Originally posted by: thejez
For you to make a blanket statement like that is a bit ignorant. All one has to do it read the warranty to see what the terms are... for example EVGA does in fact offer a lifetime warranty... as long as you are alive and you are the original owner... its covered... so stop spreading these false ideas.
Actually, you have fudged EVGA's actual warranty language. EVGA never uses language to the effect of "as long as you are alive", that is from XFX's lifetime warranty. Further, it does not state "as long as", but "so long as" the original purchaser owns the product. Big difference.
This boils down to who's "lifetime" is in question. If it is the product's lifetime, that is a typical 'market lifetime' warranty. If it is the owner's lifetime, that is what it says - as long as the owner is alive. EVGA clearly warrants the product's lifetime, not the owner or purchaser's lifetime:
"This limited lifetime warranty is valid for the life of the retail product, so long as the original purchaser owns the product..."
Taken together, it means for the market lifetime of the product, and this warranty is offered only to the original purchaser. Compare this with PNY's much-maligned lifetime warranty statement:
PNY Technologies, Inc. warrants the product, to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for the life of the product as sold to the original purchaser
This precisely parallels EVGA's language, almost verbatim. At least PNY goes on to clarify what it means so there is no confusion or misunderstanding, unlike EVGA:
"Lifetime is defined as the lifetime of the product on the market. Outdated technology is not covered by lifetime warranty if the item is no longer available on the common market as a new product. Lifetime replacement warranty does not cover items out of production if the company no longer stocks them."
There
are companies that warranty a product for the life of the owner (not the "life of the product"), but EVGA isn't among them. Here is the
lifetime warranty that BFG offers on qualifying products:
BFG Technologies is proud to warrant the original purchaser of the graphics card included in this package ("Product") that the Product will be free from defects in material or workmanship for as long as the original purchaser owns the product
Clear as a bell. XFX goes a step further and covers qualifying products "for as long as you live", and also allows the warranty to be transferred to a second owner. Notice that both BFG and XFX use "as long as", not "so long as".
EVGA is aware of this and refuses to change its warranty statement, which is 100% consistent with all 'product market life' warranties. In response to numerous criticisms that XFX and BFG have stronger warranty language clarifying who's "lifetime" is being discussed, EVGA sends low-level employees into forums to make promises that EVGA refuses to adopt in official company warranty statements. These low-level employees have absolutely no authorization or legal standing to make statements or promises that legally bind the company, as BFG and XFX have done by putting it in writing.
Most of the fine print for "lifetime" warranties for computer parts make it sound as if it is for however long they sell it or until it is outdated.
That's the way ALL lifetime product warranties are, unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g. the owner's lifetime). The warranty is on a product, not a human. It should follow that the meaning is "life of the product", not life of the human. I'm not sure how this ever became the subject of misunderstanding. "Life of the product" warranties have been around for 50 years.
This works out well for durable consumer goods like auto parts, since auto parts have a market life of 20+ years. Not so good for commodity computer components that have a MAX market life of two...maybe three years at most.
