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Hearing aid full replacement prior to warranty expiration

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Edited

Just to share a recent experience. I own 3-yr-old ReSounds from Costco, the so-called Cala model. I wanted to get a few quirks fixed before the warranty ended. To my delight, “they” (Costco? ReSound?) replaced the entire paired unit, inside and out! So I have a brand new set going into the 4th year of ownership. ReSound has issued 3 new models during the past 3 years, but few are features I need. Mine stream beautifully and support my external Multi-Mic. Just a reminder–keep track of your warranty date and have HAs examined/fixed before it expires. You are likely to receive fully new HAs.

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Edited

Yes it’s nice that they replaced an old obsolete hearing aid free of charge. But it was still under warranty so it was probably easier then just replacing the aids then going through the hassle of replacing parts. But still it’s nice that they didn’t give you a hard time or try to sell you an upgrade. I’ve given this further thought and I seem to recall my audiologist recommending I do this same thing somewhere in the past. He said I would get new aids in return. Sounds like standard procedure. But thanks for the heads up

Agreed that replacing “obsolete” hearing aids, ie, an older model, cost them next to nothing and was easier for them than fixing the older ones, but it is still nice that it was done, and without any question! And yes, I wanted to remind folks to pay attention to their warranty date and seek help while it’s still available.

My experience at Costco for was so positive I became an investor. I do not own enough stock to be able to dictate policy, wish I could. If I could I would change their return and “Trialing” policy. But I do own enough that I follow their finances pretty closely. So, I do believe I am reasonably informed.

In my opinion Costco operates their HA operation at a loss, hoping at some point to break even. They do this so you will come in and buy their chickens. No, wait, they do not profit from the chickens either. They do make a profit in many other areas and benefit from goodwill.

:white_check_mark::white_check_mark: Interesting! Thanks! My Costco hearing clinic is nothing but NICE! I’m so glad I found them, after listening to a friend sing their praises for years.

Sorry to pop your bubble but pretty much all hearing aids come with free three - four year warranties. Should your hearing aid need repair or adjustment due to a defective part or aid damage - any reputable hearing aid dealer (Costco) included has to repair hearing aid for free. Nothing new here except Costco foe filled their aid warranty obligation to mystuart. Which is good.

It was not repaired, it was replaced, at their option. As stated, my point in telling the story was to alert people to be aware of their warranty dates.

Replacement is very unusual since most manufactures would rather fix someone’s existing hearing aid. When ever someone’s aid goes in for repair its usually a specific part(s) that needs to be replaced.
Especially if the aid is a custom mold. Glad your aid was totally replaced but be advised its a very rare occurrence.

That is why I related the experience! It DOES happen. No, one can’t expect it. Just telling some good news. . . . .
My aids are with a custom acrylic mold. I’ve been for 20+ years and these are perhaps the 5th pair of I have owned, so I’m not a novice at this. I happen to feel it pays (in many ways) to find a technician-provider you like and work at a good relationship. You never know. This is not the first time they’ve been good to me.

In reply to @hold4triple

@hold4triple said:

Replacement is very unusual since most HA manufactures would rather fix someone’s existing hearing aid.

No. Virtually all are simply replaced under original warranty unless the problem is merely the receiver. Outside of warranty, replacement of parts is more common. Though some RIC models can be reshelled, even this requires a local lab.

are a red herring here, Custom made products are treated very differently, full re-builds are relatively expensive.

If you look at it from a cost POV, say you can knock out a legacy RIC body for $50; how quickly in terms of lab time, technician wages, fault finding and subsequent re-repairs do you save by just pushing out another unit FOC, when you’ve already made your cash on the front end?

If you need to understand it better, you just need to know that each manufacturer will hold detailed return information on each product and will work in a ‘return ratio’ to the initial purchase price, so they are covered.

When you buy, push for the longest possible warranty and if the performance slips, get it ‘serviced’, even offer to pay the shipping to get this done annually rather than stuffing your local supplier if needed. If they are any good, they will let you borrow their demos to keeping you going.

The guy is happy he got his 3yo aids replaced. They aren’t obsolete to him if he’s happy with their performance. I don’t see why everyone is giving him the beat-down!

Edited

In reply to @Um_bongo

Well we agree to disagree.

Almost all hearing aids these days come with some type of repair and/or loss and catastrophic damage coverage, from the manufacturer . This coverage typically ranges three years. The hearing aid manufacturer repair warranty covers repairs to the hearing aid that are performed by the manufacturer. Does that mean from time to time aids two, three years old will be totally replaced. Yes, that can happen but in most cases aids under warranty are repaired and returned to user at no cost.

No expert here but from reading many posts on this forum, a very high percentage of all manufacturers hearing aids sent in for repair are replaced, not repaired.

I guess the question that begs to be asked is why would a hearing aid manufacturer want to totally replace aids that are three years old, when they can usually repair and hope the user buys (new) replacement aids in a year or two? Sorry, but the hearing aid industry is out to make a buck and if they can get users to replace their used aids faster - they make more money. So I find it hard to believe hearing aid manufactures want to hand out new replacement aids to users, after only two, three years of use. But as they say “when pigs fly”.

My personal experience is that my KS7s were replaced with new KS7s at near the 3 year mark and my Mom was encouraged to send her rechargeable Audeo B50s back at 3 years and those were also replaced. My take is that they’re pretty cheap to produce (not to develop) and that it’s cheaper to make a bunch of hearing aids than it is to hire skilled craftsmen to do repairs.

I had , trax 42, from Costco that I took in for a problem at close to the 3 year limit. They were sent in and the internals were replaced in the old external case.

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