Sears just ripped me off on lawn mower & extended warranty... what should I do?

Question

My grandparents bought a Craftsman lawnmower around nine months ago. As usual, they bought the extended warranty so that the mower should be covered 'til 2009! Upon questioning, every representative of Sears said that everything is covered other than air filters, spark plugs, & blades.

However, when I was cutting my normal, grassy yard.. the lawn mower started vibrating a little harder than normal. I didn't think much of it, so I continued mowing for about another minute longer. But all of a sudden, the carburetor fell off... it didn't come unbolted, but the corner of the frame just snapped.

How does the thing just starts vibrating when I'm more than halfway through *nothing* but grass, breaking the metal frame apart. That's not right. So I take it to Sears, where they ship it off for almost two weeks to tell me I bent the blade, which caused the thin metal to snap. After asking my grandpa for $200 & he refused, they canceled the warranty & shipped it back.

What should I do?

BTW, both people that I talked to at the Sears repair center stated that they'd never seen a lawn mower's carb just fall off like this.

Also, after calling the manager of this repair center... he flat out told me that when he was younger he had the same mower for years, cutting up bamboo and other stuff, almost purposefully trying to tear it up. He then proceeded to tell me that they just don't make lawnmowers like they used to. =-( Not very encouraging.

Even if it was a bent blade, I have seen and used a few lawnmowers (even in my short lifetime) with bent blades before... and never did the carb fall off.

I just don't see how this could be happening. They've put me in the position of causing the lawnmower to start vibrating, which I didn't do. Not from cutting grass. This metal frame would have needed to vibrate for a lot longer than a minute to break, I believe... but it was thin metal, so I dunno.

Thanks to all in advance!

Answer 1

Report them to the Better Business Bureau and then take them to small claims court.

Answer 2

I agree with everyone here. Extended warranties are not worth what you put in. But before you spend money on suing anyone, consider this:

1. If someone removed the blade for sharpening and didn't put it back in properly or did not tightened it, the blade can come loose during operation and cause the vibration you experienced. Since it was loose, it could hit the frame around it and get bent in the process.

2. If you continued to mow the lawn, the vibration can cause metal fatigue in the frame. The more expansive Craftsman lawn mowers have cast aluminum frames so they are light (a good thing). Unfortunately, cast metal are brittle and can crack under stress and vibration they were not built to take.

I have owned cast aluminum frame Craftsman many years ago and I've never experience this. However, I would not operate power equipment if it starts vibrating more than normal. A flying mower blade is a very dangerous thing. Anyway, these things may not have happen. You're grandpa might have bought a defective product.

Did you or your grandfather demanded Sears to explain why they canceled your warranty? The best people to demand an explanation from is the Sears store where you grandpa bought the mower. It works especially well if you ask to speak to a manager at the cashier's counter, in front of other customers. Do so on a busy Saturday and let other customers know that Sears canceled you warranty when the product malfunctioned and broke. Even if you don't get what you want, I suspect you will get a more satisfactory explanation.

Answer 3

Sears Extended Warranty

Answer 4

This teachs a valuable lesson about extended warranties, almost every job I had before I entered the Navy were retail based and these businesses tried hard to get us to get people to buy these extended warranty plans, the reason they push this is because in most cases the warranty isn't honored and the store makes a 100% profit, there have been multiple lawsuits concerning this in fact my inlaws just bought a riding lawnmower very recently and ran into the same problem you did, he also bought the extended warranty only to find out he would be footing the bill for an expensive repair. A bent blade does not have anything to do with your carberator and that can be easily proven, if I were you I would threaten legal action. In the mean time , if you actually did bend the blade chances are the repairs you need are far worse then a broken carberator (complete overhaul or engine replacement) before tooting your horn I would still make sure this isn't the case.

Answer 5

Sears Riding Lawn Mower

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Sears just ripped me off on lawn mower & extended warranty... what should I do?
My grandparents bought a Craftsman lawnmower around nine months ago. As usual, they bought the extended warranty so that the mower should be covered 'til 2009! Upon questioning, every representative of Sears said that everything is covered other than air filters, spark plugs, &...

Answer 7

I, too, was ripped off by Sears on extended warranties. I had them on washer, dryer, dishwasher and freezer. After having them out to repair the washer twice, on the third breakdown (for the same problem) they refused to honor the extended warranty, plus sent me a $97 refund and declared all my extended warranties canceled. I argued all the way up to a vice president level but with no success. I finally gave up and paid $150 to have the washer fixed. So I took the only recourse available to me--I refuse to buy anything from Sears anymore, and I tell everyone I can about my experience in the hopes that it might dissuade others from shopping there. I don't know if other retailers are equally unfair in handling their extended warranty, but in general, I just turn them down now.

Answer 8

For one, the "Better Business Bureau" is in name only, they really don't do anything and no one cares if you "report them" to it.
You won't like the second: you can take them to a small claims court but, remember, your talking about Sears. They will have all their genius mechanics there and prove beyond a doubt, it was your fault, your dealing with sears, not some no-body.

You can spend the $200.00 for fixing, add another $400.00 and hire an attorney who may or may not win your case, in which your going to lose monetarily so ?

I would have the mower fixed at my expense and forget it. The next time you spend money on an extended warranty, think about it.

Answer 9

I never buy the extended warranties any more - I never got anything but hearburn for it. No one ever honored them, it was always just a waste of time and money. When I buy durable goods now, I just figure that the life span of the product is exactly what the regular warranty is, and if I get more life out of it, yeah for me! As an engineer, I think the problem is too short of a time between product development and production, and decisions made by accountants rather than designers of products. Products are getting too complicated, over designed, and built with too many bells and whistles. I prefer designs that are simpler, with less stuff to go wrong.

Answer 10

Ive never believed in extended warranties - not even on vehicles- they pro rate everything.
Its true, new things arent as tough as older things, specially tractors. It sounds to me those were problems with castings ( in the carb) - it could be it wasnt assembled right ( the assembler gets paid per tractor, not per hour) - I hate to say this, but i wouldve looked the tractor over with a fine tooth comb before using , looking for loose/broken bits before using ( specially from Sears or any retail store). Its possible it was broken when you bot it, and never noticed it /got bigger as you mowed with it.
Back in 1992 i bot a brand new White LT12 - from a repuitble tractor sales store - i didnt have any issues with it at all until many years later, when a deck spindle finally went bad. It still runs good today.
Id file a complaint with sears or kmart ( kmart owns sears) - call thier customer complaint number - or better yet threaten them with the better business beureu. I would tell them it was a flaw in the manufacturing of the carb and i wouldnt be liable- that shouldve been covered under the warranty. Carburators dont just 'fall off' , not even with a 'vibration' in the deck - its a casting flaw or was cracked during assembly. ( I have 20 plus year old tractors with vibrations and the carbs have never broke off).
I breifly looked at a Craftsman 22HP briggs twin cylender tractor for like $1500 on sale - just for the motor . Its pretty sad that spending so much on something doesnt mean sqwat anymore - like they just dont care.
If it were me - before mowing ( if its not fixed) look the tractor over when you get it home ( make sure no 'monkey business' has been performed on it) . Since i tinker with tractors, i wouldve just complained to sears , and fixed the thing myself - using a spare carb ( if its a briggs motor - i think pretty much any mid year carb will fit) and checking the blades. 9 months of ownership and things are going bad already isnt a good sign.

Answer 11

well fellas, i have had a different circumstance with extended warranty from sears. i have a front load washer, had it for 7 yrs. they would come fix it when i called. all small stuff except the last one a few weeks ago. my washer dumped water all aver the floor and i called sears,. i have had the second extended warranty for about a year. they came and fixed it. the bill came to 645.00 dollars. runs great now. took 3 men 2 hours to fix it. this is approximate. sometimes they do things right. but i DO understand where you are coming from. you aren't going to get much help in your case. BUT, sometimes i am wrong. ask my wife.