Getting what I paid for - gut check please!


All - I purchased an expensive (for me) DAC a few weeks ago from a small but well known high-end manufacturer close to where I live.  It was a previous-generation model made available at a price significantly lower than the current generation model.  I paid for the item in full prior to pick up.  Upon pick up, I discovered the item’s faceplate and remote were a different color than what the manufacturer had indicated prior to purchase.  Upon getting it home, I learned by reading the materials that the warranty period had started at the date of manufacturer, not the date of sale, meaning the warranty period was about one-third the length it would normally be.

The manufacturer is offering to replace the faceplate with the correct color for a fee.  He says the warranty "is what it is."

Is any of this standard practice?  This was not advertised as a used or demo unit when I agreed to purchase it, and there was no mention of a different warranty period than what would accompany a normal retail sale.  Was I wrong to expect that a previous-generation model would be sold with the same warranty as a current-generation unit?  Am I wrong to expect that the manufacturer replace the faceplate free of charge to make this unit the color that I agreed to prior to sale?

I’d appreciate a gut check before I press the issue or ask for a return.  Thanks!

lousyreeds1

+1 @viridian - buyer concerns should be handled before the sale transaction, not afterwards.

@lousyreeds1 WOW!

was this DAC brand new, unopened box one, or you bought open-box DAC?

Warranty starts from purchase date, period! 

I think you should name the manufacturer.

So do I.

@lousyreeds1 

Not sure how you expect informed advice if you don’t share any pertinent information, such as unit status (demo, used, open box, etc.) and purchase price vs. MSRP - if they gave you 10% off MSRP then by all means the sale should be treated like any brand new retail sale, whereas if you got 50% off MSRP then you should probably let it go. Everything makes a difference.