uncompromising standards. These components represent their cratsmanship and when they out their names on them they should stand by them through any wear throughout the time they certify them. Anything else simply represents a shameful way to avoid a debt of honor to us the consumer.
That said I note the gfrequent anecdotal reports like the above from the Cary user that shows that many of these manufacturers do care about their product albeit unofficially. By the way, does anyone know of a ferrari, lexus or any Ford warranty is transferable? Is a dishwasher?

Best

jd

I am not exactly sure what the warrantee policy of KRELL is for items purchased in 2001, but for ones prior to that they do honor the warrantee going (5 years) back to the original date of manufacture. Also they are a little soft on that time-frame.
I have always found KRELL to be more than fair ........ but, I hope that they will continue the policy above.

Richard