Law Talking Types

"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch) 02/09/2016 at 18:43 • Filed to: None

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Question: is it legal (California) to deny a warranty claim based on where you bought something? i.e. Manufacture authorized re-seller vs not?

I couldn’t find anything specific on the googs.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > HammerheadFistpunch 02/09/2016 at 18:47

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Are we talking a car part or something else? I know camera companies will not honor the warranty on their products if you buy “grey market.” That can suck when you shell out a couple of grand for a camera lens whilst buying it from an overseas vendor to save a little only to have it take a dump on you.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > HammerheadFistpunch 02/09/2016 at 18:49

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Obviously I don’t know, but have you tried going through Amazon rather than the merchant or manufacturer? Quite often a sale from a merchant through Amazon will be fulfilled by Amazon, meaning they deal with warranty and repair also. You’ve probably checked already, but just in case.

HammerheadFistpunch > V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! 02/09/2016 at 19:07

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It's an electronic device, but I guess the moral of the story is that if I can prove that it's their product can they deny warranty claim

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > HammerheadFistpunch 02/09/2016 at 19:11

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I know in Canada they can.

iSureWilll > HammerheadFistpunch 02/09/2016 at 19:27

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I work in the aerospace industry(electronics side) and people are crazy about counterfeit parts. I recently procured a battery charger for a satellite phone and it HAD to come from an authorized source. I had to have a Certificate of Conformance from the manufacturer stating they were authentic parts.

I believe that they don’t have to honor the warranty since you bought it from an unauthorized reseller. Best you could hope for is maybe a discount on a new one. At least in my opinion...

HammerheadFistpunch > iSureWilll 02/09/2016 at 19:35

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I can see both sides of the coin, what it seems like the issue in this case is that the manufacture takes the companies product and sells it wholesale; Same product exactly, but no margins for the company. On the one side - its not sold by the company, on the other, it would have broken all the same because its their design. I guess my question boils down to:

Is the warranty tied to the product or the issuer of the contract.

iSureWilll > HammerheadFistpunch 02/09/2016 at 19:37

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I believe tied to the issuer of the contract. The mfg would honor the warranty to the original purchaser (wholesaler). Just a guess though.

deekster_caddy > HammerheadFistpunch 02/09/2016 at 19:58

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I would think it matters if their factory warranty includes a statement about who you purchased it from. I can see situations where resellers get discounts because they are supposed to take on the warranty responsibilities. I’ve seen items which have in their paperwork “In the event of problems, contact the store directly, do not contact the manufacturer at ...”

SteveLehto > HammerheadFistpunch 02/09/2016 at 20:13

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Well, the real question is which warranty/ies you are talking about. Many warranties are created by operation of law at the time of SALE. So if you bought it from a non-authorized seller, what are they authorized to “sell” you? They can obviously sell you the product itself but they might not have the right to sell you what is, in essence, an obligation which flows to a third party.

It’s an unusual question in that I was hoping the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act would address it - which it doesn’t apparently.

HammerheadFistpunch > SteveLehto 02/09/2016 at 20:30

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Thanks Steve, I too went hunting through the mm act but couldn’t find it. I think I’m about to be out a few bills it’s the tldr for my story

haveacarortwoorthree2 > HammerheadFistpunch 02/10/2016 at 09:21

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My experience is that there may be some warranties implied by operation of law that cannot be voided simply because of purchase on the grey market, but the manufacturer’s warranty is a matter of contract. If the manufacturer says this warranty is valid only if the product is purchased from an authorized reseller, then there is no warranty if you don’t purchase from such a reseller. Your recourse then would be against whomever you bought the product from if that person claimed it came with a manufacturer’s warranty.

That said, there may be an argument against the manufacturer if you purchased the product and there was no indication that the warranty was limited until after the product already was opened and in a non-returnable state. But you would have to prove that it was new/never used and you didn’t know of the warranty limitation (which begs the question how you knew of the warranty in the first place).