Thursday, August 11, 2016

Lifetime Warranty, Anyone?

Do you ever wonder who-in-the-world keeps all their warranties and actually makes claims?

That would be us.

A warranty got us a new printer. A hose reel. My umbrella repaired. When or where did I get that old umbrella? Have no idea, but I like it! Up or down with one button!


Which brings me to this question:

At what point in life is a "lifetime warranty" too much?

Haha, you say.  Nope - I am dead (whoops!) serious.

The issue first came up when we were buying an exquisite, cast iron Christmas tree stand. Pricey, but lifetime warranty. Even in our forties, the thought occurred that the tree stand could outlast us. Fast forward MANY years. To our fake tree. (Sniff.) On my bucket list? A real tree. In that tree stand. Still, it seems a waste.

And some things shouldn't last forever. D3 had a backpack with a lifetime warranty. The company replaced the zipper. Then a pen exploded in it. I shot it full of hairspray and tossed it in the washer, in spite of label warnings. Like new!

So is D3 still carrying it? Forest green - need I say more?  Anyhow, these days she carries a briefcase or a diaper bag.

Still, wanting a good warranty is a hard habit to break.

The issue really came into focus over the summer when we realized that our AC is not really cooling the house anymore and repairing it might not make sense.

Several HVAC professionals estimated replacement costs and options.

Including warranties. Some came with a lifetime warranty. Quality, right? Can't stay in business otherwise.

So, we did our cost/benefit conversation. Mr. Wonderful thought it made sense to get a system with a lifetime warranty for our "forever home."

I was less certain. "What if one of us dies before the heat and air do?"

An innocent (but reasonable) question, or so I thought.

Silence. And not in a good way. Still, I pressed on . . .

"Will you stay in this house if I die first?"

"Of course!!"

"Do you think I will stay if you go first?"

"Where else would you go?"

"I am thinking of a nice condo."

"A CONDO???  WHERE????"

"Anywhere I want. You'll be dead!"

We got the lifetime warranty. Still not sure about it. Probably should have checked to see if it is transferable, but that is hindsight.

And Mr. Wonderful is looking at me with new eyes. It is pretty hard to surprise him after all these years, but maybe - just this once - I did!