Sunsetter Awnings Reviews

Sunsetter Retractable Awning Reviews

Reviews courtesy of http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/sunsetter.html
 
 
Walter of Aliso Viejo, CA writes:

This company is attempting to sell awnings as if they are toasters. Doesn't work in three years... buy a new one! The products they sell are as cheaply made as possible in order to be less expensive than quality custom made awnings. The problem is you don't need a contractor to install a toaster. You don't need a contractor to service a toaster. You don't need a contractor, a packing company and a freight company to return your toaster. Everything that went wrong was excluded by their 5 1/2 page bullet-proof warranty. I had to pay more money to get things covered even when it was under their warranty. After a few years of messing around with this junk, I went out and bought a new awning from an actual awning company that makes and installs their own product. I paid about 30% more for a custom made, high quality awning with American Made Sunbrella fabric. Now I can hear myself think when the awning in use. The new awning doesn't grind, pop and squeak when it's out or while it rolls in or out. The new awning's fabric doesn't sag so bad that it lays on its own hardware. And the nuts, bolts and screws are stainless steel... so they don't rust. Sun Setter buyer beware.
 
 
Ricki of Hollywood, FL said:

I had my SunSetter motorized XL model at 18 foot wide by 11 foot 8 inch model installed 3 weeks ago. The SunSetter website states this all lateral arm awning models can be installed at a minimum of 7 foot 6 inches from the deck floor. This is not correct as I found out. We live in South Florida and have a lot of summer rain. Since the awning could not be installed higher than 7 foot 6 inches (our eave/soffit is exactly at 7' 6") we could only place a small pitch/angle on the arms to avoid the awning from being too low in the front. Rain water collected on the fabric since it did not have enough pitch on it, and the awning has now collapsed and is completely destroyed.

I called Sunsetter and they stated they would not help us whatsoever even though the salesperson that sold me the awning said it can used in light rain if installed at 7' 6". So, I decided to do more research online and found out that 7 foot 6 inches is not enough to allow for rain runoff when using an 11' 8" projection. We had a handyman remove the SunSetter awning and had someone pick it up to recycle the frame. 

 
Dis of Baltimore, MD added:

We contacted SunSetter Awnings and received a beautiful brochure with a really nice DVD and a sample swatch of material. After watching the wonderful DVD, we called to schedule their recommended installer whom we were told would call us back in 24-48 hours to schedule a free in home estimate. On day 3, the installer failed to call to schedule an appointment. We called SunSetter and were given their preferred installer's direct telephone number. We were told they dropped the ball in having a preferred installer contact us. We telephoned and spoke with the local installer who advised he had the correct contact information for us and would be calling us back at a later unspecified time during the next coming week.

I did some research and found the local installer has numerous complaints including but not limited to domestic violence charges, traffic violations including driving without a driver's license, as well as judicial judgments against him. Feeling uneasy about conducting business with this recommended installer, I decided to search further and called another local company for a free in home estimate. If and when the SunSetter preferred installer calls us back, I definitely plan on telling him that we sought other quotes and are no longer interested in a SunSetter Product.

 
From Jane in West Chester, OH:
 
We bought a SunSetter Oasis from Costco in the summer of 2011. We had it professionally installed in July of 2012. We opened it this spring. It worked once or twice and quit. Now we have a new motor to install (which I had to pay for) the 5-year warranty must be a figment of my imagination and we are trying to figure out how to get it down because I don't have another $350-$500 to get the professionals out again to replace the motor. It's a piece of junk. I really liked it when it worked, which was about 3 months. I won't recommend them ever.