The terms warranty and guarantee are often thrown around lightly, not just when buying a kitchen but in general, and we’d like to outline the differences here.
Legal warranty
The legal warranty is, as the name already expresses, a legally required service of the dealer to the customer.
In case of defects in the goods, the consumer can initially only demand a replacement delivery or a repair, whereby in both cases the seller must bear all costs for transport, labor and materials. This is legally the so-called "supplementary performance". Whether the purchased goods should be repaired or exchanged, the customer may decide (§ 439 paragraph 1 BGB). However, the dealer can refuse the chosen type of supplementary performance if disproportionately high costs arise (§ 439 paragraph 4 BGB).
Customers can usually only reduce the purchase price or withdraw from the contract if the repair fails twice or the replacement delivery fails. Vouchers can be offered, but do not have to be accepted by the customer.
The buyer is generally entitled to the aforementioned rights within two years after handover or delivery of the item (receipt of the product). For used goods, this period can be limited by the seller to one year (§ 476 paragraph 2 BGB); z.B. by general terms and conditions or individual agreement at the conclusion of the contract But what if the seller claims that a defect was not present from the beginning and the buyer is responsible for this? This depends on when the defect occurred.
Warranty in the first six months after handover of the goods
The legislator presumes that a defect that has occurred was already present at the time of purchase. The buyer then does not need to prove that z.B. the pullout or countertop was already defective or functionally impaired at the time of delivery. During the first six months, the seller must rebut the legal presumption that the item was already defective at the time of purchase or at the time of delivery. was defective at the time of delivery. So he must prove that a material defect occurred because the buyer did or did not do something.
Warranty after the first six months to two years after delivery of the purchased item
Here the buyer must prove that a defect was present from the beginning.
If both parties agree that the defect existed from the beginning, you do not need proof by the way. In the event of defects, you should therefore first demand repair or new delivery in any case.
Warranty
In contrast to the statutory warranty, the warranty is a voluntary additional service provided by the manufacturer to the dealer. The warranty is not mandatory and therefore the guarantor can determine and regulate the warranty conditions himself.
Below we list such warranty conditions of an unnamed kitchen manufacturer to demonstrate how arbitrary they can be executed. This also explains z.B. why IKEA was able to give a 25 year guarantee at one time. Of course because the conditions are set by IKEA.
§ 1 Definition
. Kitchens grants our trade partners a warranty of 5 years. Guarantee is a voluntary service, which goes beyond the legal warranty of 2 years in terms of quality, care of workmanship and in the functionality of the self-manufactured kitchen furniture parts. This guarantee does not affect the statutory warranty claims and those set out in the General Terms and Conditions.
§ 2 Period
The beginning of the warranty is the time of delivery to the dealer or the mutually agreed place of delivery.
§ 3 Scope of the warranty
The warranty covers defects and damage that occurred due to design defects, material defects, manufacturing defects or execution defects. In such cases we guarantee to pay the material costs necessary to restore the product to its original condition. At our discretion, we can also replace the defective parts with original spare parts. Excluded from the warranty are further assembly and transport costs as well as other possible consequential costs. Also excluded are assembly, use or water damage as well as color changes due to aging caused by light or climatic influences.
§ 4 Free choice of measures
In any case, we reserve the right to choose the measures to be taken at our own discretion. Claims going beyond the right to rectification of defects are excluded.
§ 5 Exclusion conditions
The warranty and the claim for subsequent delivery expire in the event of unauthorized modifications to the parts supplied by us. Excluded are parts that are not originally manufactured by us, such as z.B. Lights, bread slicers, mixer taps, all kinds of electrical appliances, sinks, taps, waste collectors, etc. The warranty conditions of the respective manufacturers apply there. Also excluded are wear parts and easily breakable parts, such as z.B. Glass, parts made of rubber or light bulbs and damage and defects that are causally due to faulty operation.
Damage and defects that can be caused by exposure to heat in the area of electrical and gas appliances, exposure to water or water vapor, as well as cuts and blows due to improper treatment of the natural product wood and stone and natural wear and tear are excluded from the warranty. Damage and defects that occur in connection with project planning, measurement and installation are outside the scope of this warranty statement.
§ 6 Exclusion of extension
The use of the warranty has no effect on an extension of the warranty for any further defects that may occur in the kitchen or replaced or repaired parts.
§ 7 Occurrence of the warranty claim
The registration of the claim to a warranty can only be done by a specialized dealer. End users are encouraged to contact the original dealer for assistance. If this is no longer active, the end customer can contact the dealer closest to his home. The elimination of the damage must be carried out exclusively by a dealer or by an authorized service center. If a defect or damage occurs which is covered by this warranty, the dealer must be informed immediately. The dealer has to provide an exact description of the damage, if possible accompanied by photos, and has to answer our questionnaire properly and completely.
§ 8 Scope
The scope of this warranty extends to all countries and regions in which our trading partners are located. Countries where we do not have our own trading partners are excluded from this warranty.