Anyone have problems w/McIntosh warranty

From the perspective of a dealer (though not of Mac), I understand their policy. They want and expect their dealers to sell face to face, not by mail order, not over the Internet. Quite a few manufacturers and distributors have this rule and in fact forbid their dealers from advertising on the Internet and on certain websites (ahem).

In this case the dealer violated the understanding with the manufacturer, possibly backed by a written agreement, by selling over the phone, effectively mail order. In any event what he did was unethical.

Presumably the customer was not informed of the manufacturer's policy about warranty coverage prior to the sale, so presumably the purchase was made in good faith, but it can't be proven. Meanwhile the manufacturer's policy is clear. So in this case I'd say the customer is out of luck, no thanks to the shady dealer who made the sale and didn't keep up his end of the bargain. The manufacturer chooses to stick to their policy in order to thwart such sales from occurring.

Maybe McIntosh should honor the warranty but demand payment from the dealer of a certain percentage of the cost of the component. It would be an expensive lesson to the dealer. If the dealer refuses or delays payment he should lose the line.

There's a lesson for everyone in this.

I hate to jump on the bandwagon becuase I feel your anger and disappointment, but Mcintosh is not the culprit here. This is a common policy of many high end companies that want to rightfully protect their dealers. Sometimes even if the dealer is authorized to sell the gear, he is not supposed to cross over into another dealers territory. Other companies will allow their dealers to sell the gear from a store only, but not over the internet! It sounds to me like you purchased your Mac from an unauthorized dealer or maybe it's grey market. I hope he gave you a good price!! You probably will never need the warranty anyway because it is so well made.

I would think by law they have to honor the warranty if it is new. A complaint to the http://www.bbb.com is in order. Law trumps policy.

I am guessing that your dealer did not have this in his store and placed the order with Mcintosh and had it shipped to you direct, otherwise, how would Macitosh know that you didn't just drive to the dealer and put the unit in your trunk? After reading Superhonestben's post, I have to agree that you should be entitled to the warranty unless the dealer is not authorized. Good Luck!

Why not send it back to the dealer and demand he take the piece back. If they are an authorized dealer they should know the McIntosh warranty policy.