How long is a lifetime warranty?
Discussion
ds)!!!I think "lifetime" should last forever, or at least as long as my lifetime.
I have a couple of pretty old Zippo lighters that I break from time to time (flint stuck in sideways, or broken hinge on lid). Each time I drop it off at their service centre, they send it to Germany to get fixed, and I pick it up in a couple of weeks. All free and no attempt to weasel out of it.
I have a couple of pretty old Zippo lighters that I break from time to time (flint stuck in sideways, or broken hinge on lid). Each time I drop it off at their service centre, they send it to Germany to get fixed, and I pick it up in a couple of weeks. All free and no attempt to weasel out of it.
It's for the lifetime of the product of course! 
In all seriousness, with 2 years they are taking the piss.
You're protected to some degree by whatever the consumer rights legislation is called today though, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect a reasonably expensive bag to last more than 2 years!
If it was over the £99 credit card protection limit then you should be covered by that too. And if it cost more than that it should have lasted more than 2 years...
In all seriousness, with 2 years they are taking the piss.
You're protected to some degree by whatever the consumer rights legislation is called today though, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect a reasonably expensive bag to last more than 2 years!
If it was over the £99 credit card protection limit then you should be covered by that too. And if it cost more than that it should have lasted more than 2 years...
Edited by Plymo on Friday 19th August 07:19
This sounds like a legal and consumer rights minefield?
Some years ago one manufacturer used to mark their goods with a blue diamond to show that it had a lifetime warranty and another product without a blue diamond but otherwise the same with a 12 month warranty, they charged more for the blue diamond.
The company didn't stand by either product and said fair wear and tear and not manufacturing.
Another company tried to use the expression inevitable damage as to the reason why they should not fix the problem
Some years ago one manufacturer used to mark their goods with a blue diamond to show that it had a lifetime warranty and another product without a blue diamond but otherwise the same with a 12 month warranty, they charged more for the blue diamond.
The company didn't stand by either product and said fair wear and tear and not manufacturing.
Another company tried to use the expression inevitable damage as to the reason why they should not fix the problem
A few years ago my old man claimed successfully against the lifetime warranty on a stainless steel exhaust on his car. The wording made it clear that 'lifetime' only meant the time for which you owned the car, in other words they were banking on buyers not keeping their cars for long but were willing to pay out to the occasional old codger who ran his cars until they went to the scrappy and kept the receipts 
About 16 or 17 years ago I bought a largish U.S. made camera shoulder bag that had a lifetime warranty,
it's been heavily used and still going strong, and if an aspect of it failed there's no way that I'd expect
any recompense.
So impressed was I with the product,, that later on I bought a smaller bag from the same manufacturer;
that bag got VERY little use but after a number of years a zip broke .....
.... I contacted the manufacturer who asked me to send them photos of the bag.
The next thing I knew was that their UK distributer offered to send me a new bag in exchange.
Great service!
it's been heavily used and still going strong, and if an aspect of it failed there's no way that I'd expect
any recompense.
So impressed was I with the product,, that later on I bought a smaller bag from the same manufacturer;
that bag got VERY little use but after a number of years a zip broke .....
.... I contacted the manufacturer who asked me to send them photos of the bag.
The next thing I knew was that their UK distributer offered to send me a new bag in exchange.
Great service!
CambsBill said:
A few years ago my old man claimed successfully against the lifetime warranty on a stainless steel exhaust on his car. The wording made it clear that 'lifetime' only meant the time for which you owned the car, in other words they were banking on buyers not keeping their cars for long but were willing to pay out to the occasional old codger who ran his cars until they went to the scrappy and kept the receipts
Years ago I bought a high spec Mitsubishi Galant because it was one of the few cars that gave a three year unlimited mileage warranty and I was doing about 40,000 a year. Thinking that any company that gave a long warranty must have a lot of faith in its products. It was one if the most unreliable cars I had owned.Edited by K87 on Friday 19th August 15:23
Many years ago (20 ish)I bought a tyre inflator from Halfords with a lifetime guarantee. Kept the receipt in a box as I was giving it a lot of heavy use at the time (off roading so regularly dropping tyre pressures and blowing them up.
Damn thing refuses to die.
And I guarantee (ha) that when it does the receipt will mysteriously disappear.
Damn thing refuses to die.
And I guarantee (ha) that when it does the receipt will mysteriously disappear.
The other half bought a Michael Kors handbag in New York a few years ago. After a couple of years the straps started to fray, so we took it into a MK shop in Leeds, really looking to see if you could buy the straps separately.
They replaced the handbag there and then, no quibbles at all. Which is, of course, the reason why she needs more handbags....
They replaced the handbag there and then, no quibbles at all. Which is, of course, the reason why she needs more handbags....
When I bought my Z4MC I was offered an annual fee for my Tracker, or a 'lifetime' one for 2.5x the amount.
As I tend to keep my cars for a while, I chose the lifetime option, and asked what 'lifetime' meant in this case. I was told (and the documentation backed it up - that it was for as long as I owned the vehicle...but I'd be liable for replacing the battery/hardware if it failed after a few years, as the fee was for the service not the hardware.
15 years later it's still working, and I'm still getting calls when it's being moved around a garage workshop without starting it up, or if it's being recovered from a breakdown (and I've been given a taxi home).
As I tend to keep my cars for a while, I chose the lifetime option, and asked what 'lifetime' meant in this case. I was told (and the documentation backed it up - that it was for as long as I owned the vehicle...but I'd be liable for replacing the battery/hardware if it failed after a few years, as the fee was for the service not the hardware.
15 years later it's still working, and I'm still getting calls when it's being moved around a garage workshop without starting it up, or if it's being recovered from a breakdown (and I've been given a taxi home).
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