water heaters work the same way..... if yours dies at 9 years you get a free one but the new one only has a 1 year warranty on it.

not sure where or why your corian is cracking. mine cracked around the sink drain from boiling water, i believe. it lasted a lot of years (the previous owner had had it installed) and when i redid my kitchen last year i went with quartz. no idea how long it will last, but i know that its not forever.

yes, if i couldnt find out what stresses were causing my corian to fail, i'd replace it with something else.

darned and it was so cool looking. thanks for the heads up. sorry, no help, just appreciation.

They have done more than most will to accommodate: warranties do not reissue just because they replace the full stone.

did it always crack in the same place(s) that would say to me that the run of base cabinets wasnt level and the corian was bending.

i didnt have corian around my cooktop...that area was granite. anyway, i think i'd advise you to move on to a different material.

well, thats what i would do anyway.

Hi.

Certain parts of the following might be incorrect depending on your state warranty laws, and depending on the language of the warranty provided by Corian.

Also, you may simply not wish to pursue these remedies, or your monetary loss just doesn't justify it. But you cannot make an informed decision until you know your rights.

That said, your situation is different from that of a water heater with a 10 year warranty that goes bad after 9 years. The water heater had not been repaired multiple times for the same defect before the manufacturer decided to replace it rather than repair it again -- which is what appears to have happened to you.

Having the problem with your countertops reappear every 2 years or so despite being professionally installed, (as opposed to DIY) and then being professionally 'repaired' -- is much like a car that is a lemon -- a manufacturer is allowed only so many repairs after which the car can usually be declared to be a lemon. The buyer may then undo the original transaction OR get a replacement vehicle depending on the state's lemon law.

If the buyer chooses to accept a replacement vehicle, then the replacement vehicle DOES indeed come with the full factory warranty. The reasoning is that you, the buyer, agreed to pay money for a working product. You did not agree to buy something that is defective and it's not your fault the product is defective. Until you receive a product that works as it should, for as long as it should, the contract has not been fulfilled by the seller no matter how many times the product is repaired --- or replaced -- if the repair doesn't last or the replacement has the same defect.

While a warranty can, and often does, allow the seller or manufacturer to choose whether to repair or replace a defective product, you are entitled to receive repairs that permanently fix the problem or you are entitled to receive a defect-free replacement that must perform as well as, and as long as, the original product. In other words, replacing a defective product with another defective product does not meet the warranty.

Assuming that Corian's warranty promises the product is supposed to be free of defects for 10 years, then you have the right to 10 years of defect-free product. Corian has not met its contractual obligation until you have had the product for 10 years without defects.

It is not your fault that Corian cannot permanently fix the problem. Like a lemon vehicle, Corian gets only so many attempts to fix a problem after which a buyer has the right to decide that Corian has not met its contractual obligations, i.e., has breached the contract by providing a defective product.

Corian is the expert here and you are relying on Corian's professional judgment when it says the product can be repaired. In other words, you didn't make the decision to repair, Corian made that decision, and Corian promised the repair would be as good as the original product.

If there is a problem with your house that is causing the cracking, then Corian, the expert, should have been able to figure it out and find a fix. When Corian could not make a permanent repair, then -- depending on the language of the original warranty and depending on your state law, -- you might have the right to a refund or alternatively, have the right to choose a different product and apply the original purchase price to the other product.

Which is why I'm thinking that your new replacement countertop should probably come with a full manufacturer warranty rather than only what's left of the warranty on the previous countertop. In which case, Corian must honor the new warranty. If Corian does not, then it will have breached the new warranty.

I think part of the confusion comes from not recognizing that there is a difference between a manufacturer warranty and an extended service agreement warranty.

If you purchase a separate extended warranty/service agreement that picks up where the manufacturer warranty ends, and you make a claim against the service contract, then yes, when the service contract provides a defect-free replacement of the defective product, then the service contract has been fulfilled. However, the manufacturer warranty for the replacement product is not affected by your separate agreement with the company who sold you an extended service agreement. The replacement product is under full factory warranty.

As stated at the beginning, everything I have just written might be different in your state. However, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is a federal law that is in effect in all 50 states and US Territories. Some of the warranties on products exist because the law says they do.
Some of those warranties can be modified or excluded by Corian if your
state law allows it. If your state does not allow modification by
Corian, then it doesn't matter what Corian's written warranty says, the
law controls. If you wish to find out about your state's warranty laws,
check with your state's Attorney General's office of consumer affairs
or the Federal Trade Commission web site or Google the National Consumer
Law Center (NCLC) or the NOLO Press. They all provide information about consumer
warranty law.

I hope this helps. Good luck. Let us know the final outcome.