Q: I could use some feed back on this....Our company is thinking about offering a extended warranty past the manufactors 5 yrs. Will charge say $50.00 for another 5yrs. giving the customer 10 yrs. protection. this would give the customer more trust. Plus this would give us $50.00 more per sell that will not be needed for 5 yrs. That monies would go in to interest bearing account. The extended would only cover the film replacement in the damaged area only and labor for same,(to the orginal owner only) paint repair not covered. Say you sell 10 a week 52 weeks a year and that money is in the bank with interest for 5 yrs. The customer smiles at the 5yrs jumps then he hears 10 yrs. Most customer wont keep their auto/RV/etc. past 5 yrs. The extened warranty sells companies are getting rich from these sells of extened warranties policy. For paint protection film thats warranty for life the extened would cover labor, the maufactor would cover material. Still more dollars per sell ..Thanks

A: Most customer wont keep their auto/RV/etc. past 5 yrs This is true and most customers know this, too! That begs the question.... why would they pay for an extended warranty if they know that they aren't even going to own their vehicle during the extended warranty period?

Think about making your 'extra money' by building your reputation as a quality installer and resist the temptation of selling something to your customers that doesn't have any true value.

The customer is king. Treat them this way and you will reap many rewards.... my 2 cents.

A: Our company is thinking about offering a extended warranty past the manufactors 5 yrs. Sounds great now but it is only a matter of time before the manufactures go from a 5 year to a lifetime warranty just like the tint manufactures did.

A: Well, I find it interesting that 3M has no consumer warranty what so ever...

A: The consumer IS covered by the 3M warranty... they just (rightfully so) have to go to an Applicator / Distributor to enforce their claim and have the situation rectified. (read under Warranty at: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/_s.155/98905/_s.155/98916 at the bottom of the page).

If there is a problem, the Applicator / Distributor SHOULD be involved in order be able to replace the film if it needs to be replaced (this isn't a DIY product, you know.... what a logistical mess that would be if consumers were calling 3M in Minnesota about a warranty claim on paint protection film). The customers get the direct, immediate and personal attention from the Applicators / Distributors that they would never get by calling Minneapolis. All the relative posts here I have seen, go on and on about how responsive they are to warranty issues with their customers and how there never is an issue with 3M making the situation right with the Applicator / Distributor. Personally speaking, we have never had a problem with having 3M take care of us regarding any warranty issues we might have with any of our customers. They go beyond the call of duty in my book.

What film manufacturer out there deals directly with the CONSUMER, on warranty issues and bypasses the Applicator / Distributor? I'm curious.

A: Warranty Q. What is the Scotchgard Paint Protection Film warranty? A. 3M currently provides a five-year warranty on product only to those who are authorized to purchase their film directly from 3M.

What that says is the 'factory warranty' is only good to the 28 places listed and never to a consumer, even if they buy it from one of the 28.

QUOTE Authorized Paint Protection Film Kit Suppliers and Professional Applicators have had such positive experience with Scotchgard Paint Protection Film that many offer warranties beyond two years.

The installer bares the weight of burden to provide a warranty. If I do an install for a customers kid who goes off to college or moves, their clear bra has no warranty what so ever. Not going to drive 2000 miles back here to have it looked at. Can't take it anywhere...

Don't get me wrong, it hasn't really hurt our business much. It is just funny to read 5 year warranty, followed by the fine print that says there isn't any warranty.

Think about it another way. I go to a stereo shop and buy a car stereo system and have it installed, or even a complete home theater system. At some point down the road I have a problem with some part in the system. The MFG. warranty is still in place and I go through them and get the part repaired. The store I got it from isn't even going to give me the time of day. Heck I could have moved to a different city or state, then what?

More to do on a busy Saturday, got to run...

A: Ok, I was really getting sidetracked...

Back to Force Shield's thought. For us, it is a no. Two main reasons. First, probably falls into the shady operator (in the minds of the buyer) Second, I only like extended warranties on CD players - no matter how much you spend the barely make it to the end of the warranty!!!

You could spend a whole lot of effort and energy on extended warranties for very little in return. When you get right down to it you would mode more money on a single referral.

A: What that says is the 'factory warranty' is only good to the 28 places listed and never to a consumer, even if they buy it from one of the 28.

The consumer is protected by the 3M warranty through the installer.

QUOTE At some point down the road I have a problem with some part in the system. The MFG. warranty is still in place and I go through them and get the part repaired. The store I got it from isn't even going to give me the time of day.

So the manufacturer leaves it up to the customer to reinstall the replaced part? That's not very good customer service, is it? The store you bought it from had better give any customer the time of day if something goes wrong. Otherwise, that stereo store may not be in business for very long.

I'm still curious as to which paint protection film film manufacturer(s) deals directly with the consumer on paint protection film warranty issues.... or was this just an isolated attack on 3M?

A: QUOTE The consumer is protected by the 3M warranty through the installer.

Translation into consumer speak. 3M does not have a consumer warranty. It is at the sole discretion of the installer, because the installer is the insurer. That is what 3M says on their site, not me.

Sorry Force Shield, i guess I inadvertently hijacked your thread....

As for the other film co's I have no idea as I have not looked into their film. I guess it is a problem with the industry as a whole

A: After reading this one, I do understand where Sidewinder is coming from. There is a warranty in place for the PRODUCT, but say the customer has a kit put on in Florida and then moves off to college in California and the product is found defective a year after the installation. He calls up the installer in Florida and explains the problem and provides pictures showing a legitimate warranty claim. What is the installer to do? Provide him with replacement product, absolutely, and send the defective material in for credit from whoever the film manufacturer is. Ok, the plan is in place, but how does the execution unfold?? The customer removes the film and replaces it himself?? (ya right). He goes to a local manufacturer of that film and tells them the situation and they are supposed to provide their labor for FREE?? If you say "yes", then what would you do if 100 cars showed up at your place the next morning (not likely to happen, but hey, lets look at worst case scenario) and all had the same situation and you never installed any of the film to make the profit in the first place, is it your problem to provide labor and replace defective material or should the manufacturer step in and provide labor costs since it was their product that went bad in the first place. I agree with Rege as I am not sure who provides a labor warranty in this business at this time, but this thread has also brought to my attention that there may need to be a labor warranty inserted somewhere to cover the customer (like a "Nationwide Warranty" as most window film manufacturers offer, talk about giving the customer a warm fuzzy feeling!). I do know that when I was a rep for a window film manufacturer at one time that they DID have a labor rate in affect when their film would turn purple and they had a base pay per door and backglass.

A: Since this thread has been fully taken over, this is a post I found after two minutes of looking. It is a bit old, but poignant none the less.

QUOTE I have the Xpel clear stuff. Its also made by 3M. They claim to have a 4 year warranty against yellowing. After 20 months it starting to yellow. You can see it under fluorescent light pretty good. Not real bad in the sun. I still have the receipt and tried to call the local installer, seems that he might be out of business. He was one of the recommended installers that Xpel had on their site.

I sent Xpel an email saying that I wanted to pursue a warranty claim. I sent them the info from the seller that I got from the receipt. They claim that I should of got a warranty card from the installer, I do not recall getting this. No where does it say on their site that you need this warranty card. I have a receipt but no warranty.

Full post from 2003

A: And a happy ending none the less.

A: David (owner) is the one who did my car the second time.

I first had xpel (one of the 3m films) applied to my car back in nov of 01. Well 30k miles and 22 months later the film started to yellow a bit. Xpel warrantied the film, but I had to pay installation. I removed the old film myself. Very easy to do, just heated one edge with a hair dryer. It came off and the only residue was around the edges of the film. This came off with a little extra elbow grease when washing the car.

David did the work and I am 100% satisfied with his work. He can cut pieces to cover any part of the car you want.

I wish I would of had the entire kit installed from the start. After 50k miles my rockers are started to look like they will need a repaint this year.

I had the front bumper, leading edge of the hood (12"), headlight doors, and front of the mirrors done.

A: Hi I seem to remember saying something about labour costs on another thread:)

IMHO if the product is defective then the labor cost is a derived cost as reult of the defective product and in Europe the Manufacturer would be reponsible for the re-fitting cost. (whether they like it or not).

Its like a warranty issue on a faulty auto part (say discs) you can bet the car dealer bills for his labor when he carries out the warranty work:)

Best Wishes

A: At Invinca-Shield we have handled our fair share of claims due to film failures. We tell all of our customers that any product failures due to installation issues (peeling / loss of adhesion, etc.) are between the customers and the installer unless we are the ones applying the product ourselves. We ourselves back up the film's performance characteristics and have NEVER had a problem getting 3M to support us in this end. In fact we have supported 3M as well when they have approached us with customer claims.

When we sign up a new distributor we ask them if they will do warranty work for us at the rate of $40 per hour. About 85% of the distributors agree to do this. Customers nationwide who have a valid claim for film related reasons can contact any of our distributors for resolution regardless of where they are located. We usually ask to see a digital photo of the film prior to authorizing repair or replacement but other than that are fair in our judgement. Then WE PAY the $40 per hour to remove and replace the damaged film. Of course talk is cheap. I can list five customers off the top of my head you can check with or rather five of you who know we do this as necessary.

Now the nice thing....our precut kits allow us to send a replacement piece to any distributor anywhere and we know the piece will work. This is not possible for those of you who hand cut or do freelance design.

We have been pushing for an industry-wide association to serve all sorts of purposes not the least of which could be a nationwide warranty system. We need to get to the point(like the fish in the net in "Finding Nemo") where we are all swimming in the right direction to grow this industry as a whole.

A: BRAVO!!! I agree with you whole heartedly, I too have NEVER had 3M turn down a justifiable claim, usually the installer or myself ate the difference, to me it was a minimal amount, as it's a write off anyhow, customer satisfaction was more important.

Most dont realize that it's [/B]VERY[B] rare that a whole kit is bad, there may be a flaw in one piece ie; hood as opposed to bumper, that may have an issue, but generally most is fixable or can be replaced at a minimum cost, hence why I do it.

I do applaud the rate for for fixing and maybe as the product grows there can be an established rate for each section as in the body work industry...

A: QUOTE As for the other film co's I have no idea as I have not looked into their film. I guess it is a problem with the industry as a whole Exactly my point. It is an industry wide problem and 3M is not the only film manufacturer who handles warranty issues through the installer.... they ALL do. We should all work with our respectful film manufacturers and ask them to consider formulating and including a labor component in their warranties.

QUOTE I agree with Rege as I am not sure who provides a labor warranty in this business at this time, but this thread has also brought to my attention that there may need to be a labor warranty inserted somewhere to cover the customer (like a "Nationwide Warranty" as most window film manufacturers offer

I believe that as this industry grows and qualified installers become more plentiful and more evenly spread throughout the country, the likelihood of having a warranty program like Mike has described is very good. Let's pressure the manufacturers to fix the problem!

A: Gentleman

We Have a Consensus, shucks the industry "is" evolving

heres hoping we can get to more points of complete agreement maybe a trend setting thread this one

A: 3M has just introduced their own warranty hang tags that can be hung inside the car on the rearview mirror mount. It contains some "Congratulations" information and "Care Instructions" on one side and.... guess what (sidewinder) "The Scotchgard Paint Protection Film Warranty" that gives the customer the OPTION to report back to the installer OR to contact 3M Customer Service DIRECT! A Warranty Registration Card is attaced along a perforated line, so it can be mailed (no postage necessary) to the Scotchgard Warranty Manager in St. Paul.

Yea 3M! One step closer to making the warranty claim process much more 'user friendly'.

3M Innovation