In our last review we discussed the Panasonic warranty. Today, I will go into detail on the warranty of the only Japanese-made chair that we carry…Inada.

The existing Inada warranty only applies to residential purchases. If you are buying your Inada chair for commercial use, i.e. doctor’s office, spa, store, etc., the standard warranty that comes with the chair is void and you will be required to buy a special commercial warranty, which cost $600 USD at the time of this writing. Be careful with this one. If you buy the chair and place it into a commercial environment for commercial use, hoping that the residential warranty will apply should something go wrong with the chair, you will be disappointed when warranty coverage is declined. Spend the extra bucks and get the commercial warranty…in the long run you’ll be better off.

Here are the points to consider in the Inada residential warranty:

1. FIUS refers to Family Inada USA, which is the US distributor of the Inada products. Whenever you see that name used in the warranty text, that is what it refers to.

2. The term “Administrator” of the warranty refers to Service USA, which is the company that Inada uses to perform their warranty service. Parts come directly from Inada, but the labor service is provided by Service USA of Leawood, Kansas. Now the Administrator can change for any massage chair company. Inada used another company prior to using Service USA. So, when you buy your chair from Inada, the service company or “Administrator” could be different.

3. The warranty is officially considered a “3-year limited repair or replacement massage chair warranty with on-site service.” That 3 year warranty begins at the “Commencement Date”, which is the date that the chair was purchased by you.

4. Inada states in their warranty that coverage will “repair or replace, at our sole discretion, any defective Equipment. We will return the Equipment to a properly functioning state.” Some people get concerned about the term “our sole discretion” because they think that Inada will try to jerk them around and say that a particular repair is not covered because they just “feel like it.” I have yet to see a claim denied by Inada in all the years I’ve been selling their products. If the problem is a direct result of a defect in the chair, it will be covered. If the problem is because your cat at a part, then you may have some trouble getting coverage.  But, I think you get what I mean.

5. The warranty is NOT transferable. If I, as a dealer, have a returned Inada chair and then resell it to a new customer, the warranty will transfer. But, if you sell your Inada massage chair while the warranty is still intact, the warranty will not be transferred to the new owner.

6. If your chair requires a replacement part and a part cannot be found, Inada “may” replace your Equipment with a similar product. Believe me when I say that Inada will do everything they can to make sure that your part or chair is taken care of. The replacement part or chair will not be greater than the original price paid for the Equipment (or chair).

7. Here are the exclusions of the warranty: a.) installation, set-up,  moving, or relocation of the originally installed location, b.) cosmetic changes, tears, or failure of fabrics, woods, foam, pads, plastics, upholsteries, exterior coverings, and damages and changes resulting from normal wear and tear, c.) negligence, misuse, abuse, improper maintenance, electrical disturbances and power surges (get a good surge protector, for heaven’s sake!), acts of nature, or work, attachments, additions, alterations, or modifications by persons other than authorized Administrator service providers (in other words, don’t try to fix it yourself or have Uncle Fred try because it may render your warranty null and void), d.) failure by the customer to use a high-quality surge protector during the entire service period, e.) improper operating environment (not exactly sure what that means…maybe putting it on a beach!), f.) any problem not involving a defect, g.) damage or malfunction whatsoever caused by an animal or pet, h.) damage or malfunction whatsoever caused by liquids of any kind, i.) rental, business, commercial, institutional or other non-residential use (see my comments at the beginning of this article), j.) unnecessary service calls (if no problem is found upon diagnosis by us or any other third party, you may be charged Inada’s standard rate for service calls, shipping costs, and parts, k.) dropped product or components (including the remote control), and l.) use of any item with the chair if the item is not designated for use with the chair.

8. Any chair  that is a floor model that has been on display for more than 9 months are not covered at all by any part of the Inada warranty (dang, I better make sure I don’t have my floor model longer than 9 months…I actually did not know this before I read the warranty for this article!!).

9. Should something go wrong with your chair, call Inada’s customer support department immediately at 888-769-0555 ext. 105 and have them diagnose the problem over the phone. Don’t try working on the chair yourself or have anyone other than an Administrator work on your chair. Let Inada take care of the problem when you call them. Keep any parts that are replaced and return them to Inada (at Inada’s expense).

Well, that’s about it. If you have any other questions about the Inada warranty, give us a call or call Inada directly.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com