Extended Warranty Questions

[TomDx]

A contractor I'm considering is giving 10 yr parts and 5 years labor... Everyone else gives 1 year on labor (except Carrier, who was outrageous with their quote). This Contractor is a bit more expensive, so maybe that's built into the price... but he seems reasonable. This same Contractor is offering to extend that 5 yr labor to 10 yrs for XXX dollars, which in comparison to my PSE&G worry-free is a good deal. I know some of my questions are specific a given installer's business... I'm just looking for opinions of other professionals...

- Is an Extended Labor Warranty the same as an Annual Maintenance Agreement? If not, what is the difference?

- Is an Extended Labor Warranty the same as my NJ PSE&G Worry Free Contract? If not, what's the difference?

- Contractor says that with the Labor Warranty, I can cancel my PSE&G Worry Free... would you agree?

- Is it true that only an authorized Trane, Lennox, etc dealer can order parts under warranty?

- Contractor guarantees a tech will be on site within 24hrs, except on Holidays which will incur a service
charge... Is this an industry standard to surcharge warranty service when done on a Holiday?

- When a service call is made with a Parts and Labor warranty in effect, is the service call totally free, or are
there charges for incidentals like deductibles, mileage, tolls, etc...

- If a part is replaced, is that part also covered for the remainder of the warranty?

- Is the warranty truly 10 years, i.e., will they replace parts for the entire 10 years even if the cost of all
replaced parts exceeds the initial cost of the product?

- What is the Customer's recourse if a Contractor fails to execute their side of the Contract in good faith?

- Assuming that I don't do anything destructive to my A/C or Furnace, is their any obligation (ie, cost) on my
part to keep the warranty valid... ie do I have to spend $200 or more on a yearly inspection?

- As a general rule I view extended warranties as a waste of money, so I know this is a subjective question,
but is purchasing the Labor warranty for years 6 thru 10 a reasonable thing to do in these situations?

Thanks all... appreciate your time.

[martyinlincoln]

All good questions but the answer on most is depends.
An extended labor warranty is not the same as a maintenance contract but the dealer might require it for the warranty to be valid. The company I work for covers labor for 10 years in house at no extra charge if the customer keeps the contract for that whole time.
Some companies charge a trip or diagnostic fee and others don't. We don't, ask your dealer what his policy is. Same for weekend or holiday calls-up to the dealer.
Replacement parts have the warranty good untill the original 10 years is up. Say you have a fan motor go out on year 2, the replacement will have a 8 year warranty.

Make sure to look at a copy of the factory warranty before making a decision. If you're the same Tom asking on another forum about rental property then you might be out of luck unless the dealer falsifies information. The few I've looked at specifically stated only valid on single family,owner occupied dwellings.

[TomDx]

All good questions but the answer on most is depends.
An extended labor warranty is not the same as a maintenance contract but the dealer might require it for the warranty to be valid. The company I work for covers labor for 10 years in house at no extra charge if the customer keeps the contract for that whole time.
Some companies charge a trip or diagnostic fee and others don't. We don't, ask your dealer what his policy is. Same for weekend or holiday calls-up to the dealer.
Replacement parts have the warranty good untill the original 10 years is up. Say you have a fan motor go out on year 2, the replacement will have a 8 year warranty.

Make sure to look at a copy of the factory warranty before making a decision. If you're the same Tom asking on another forum about rental property then you might be out of luck unless the dealer falsifies information. The few I've looked at specifically stated only valid on single family,owner occupied dwellings.

you're right... I just called Lennox and if it's rental and the basic warranty is 5 years, it doesn't qualify for the extension to 10 years.
Thanks for pointing that out.

[TomDx]

you're right... I just called Lennox and if it's rental and the basic warranty is 5 years, it doesn't qualify for the extension to 10 years.
Thanks for pointing that out.

The Lennox installer is insisting that the 14ACX will be covered for 10 years once registered, even though I showed him that the Lennox website says rental units only qualify for 5 years. Does he have a way to make this happen that is legit, or is he gaming the system? I don't want to be in a position 7 years from now where I find the compressor isn't covered. Would it be advisable to just upgrade to the XC14 which does cover the compressor for 10 years... or just gamble that I might be stuck with a 5 year warranty.

Thanks

[second opinion]

The Lennox installer is insisting that the 14ACX will be covered for 10 years once registered, even though I showed him that the Lennox website says rental units only qualify for 5 years. Does he have a way to make this happen that is legit, or is he gaming the system? I don't want to be in a position 7 years from now where I find the compressor isn't covered. Would it be advisable to just upgrade to the XC14 which does cover the compressor for 10 years... or just gamble that I might be stuck with a 5 year warranty.

Thanks

He would be gaming the system and would need to file a fraudulent claim, and you knowing about it would make you an accessory to insurance fraud. Not a good position to be in. I would seek another dealer with higher ethics.

This dealer would probably be one of the first individuals to complain that a cost increase from his distributor was hurting his business, even though he is creating the increase.