Sears Extended Warranty not Honored: What Do I Do?!

So they are willing to reimburse you $719.99 but because they no longer make the exact model your parents bought you're bitching?

I don't know. Have you tried posting on letsrenovate.com?

saywhatnow wrote:

So they are willing to reimburse you $719.99 but because they no longer make the exact model your parents bought you're bitching?

Sears is willing to reimburse us $719.99 to buy a water heater from anywhere else. But Lowes, Home Depot, and Sears no longer produce any water heater that is 48 inches or smaller.

We don't need the exact model. We just need a model that fits: A natural gas tank that is 48 inches or less in height. There are none we can find, and none that Sears can find.

We asked if we could use the $719.99 to buy a tankless water heater, but Sears won't allow that.

Let everyone on social media know how poor Sears' customer service is. I am sure one of their top managers will eventually see you story and work with you to resolve the issue because they wouldn't want to go bankrupt because people decide not to shop there anymore.

Height 46.25 inches?

There is nothing in your picture showing why a taller or wider water tank could not fit. Pay for a installer guy to come and do a proper water tank install so he can do a couple of soldering to adjust the piping. Seems like you are thinking of doing all this yourself and can't solder. You are dumb.

Thank you for that recommendation. I will ask what my dad thinks about it. I do not know if he will accept this water heater because this tank provides for 1-2 people only, and holds 30 gallons.

We are trying to replace a water heater that holds 40 gallons, and provides water for 2-4 people because this is an old house (3 bedrooms, a basement, 2 bathrooms).

I don't think it's fair that we have to downgrade our heated water supply because Sears can't fix or replace the original one. My dad purchased the extended warranty so that we wouldn't have to pay more if a problem with the water heater occurred.

Is it fair that we have to lessen our supply of hot water? Do we have to settle for that even though we have an extended warranty?

We also did consult a plumber who came to install the one that Sears sent us. It was the wrong natural gas tank, and the plumber said he would have to change the pipes and dig into floor. I do not know how much installation and labor would cost, and whether or not Sears would pay for that.

My dad purchased an extended warranty with parts and labor. It feels like we have to pay out of pocket for this.

More Legs Than Brains wrote:

There is nothing in your picture showing why a taller or wider water tank could not fit. Pay for a installer guy to come and do a proper water tank install so he can do a couple of soldering to adjust the piping. Seems like you are thinking of doing all this yourself and can't solder. You are dumb.

I think this will be the only option. I will consult a plumber and send them more pictures. Thank you.

Son, fix this ASAP. Stop posting on the internet with your running friends. Your mom hasn’t been showering without the hot water and she stinks to high heaven!

Both my mom and dad get cold even when the house temperature is 70 degrees. I know it's bad. They can't take cold showers, so they boil water and use it for their hair. The rest of the cold water is used for everything else.

I will contact a plumber and hope they make an evaluation to help us out.

Rick Sanchez wrote:

I don't know. Have you tried posting on letsrenovate.com?

Where your schemes become reality

OP has the most appropriate username EVER on these boards...

Good news all.

After speaking with my dad, he is going to let me out of the basement...but only because we are getting a new hot water heater installed and he doesn't want the workers to be disgusted by overall appearance. Not sure if this is a good thing or not.

I also had to promise him I would shower when the new hot water heater is installed. I'm okay with this, as I will be the first person in the family to use the new hot water heater. Sometimes when you lose, you win!

Back to Fortnite for me.

Call your electric supplier, if you're lucky

to be in California some electric utilities

will provide free water heaters and installation.

Good luck.

We live in the east coast.

After 4 hours of searching online, I have found a water heater. However, our old one has a diameter of 20" and the ones I have found online all have a diameter of 22."

I do not think the difference in diameter of natural gas tank water heaters mean much since we have enough space to accommodate a slightly larger one. As long as height remains the same (height with draft hood = 51.5 inches), then getting a slightly wider natural gas tank shouldn't be a problem?

I have to call and email supplies everywhere within a 30 mile radius and then drive there and pick it up if it's available.

Or we can pay a $235 delivery fee, and that's not even express - a 2 week waiting period.

Take the $719 from Sears. Convert to electric water heater. You can get a decent electric hot water heater for about $500. You might have to get an electrician to run a new line to the circuit breaker, but your cost will still be well under $700.

fisky wrote:

Take the $719 from Sears. Convert to electric water heater. You can get a decent electric hot water heater for about $500. You might have to get an electrician to run a new line to the circuit breaker, but your cost will still be well under $700.

Just in case this isn't clear, the height restrictions probably have to do with venting from the top of the tank. With electric, this requirement is eliminated so you can get as tall a tank as you desire.

Oh, and extended warranties are usually a ripoff. They cost a lot and they typically have so many loopholes it's hard to collect. Consider this to be a relatively inexpensive life lesson and move on.

We have thought about a tankless electric water heater. At Home Depot, the up front cost is $1300, but there is a $700 rebate. And then installation ranges from $1500-$2000.

I believe we will have about 2 more weeks until hot water returns. The past week has been stressful and my parents are impatient, angry, yelling, and frustrated most of all. Both of them have high blood pressure and take medication for it too.

Taking a hot shower would be good for all of us again. Instead we have to boil water and mix it with cold water.

If Sears will convert the $719 to electric, we will do that option. However, I have found a plumber who has a tank water heater that fits the height restriction.

Gonna have to figure this out soon and wait for the warranty department from Sears.

Now I know why Sears, and Home Depot have bad customer service ratings. Google Reviews give them 4 or 5 star ratings. But the consumer reports and yelp reviews reflect my own thoughts about them.

They did the best they could and more. Take the money and find another vendor. What you want is always not what is fair to everyone.