delay in warranty repairs

unit 1

Ok so the washing machins is starting to whine as the drum bearings are gone. I call the shop (end of february) and they make arrangements for a service call. The manafacturers warranty covers spares but I pay the labour which is ok as I had no problems with them in the past.
I speak to the service guy and tell him that another service guy who was working across the way from my house diagnosed the problem and told me to ring it in, as I doorstepped him. He said he would order parts and be in touch.
Now last week I began to wonder about the delay so I rang the shop. They got back to me the following day and said that the company would not be able to source a spare part till the end of june and in the meantime made an offer of a discount on a new machine which the girl in the shop said was a poor offer and that they would try to get a better offer off them and she would ring me back next week.

Now my question is this. What constitutes an unreasonable delay in providing spare parts to repair a machine under warranty, bearing in mind that continual usage could cause further damage, yet I still need the use of my washing machine.
I don't realistically expect them to supply me with a replacement but the idea that a large multinational cannot source a fairly basic spare part for its own machine (I know as I used to work in the business) is quite frankly very strange indeed.
Any ideas ?

mathepac

Where (retailer) and When (date) was the machine purchased? Any issues you have with regard to reliability or seviceability are between you and the seller, not the manufacturer.

Check your consumer rights here http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer_affairs/consumer_protection/consumer_rights/

"(I know as I used to work in the business)" - what do you mean?

unit 1

I worked in the business in the sense that I used to fix appliances and know that the spares required are very basic parts. I cannot understand how it could take from end feb to end june for a manafacturer to provide a drum bearing assembly, as I am sure they are probably rolling these off an assembly line somewhere in their latest machines.(many new models contain almost the exact same insides as older ones)

The machine was bought in 06 I think, and there is no issue as the shop confirmed it is still covered under its warranty ie spares supplied to service guy and I pay the labour.

My main issue is the delay, and what constitutes an unreasonable length of time. I mean imagine being told to wait 4 months for say a new wing for your car.
Thanks for your reply.

mathepac

So the warranty is an extended one from the manufacturer or from a 3rd party outfit. What does it say about response times? As you say there must be millions of those assemblies somewhere in the supply-chain as they're almost generic.

ejmaztec

unit 1 wrote: »

They got back to me the following day and said that the company would not be able to source a spare part till the end of june

If someone told me that, I wouldn't believe a word of it.

unit 1

I know but from my experience with them over the years I've never had a problem with them, but it just doesnt sound right, and I've had no contact today either. I might just have to get ratty.

ejmaztec

As someone pointed out, most of the bearings are generic, and the ones that I've replaced for our machines over the years are all over the internet, and in local suppliers, and I've never had a problem getting my hands on them. If all of the bearing manufacturers suddenly exploded all over the planet, I could understand there being a problem, but it hasn't happened (unless they're keeping very quiet about it).:eek:

Perhaps the repairer is having financial difficulties and can't afford to stock up?