One of my favorite topics!
A warranty is a guarantee of the quality of the goods or services that one purchases. It says that the manufacturer or performer of the service believes enough in their products or services to offer to give you your money back, exchange the item for a new one, or correct poor-quality or defective workmanship.
It tells you that the vendor believes enough in his products, services and reputation that he’s willing to guarantee that what you get from him will do what it is supposed to do. That’s pretty much what we ask of the providers of goods and services; that their products and work will be what they say it will be.
Car manufacturers offer warranties on their products because manufacturing techniques and hence quality control used to be spotty. They had to guarantee that the products would do what they were supposed to do or they, the manufacturers, would correct the defect, free of charge. I remember that whenever my dad bought a new car, he’d always keep it for about two weeks, noting all of the things that were wrong with it, from the factory, and take it in once for service. It was expected.
People make buying decisions based on quality and warranty. If a company is not willing to guarantee the quality of their goods or services, that should be a major red flag. Heck, if they don’t trust what they do, why should you, right? There is also an “implied warranty”. That is, if you buy something, you should be able to safely assume that it will do what it is supposed to do, at minimum, or you can take it back to where you bought it and get a refund. In addition, as a rule, if you buy something or hire someone to do something for you and the product or their work causes some type of damage, you would be pretty safe in assuming that the manufacturer or service provider would be liable for those damages. “Products Liability”.
So let’s look an example. I have in my hand a “Workmanship Warranty” from a roofing contractor. First line, “(Let’s call him, “contractor”-the name’s not important at this time) warrants all labor for five (5) years from the date of contract.” All labor. Excellent! Makes you want to do business with these guys, right?
“2. If your roof, siding, or gutters has a installation defect (I am copying this directly), (contractor) will, at its cost, repair the defective workmanship.” Okay! Absolutely!
“3. If your roof, siding or gutters has a material defect, warranty reverts to the manufacturer’s warranty.” So if the materials that we bring to your job site are defective, take it up with the manufacturer. To me that’s kind of iffy, since I’ve engaged the contractor to do the work and they chose the materials. Are they saying that they won’t stand behind the materials that they brought to the job? Hopefully, they value their reputation enough to work with you and on your behalf to the manufacturer to get the issues resolved.
“4. It is at the discretion of (contractor) to determine if the failure is due to improper installation or material defects.” Seems like it would be pretty obvious, but okay. That way they can either fix it on the spot, or contact the manufacturer to rectify the situation. So far, so good, in assumption.
“5. Misuse, vandalism, acts of God, or improper maintenance will not be covered under this warranty.” Fair enough. If you don’t take care of your roof, whatever that means, or someone damages it, the installer isn’t responsible and neither will the manufacturer. Of course.
“6. (contractor) assumes no liability for incidental or consequential damages.” Okay, um, wait, what? First red flag! I’m not an attorney, who reads and interprets contracts for a living, but to me this says that if their workers drop a hammer on you or your neighbor while working on your roof, they take no responsibility. Or if they somehow start a fire while working on your roof and burn your building down, oops; not our fault. I don’t think so. See, I’m pretty sure that you can’t simply waive responsibility for damage that you cause by stating that it’s not your problem, but that’s what attorneys are for, to determine the validity of such things. Also, should such a claim arise and your homeowner’s insurance provider finds that you have agreed to such conditions, making them fully liable for the injuries or damage, that may not bode well for your continued relationship with them. I’m not sure they could cancel you for that, being an increased risk that wasn’t contemplated, but they may find a reason to non-renew.
Here’s the best part…”7. The five (5) year warranty provided only covers full roof, siding, or gutter replacements on property.” Here we go! So any and all of the foregoing offers to stand behind their work ONLY apply to a complete roof, siding or guttering replacement. Anything less than a full replacement is not covered by their warranty. So they won’t guarantee any repairs that they do, they take no responsibility if the materials are crap, and it’s not their problem if they injure someone or cause property damage, under any circumstances. What the…? Um, I don’t think so.
But then…”8. Repairs that are not full roof, siding, or gutter replacements are not covered by warranty. Any warranty on repair would be given at the discretion of (contractor) separate from this warranty, as it would normally not cover any repairs made to a previous contractors work.” So here we’re told, again, in case you missed it the first time, that unless they do a complete replacement, they won’t guarantee their work.
So, what have we learned? To read the warranty BEFORE signing the contract. Even if you know the guy, he comes highly recommended, he’s a relative; read the warranty. If he’s done a great job for other people and no one’s had a reason to read his warranty, yours could be the one place where his guys don’t to a good job, or cause injury or damage. If the contractor or manufacturer isn’t confident enough in their own products or services to guarantee it, unless it’s the only choice, find someone else.
