quote; However, the technician who installed the water heater made a point of telling me I had a new 10 year warranty, transferrable to subsequent owners of my house.
That would only be true if the old heater did not have the FVIR feature, but if so, and if Bradford White was still allowing "upgrades" to it, then the "new" heater might have cost the $150.00 that BW charged, and the heater WOULD have had a complete new warranty, but it appears, from what BW told you, that that is not the case. Also, BW does NOT make 10 year heaters. They make 6 year heaters and someone has to buy the extended warranty for the extra four years. THAT warranty WILL be registered with BW, and you get a New nameplate with the 10 year designation. I am real curious where he got a heater that is 6 years old. 50 gallon heaters, which I assume this one is, are usually sold within weeks of arrival from the distributor.
quote; That is a good example that the warranty is not worth the paper that it was printed on.
Water heater warranties ARE worth the paper they are written on, or rather, since they do NOT require the paper, they are better than that.
Sometimes getting a replacement heater is a judgement call, because you will only get the remaining warranty, even if it is just a couple of weeks, and there are unique costs to a replacement, such as draining the heater and returning it to the distributor before you get the new heater, and paying a "paperwork" fee. These two items can add $200.00 to the "free heater's" cost, plus the actual installation.
If I do not have to "warranty" the heater, I can take one from my stock, to to the jobsite, move the heater out of the way, start it draining while I connect the new one, then make out the bill. Usually about an hour to two hours faster than getting the replacement.
Does the ORIGINAL invoice have the heater's model AND serial number on it to verify that it applies to YOUR heater?