Appliance parts - 7 year law a myth?
Submitted by tagoneo on Mon, 08/29/2011 - 2:48pm.
Ok my fellow applianceheads (better than what we get called by customers somtimes)....I always "assumed" there was a 7 year law about functional parts availability, but never saw confirmation. Today I got curious and did some quick googling on variations of "7 year parts law" or "appliance parts 7 years" and found that there is no real reference to any federal law requiring it. In addition, I only saw one state law (California) that has a civil code requiring 3 years. Anyone seen anything else that is factual?
Parts supply
I have never seen anything in writting requiring parts to be available for any amount of time. I customer came to me with a Amana walloven that was only 3 years old and the touch panel was no longer available. I also came across Bosch and Monogram wallovens that were new, not even sold off my floor yet, parts were NLA because both Bosch and GE sourced the ovens from Fulgore who had just gone under. In this world of outsourced products, we better hope no law ever goes into affect that requires parts for any period of time. Companies want to save money by outsourcing products then they better be ready to stand behind the low quality products they are backing with more than just parts availability.
More Fantasy Parts
To bring us all back to Earth, are we saying that we are all each and everyone of us, working to a regulation that exists only in our heads? (except for California's 3 year requirements).
And as an aside, I clearly remember that at Thermador we provided something like 12 years of parts. We were proud that we provided parts longer than the required 8 years.
I'm really hoping that the regulation actually does not exist, so I can laugh my ass off.
Advisor
I suspect a law exists that parts need to be supplied through a warranty period. However both my time at THD and Dacor we determined a policy based on the best interests of the consumer and the company. The notion of 10-12 years does help with a parts department making money on older equipment. That certainly played a part at THD in the decision. In 1986 I believe the service department made a profit on parts even after paying out warranty. That was a huge effort and worked well. I don't know what the thought was when you were there but the service guy at the time back then got a promotion for what they laid out. To answer your question , I know of no law that requires spare parts to be available for such a long period. However the older the product and if parts are available the better the parts profit is. In most cases the suppliers will dictate when they stop producing and usually give 1 to 2 years warning on controls or motors.
Replacement Parts in California
(a) Every manufacturer making an express warranty with respect to an electronic or appliance product described in subdivision (h), (i), (j), or (k) of Section 9801 of the Business and Professions Code, with a wholesale price to the retailer of not less than fifty dollars ($50) and not more than ninety-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents ($99.99), shall make available to service and repair facilities sufficient service literature and functional parts to effect the repair of a product for at least three years after the date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the three-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product. (b) Every manufacturer making an express warranty with respect to an electronic or appliance product described in subdivision (h), (i), (j), or (k) of Section 9801 of the Business and Professions Code, with a wholesale price to the retailer of one hundred dollars ($100) or more, shall make available to service and repair facilities sufficient service literature and functional parts to effect the repair of a product for at least seven years after the date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the seven-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product.
Nice Post
Appliance Chick - you answered the question that stumped the experts. Nice going!
Heard this before.....
I have been in the Appliance Parts Industry for 17 years now and I have always heard people say there was some sort of law requiring that parts be made available for so many years. Ive heard everything from 5 to 10 years, and I have never seen anything to prove it.
Fantasy Regulation
I thought it was 8 years......but no I have never actually seen anything in print.
Could the entire industry be providing access to spare parts based on a fantasy regulation?
That would be funny.
Fantasy Island....
We supplied replacement parts for ten years when I was at Dacor. There was no law to speak of however we all felt compelled to make sure our customers were taken care of. It was part of a very deep seated value system that serviced us well. THD had a simliar policy. Some other manufacturers would be lucky to get ten years out of their appliances period.The most resilient product was the THD built-in Wall Oven produced in the late 70's that was an industry workhorse and I saw plenty of them still installed in the early 90's in some nice homes.
Stallion, you are right. You
Stallion, you are right. You would be shocked at the number of people who still have those THD wall ovens to this day and would just about do anything to keep them going! As far as Dacor, the W305 wall oven is still kicking in alot of places, and the homeowners feel the same about that unit, they love it. Parts are becoming a bit hard to come by for both of these wall ovens but we still have quite a bit in stock here. I did not realize that you were with Dacor, it is one of my favorite lines, and I deal directly with them on a daily basis as I am the direct contact here at my company. They went through some tough times but they are starting to bounce back a little now.
Therm and Dacor wall ovens
You guys are so right with the Thermador ovens. Those MSC and CMT ovens were in most every high in kitchen in Toronto. Real workhorses. As for the W305, it was a hit when it first came out, but man it had problems! It kept at least one of our techs employed...... We were so relieved when the CPO130 came out.
Dusty & Rlingstne
The THD ovens were the best . I came to Dacor just 6 months prior to the introduction of the CP 127 & 227 in late 1992 or very early 1993.. Actually we tooled and released the CP127 first and in August of 1993 introduced the CP130 & 230..As for the W305 and it's 5 year warranty I had the privilege of helping clean up some of the problems caused mainly because of the bold 5 year warranty. There was an interim CPO model between the W305 and the Convection Plus (CP) Dusty , I was responsible for operations and engineering from 1992 thru 2000 reporting to MJ and then left for other challenges. Dacor is a very good company and I hope they continue to do well. We had many firsts with my time there. My memories will forever be fond ones of what we did , how we did it and the ethics we tried to execute throughout our major growth period. The Joseph family has always meant well and I hope the company continues to thrive through this economy. They truly are Hall of Famers.
THD the best
You guys are smoking something. Thermadore is the absolute worst when it comes to parts. MSC-CMT you're kidding. Even the SC's(dim display come to mind?) I fired them years ago and will stick with SZ/Wolf where I can still get parts after 30 years.
Paulh
That is your choice. You may have had a bad experience. But please tell me how SZ/Wolf has been making ovens for 30 years ? I believe they purchased the line and started building them around 2000. The market itself has shown the THD ovens from those eras in general to be a workhorse and a consumers choice. THD pretty much owned the east with the high end way back when. I know they dominated Dacor in the West. Dacor got close but never outsold them in the west.By the way it is Thermador. Still a nice looking and solid brand. I concur though with you that SZ/Wolf does make an excellent oven and as I understand it is beating most of the competition including Dacor but I do believe THD still does well even though it is watered down in the Carolinas.
Ovens
If you're talking ovens yes but I'm talking overall part availabilty from the manufacturer which includes SZ's ref/frz line. I only work on SZ/Wolf these days having given up on BSH for reasons already stated and Dacor due to going to All Brand for parts supply. I'm in alot of very $$$ kitchens, the newer ones are all SZ/Wolf-10 years old SZ/THD/Dacor-over 10 still SZ/THD(the THD with something not working)
I See..
Ok ...that is what I thought you meant. The strength of the SZ/Wolf organization is that they have always respected all the people in the organization as making a difference with their products. You can say the same for Viking and even DCS when they were owned by Surjit and Randy.They understood contributions from others have made them successful. Even Bill Gates gives other people credit. THD was a very good company under the direction of Jack Meany. I suspect that it is not quite the same these days. Mr . Meany was well respected by all employees , suppliers and customers.Your comment about Wolf being in many high end homes is proven out by supplier comments on orders for components. They truly are the leaders these days.