Transferable warranties as a brand decision incentive?

Originally published here in 2015

Howard Popeck writes: If when considering buying a piece of new audio equipment, the maker made it unequivocally clear that the unexpired portion of the original warranty would be underwritten by them i.e. transferable to the second owner, would this have a positive influence on your decision re that brand?

It certainly influenced me to purchase a used BMW 8-series (from a franchised BMW dealer who was part of the scheme) with much confidence. Yes, I paid about £3k more than I would have otherwise BUT I was able to sell the car on to a third owner after 18 months with only a 10% depreciation - because that warranty could be transferred without limit – subject to BMW’s reasonable conditions. The arithmetic was both simple and to my benefit as a subsequent seller. I sacrificed short-term gain (i.e I paid a bit more to start with) for long-term gain i.e I lost far less when it came to sell it.

If audio makers really are anxious to ensure that (a) their brand values and (b) that the original buyer’s capital investment are both protected as much as possible, then I fail to see what they have to lose by not copying the BMW approach.

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