Hello and welcome,
This Blog is in answer to several customer complaints and to educate those who have not yet been the victim of the notorious...... "LIFETIME SPRING WARRANTY".
It is meant to sound bad and, In my opinion it is.
I have done my research and also witnessed first hand as well as from customers accounts.
you can trust my answers but I always recommend that you do your research too.
The basics about Garage Door Springs:
The Spring is manufactured several ways, What is important is how they are rated for Life Expectancy.
the Springs are tested and rated by "Cycles". A Cycle is the Garage Door closing and opening one time which causes the Spring to wind up to its full potential and then release.
After calling several local and National Companies most responded on average they use a 10,000 Ten Thousand Cycle Spring.
So lets do the math based on the average.
The average number of times a garage door cycles in one day is four times.
10,000 cycles divided by 4 cycles per day divided by 365 days (one year) equals 6.84 years, lets round up for ease of the math to 7 Seven years.
Here is where the deception begins:
Several of the Companies that offer a Lifetime Warranty also offer similar Warranties to it, like the Thirty day or the Three year Warranty. As each one goes up in length of time so dose the price considerably.
Lets focus on the worst one and break down the Warranty and math:
1. The Warranty: Average Charge $500 - $700 Dollars
The basics of all the Lifetime Warranties that I have encountered to date always state somewhere in it or via a sticker strategically place that:
If the Door or Door parts in question are not serviced by Said company within one year of repair and every year there after it will be VOID.
You will also find that if you move from or sell your home the Warranty is VOID.
If you have the Part serviced by another company other than them the Warranty is VOID.
If you do not have several other parts of the Torsion system replaced they cannot Warranty the Spring.
Hmm, I thought they were warranting the Item, Not the person buying it.
But, Lets just say that you stick to the plan and follow the rules.
Based on the Math:
$600.00 - Averaging from the five to seven hundred dollar initial Warranty cost.
$700.00 - Averaging from the Annual service call and service charge of $80.00 to a $120.00 and the Cycle life of the Spring at 7 Seven years.
So, you have invested $1300.00 dollars so far into the "LIFETIME WARRANTY". Hah! But we are not done.
So what happens when you call the company on their Warranty?
Will they honor it?
Did they even keep records of the actual job or the annual Service?
Are they still owned by the same owner?
These are not things you thought about Seven Years ago when they pitched such a great sell but are all things that can and have happened to customers.
But all goes well and they come out to honor the Warranty and change the spring........Then they turn around and hand you another bill for $200 - $400 Dollars???
Because they did not tell you that the Warranty only covers the part in question Labor and Service at the time of repair not the Service and Labor to do the work upon return.
$1600.00 dollars on average in Seven years!
To put it into perspective you could have had Two complete new Doors for the cost of your Life Time Warranty Spring!
Is it Crazy? Is It Insane? Is It something that happens all the time? YES!
Please, Educate your Friends, Family, Coworkers, Etc.
Remember always get at least three estimates before having any work performed, Research the company, Always ask questions, And Beware of the Company that will not give you a quote over the phone, There is usually a very skilled and crafty salesperson on the way.
