# Lifetime guarantee? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 18, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484 "2005-05-18T21:55:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OliverTwistofLime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b487fb/32.png) [@OliverTwistofLime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OliverTwistofLime)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/1 "2005-05-18T21:55:47Z")
The other day my wife and I were considering replacing our cracked driveway with paving stones…The owner of the company told us there is a _lifetime guarantee_ on the paving stones…Since my wife is eleven years younger than me i asked him with (tongue in cheek) if she signs the contract, is our guarantee 11 years longer. He said yes. This got me thinking about all the “things” that are guaranteed for a lifetime…whose lifetime? what if the co. goes out of business? Does the guarantee legally transfer to the new buyer? are there different meanings to the word lifetime? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/2 "2005-05-18T22:20:47Z")
> [@MadSam](#): > > This got me thinking about all the “things” that are guaranteed for a lifetime…whose lifetime? what if the co. goes out of business? Does the guarantee legally transfer to the new buyer? are there different meanings to the word lifetime? IME, a lot of these lifetime guarantees are for the “lifetime” of the product. Most products have an expected longevity. Say you buy a toaster oven. It may be expected to last 5 years. Breaks down in year 6, you’re SOL since that’s past the expected lifetime of the thing. Check the fine print. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/3 "2005-05-18T22:24:50Z")
Usually it means the guarantee is in effect to the original purchaser indefinitely. Most warranties are not transferable to another party. If the company goes out of business, you’re out of luck. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/4 "2005-05-18T22:30:09Z")
Going out of business and being sold to a new company are two different things. If I acquire company X I take on all their assets and liabilities including warranties. I could discontinue that brand name but I would likely face civil action from the owners of those products. Ultimately the guarantee is only as good as the company backing it. The reloading equipment I use has the no-BS, lifetime guarantee. Put simply if you A) bring in a piece of their equipment that is broken and B) you are alive, they will fix it so it works as new. 😃 Seriously, the first piece of their equipment of theirs I owned I bought second hand and it needed a major overhaul. I brought it to the factory store which is local to me and they overhauled it for free even though I told them I wasn’t the orignal owner and had no receipt. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/5 "2005-05-18T22:30:14Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > IME, a lot of these lifetime guarantees are for the “lifetime” of the product. > > Most products have an expected longevity. Say you buy a toaster oven. It may be expected to last 5 years. Breaks down in year 6, you’re SOL since that’s past the expected lifetime of the thing. > > Check the fine print. Checking the fine print is always a good idea, and I’m not saying that a lifetime guarantee has never been defined in this way. But “lifetime” usually does mean “for the life of the owner”, or at least “for as long as the owner remains the owner of the product”. [OT] **Qadcop** , did you see the front page of today’s WSJ? Interesting article on the experience of one state with the medical and other issues cause by an aging prison population. [/OT] ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/6 "2005-05-18T22:41:49Z")
My brother runs a paving company and I’ve done some contract work for a couple others. As has been stated before, the guarantee is only as good as the company making it. Many residential paving companies are legitimate businesses but fraud is not uknown in the industry. Get the contract in writing first. Pay only when the work is complete and in accord with the contract. No reputable paver will ask for money for materials up front. Oops, reread the OP. You’re having paving stones laid. My experience is with asphalt and concrete paving. Still, the warning about getting everything in writing before spending a penny applies. You may be asked to front for the stones, particularly if you have some kind of special request. YMMV, IANAL. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/7 "2005-05-18T22:42:29Z")
> [@MadSam](#): > > what if the co. goes out of business? Does the guarantee legally transfer to the new buyer? If the warrantor is completely out of business, the warranty/guarantee is worthless. If there’s a successor entity, it depends. If the new enitity is the result of a merger (or stated another way, the surviving enitity aquired all of the stock of the warrantor and then combined the two enities), the liabilities of the old entity survive, and become the liabilities of the surviving entity. On the other hand, if the surviving entity instead bought the assets of the warrantor, leaving it a shell, which later ceases to exist, the liabilities do not generally pass to the surviving entity, unless specifically assumed. There are legal limits on the ability of debtor entity to defraud creditors by (a)transfering its assets away for less than their value; or (b) selling all of its assets and then distributing the sale proceeds to shareholders/owners. Nevertheless, such asset deals happen. If the sale proceeds go to legitimate, existing creditors, future contingent creditors (such as warranty holders) can be left with nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/8 "2005-05-18T22:58:40Z")
I bought a set of tires a few years ago from the, now defunct, Winston Tire Company. They were having a “free oil-change for life with tire purchase” program (max 4 changes per year), which I took to mean “for the life of the car I bought the tires for”. I believe the contract said as much. After a year or so, Winston went bankrupt and shut down. Sam Winston had been killed in a car accident, and the company sort of lost direction. A new tire business bought out the location from which I had purchased the tires in question. We got a letter from them offering to buy-out our free oil guarantee for about $100. I had already got my money’s-worth of oil changes (come to think of it, that could have helped put them out of business), so I was quite happy to take it. Except I didn’t get it. We got another letter explaining the bankruptcy filing and rescinding the buy-out offer. I became just another creditor in line for Sam Winston’s money. At that point I was happy to drop the matter - like I was going to get part of that bankruptcy settlement. Four years later I still get notices from the bankruptcy court about hearings and pressing claims. So “Lifetime Guarantees” don’t just go away. Eventually people just give up on them. That’s what the marketeers depend on. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/9 "2005-05-18T23:03:36Z")
In the case of the OP, I suspect that the “lifetime guarantee” is against defects in materials and workmanship in the product. So if twenty years from now, you can demonstrate that the driveway failed because the paving stones were improperly manufactured, they will compensate you appropriately. Practically speaking, how are you going to prove that the paving stones were defective? ---
**Author:** ![OliverTwistofLime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b487fb/32.png) [@OliverTwistofLime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OliverTwistofLime)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/10 "2005-05-18T23:16:50Z")
I thank all of you for your comments. I would presume that if one wanted to exercise the option for replacement of something guaranteed for a lifetime, he would have to save the initial contract or purchase agreement for years on end and also try to track down the company. When I watch late TV and I see: “Guaranteed for life”…Send to “Magic Oven” for example…PO BOX 5555, Belchwood, Indiana…how would anyone ever track the original seller down if he switches to a new address? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/11 "2005-05-18T23:18:12Z")
Craftsman used to have (maybe “still does have”?) a very liberal lifetime guarantee on their products. Bring them to Sears and exchange them on the spot. As poor soldier, it was always sporting to go to the plentiful pawn shops that are inevitably near military bases and buy all of the broken Craftsman tools and exhange them at Sears. If only eBay had been around (well, more known) back then! ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/12 "2005-05-18T23:28:09Z")
> [@MadSam](#): > > I would presume that if one wanted to exercise the option for replacement of something guaranteed for a lifetime, he would have to save the initial contract or purchase agreement for years on end and also try to track down the company Not always. A Craftsman ratchet wrench that I bought in 1974 finally gave up the ghost last year. I took it to Sears. They looked at it, tossed it in bucket with other broken antiques, and gave me a new one. No receipt or contract was ever mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/13 "2005-05-18T23:42:00Z")
Yes. Craftsman tools and Zippo lighters. Cross pens, too. Although the last time I sent in a real nice Cross fountain pen that my dog chewed up they sent me back a different (and cheaper) replacement. They didn’t make the older model anymore. SOME companies remain reliable. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/14 "2005-05-18T23:44:25Z")
Proto, Ridgid and many other brands of mechanic tools have similar guarantees. My dad told me he once took in only the handle of a Ridgid pipe wrench and got it replaced. When asked where the rest was he just said, “at the bottom of the well.” ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/15 "2005-05-18T23:52:40Z")
[On a related note, sometimes warranties are cancelled for marketing reasons.](http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Articles/articleId=105662) > [@](#): > > Chrysler has decided to cancel its 7-year/70,000-mile standard powertrain warranty. > > The company judged that this package did not sufficiently entice customers, so it plans to divert the money and resources it was using to fulfill the warranty obligations toward other consumer and dealer marketing efforts. Apparently, warranties can be cancelled unilaterally. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/16 "2005-05-19T00:03:26Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > [On a related note, sometimes warranties are cancelled for marketing reasons.](http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Articles/articleId=105662)Apparently, warranties can be cancelled unilaterally. I read your link. Chrysler did not cancel existing warranties. It decided to stop offering new ones. (or, more accurately, decided to offer shorter ones instead.) I agree that the wording chosen by the author your link was confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/17 "2005-05-19T00:17:20Z")
> [@Random](#): > > I agree that the wording chosen by the author your link was confusing. I reread my link, and my confusion stems from the first sentence. All unknowing, I took the word ‘cancel’ to mean ‘cancel’. My question from all this is: _Can_ a warranty usually be cancelled unilaterally? ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/18 "2005-05-19T00:21:08Z")
An existing warranty that’s part of a completed deal or contract? Generally, no. (IAAL, but not your lawyer, and probably not licensed in your state. This is general information and not meant to be reliable legal advice. See a lawyer licensed in your state for that.) ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/19 "2005-05-19T03:49:32Z")
> [@MadSam](#): > > The other day my wife and I were considering replacing our cracked driveway with paving stones…The owner of the company told us there is a _lifetime guarantee_ on the paving stones…Since my wife is eleven years younger than me i asked him with (tongue in cheek) if she signs the contract, is our guarantee 11 years longer. He said yes. > > This got me thinking about all the “things” that are guaranteed for a lifetime…whose lifetime? what if the co. goes out of business? Does the guarantee legally transfer to the new buyer? are there different meanings to the word lifetime? If it fails, they shoot you? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484/20 "2005-05-19T04:29:44Z")
> [@Padeye](#): > > ::snip:: The reloading equipment I use has the no-BS, lifetime guarantee. Put simply if you A) bring in a piece of their equipment that is broken and B) you are alive, they will fix it so it works as new. 😃 Seriously, the first piece of their equipment of theirs I owned I bought second hand and it needed a major overhaul. I brought it to the factory store which is local to me and they overhauled it for free even though I told them I wasn’t the orignal owner and had no receipt. Dillon? Unclviny [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifetime-guarantee/304484.md?page=2)