|
|
| Usually I have had pretty favorable experience sending reels into Abu, not this time...
I sent in 2 reels, a Morrum, well over 1 yr old.
and a new 6500 CL Big Game, less than one year old. All that one needed I believe was the clutch arm.
The morrum I thought only needed a bearing...well, in the past, if I sent in a few reels, 8 times out of 10 I would get them back (though sometimes not the exact one I sent in, but the same model) for no charge..or maybe a very little charge...I don't understand the policies they have there , nor will I ever, it seems to me it's just a matter of what tech you get that day and what kind of mood he's in..well I got an invoice for just under $67 for the 2 reels...called Abu and spoke to some lady in service who gave me the run around...what is even more disheartening is I just got both of these reels back from a different service guy who I will not name but was less than pleased with the work he did...so not only did I pay him some, I am now stuck sending $67 to Abu....
the Big Game being very new in my mind should be covered under warranty, but the lady said any "normal wear and tear or things breaking from use" is not...
well in that case what is the point of a warranty anymore...
just venting.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 1270
| Only hearing one side of the story it's impossible to comment on your exact case but often times these reels that people think should be covered under warranty are beat to hell. If the reel is abused do you really think it should be a warranty issue?
If you want to private message me with your name I can look into this and see what the story is. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 8831
| Maybe if 'ya stopped throwing your gear in the water your reels would hold up better??
Seriously though, I get that having a warranty should mean you don't have to deal with it OR pay anything for it, but I'd be surprised if you could break anything on a reel that you couldn't change yourself in 15 minutes. |
|
| |
|
| what I don't understand, and maybe there policies have changed some but I use to send in reels, like Morrums, clearly 2 or more years old...and they use to send me a reel back in a week, no charge...now it seems there service charges are out of hand...It will probably be the last time I ever send anything to them...
my name is Brad Nelson
3101 Limekiln
Madison WI the 6500 CL, was in very very good shape, the only thing "wrong" with it, is it wasn't engaging all that well when I turned over the handle...
I know what beat condition is, and these were far from beat...67 bucks for 2 reels just seems high..maybe things have changed quite a bit down there with their policies/pricing etc..will start looking elsewhere for service. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2378
| bn - 4/13/2007 2:57 PM
what I don't understand, and maybe there policies have changed some but I use to send in reels, like Morrums, clearly 2 or more years old...and they use to send me a reel back in a week, no charge...now it seems there service charges are out of hand...It will probably be the last time I ever send anything to them...
my name is Brad Nelson
3101 Limekiln
Madison WI the 6500 CL, was in very very good shape, the only thing "wrong" with it, is it wasn't engaging all that well when I turned over the handle...
I know what beat condition is, and these were far from beat...67 bucks for 2 reels just seems high..maybe things have changed quite a bit down there with their policies/pricing etc..will start looking elsewhere for service.
While I think you may have gotten the shaft a little here, I think we need to look at this statement...
"but I use to send in reels, like Morrums, clearly 2 or more years old...and they use to send me a reel back in a week, no charge"
You hear this alot. I think Abu was probably losing a little money doling out all of this free service, and I'm sure some people were taking advantage of their extremely generous customer service that was costing them even more money.
IMO, that is likely what caused some of the shift in the way they are charging folks.
Just my 2 cents |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2378
| one more thing, this is why I always include a note that instructs them to call me before doing any if repairs/etc will cost more than $X
Also, I operate under the belief/assumption that a warranty is in place to cover failures caused by faulty manufacturing or defects in the product at the time of purchase. Normal wear and tear is not what a warranty is for. |
|
| |
|
| they know that those clutch arms will go bad, so isn't that a faulty job of design/build?
it is a part that will fail ..pretty much 100% if you use the reel more than a few times a year...
I see both sides..I didn't expect it to be free, but the list of parts they say they needed to put in them was over a page long.. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 8831
| True enough, Baldy. But you have to stand behind your products. Maybe doing a lot of free repairs was costing them money, but I can't imagine that it costs more than having a customer switch to a different brand of reel. Part of the reason people buy them to begin with is they know that when they break all you need to do is send them back to Abu. If you have to keep investing money in a piece of equipment to keep it working, how long before its cheaper to just buy a better piece of equipment to begin with?
Edited by esoxaddict 4/13/2007 3:30 PM
|
|
| |
|
| Exactly..say I had all TE's...can't you just send those into Shimano and they do all the service and send them back to you for free?
I would assume Abu has some kind of records down there to see that I have been a very loyal Abu owner over the last 15 years..somewhere in the neighborhood of probably 30 Abu's purchased...maybe they charge me half that, but I'm a lot happier and don't have to consider switching to Shimano TE's just for their warranty and service ....
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 663
| Every new Abu reel I've ever purchased (and that's been a bunch) comes with a warranty card that explains their policy and gives additional instructions as to who to call with questions etc. The warranty is for a one year period from date of purchase so I sure wouldn't expect them to be required to do more than that. The fact that they have been more than generous in their past customer service dealings has probably spoiled a lot of us. Try taking a car back for warranty work 10 seconds after the warranty period expires and see what happens. It would be nice to think that Abu-Garcia will continue to give service above and beyond the call of duty but as others have suggested maybe the excessive load of people returning products for what should be either regular maintenance or work beyond the warranty period has forced a change in policy to the more strict interpretation. Also I think that it's been correctly stated that warranties are intended to cover factory defects. Most often these will show up very quickly in a reel within the first use or two. In my years of dealing with Abu reels I've only seen a handful that actually had some kind of manufacturing defect. Nearly every problem I've encountered either on my own reels or from customers and friends were a result of insufficient maintenance or missue of the reel. These tools we use are machines and need to be treated the way you would treat any other machine. The auto analogy seems appropriate. No oil changes, coolant, trans fluid, and then try some neutral drops and jack rabbit starts and see how fast your car develops "defects".
I don't think it's so much a matter of what brand you use. All reels need some attention. Some may hang in a bit longer than others before malfunctioning but give them time and they'll all break down if they don't receive some regular care and feeding. |
|
| |
|
| I have to say I had the same shock factor just today. I've heard all this great service and decided to send in a 5501C3 (very lightly used because it's a back up rod, 3yrs old though). The brake for some reason lost it's ability to slow the spool over a weekend trip and was gone in short time. So I thought I would send it in hopes of receiving this service. I know it was out of warranty so I can't say anything bad but it was disappointing when I am thinking my reel will be showing up instead of a $35 bill. I think they might be pinching down on this. After paying about half the cost of a new reel I hope this time it lasts longer without needing repair. I hate to say that is the last time I send a reel in unless it meets the warranty criteria. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | I have been sending my morrums in for 6-7 years and I have never had them fixed for free, save for once or twice when one broke down in short order when in the first season of use.. Always about 25-35 per reel. You must have been lucky. That said, you'd be hard pressed to find a local reel tech to do the same work for any less. That also said, I agree that it seems to be too much. I had similar service done to my Diawas this off season for a fraction of the cost of similar service done on my ABU's. Apples to apples? Not sure. |
|
| |
|
| Your right, I wouldn't expect any of the local reel builders to have done it for less. But you look at the cost of repair in respect to the reel cost and it's a punch to the guts. Like I said, if it holds up much longer than last time then I guess it's well worth it. Unfortunately musky hunters drop a lot of coin on equipment and tackle and keeping things serviced just goes along with it.
Oh well, lets just hope it warms up so we can get out on the water! |
|
| |
|
| So who is a good service guy in WI to send Abu's to that does good work and doesn't charge an arm and a leg??????? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Critter Cabin????? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 194
| I sent my reels to critter cabin two years ago. Jay cleaned and repaired all five of them. Cost was very reasonable. |
|
| |
|
| sportsmansrepair.com chuck brod in mosinee if the services are going to be over 35$ he sends an estimate before proceeding. |
|
| |
|
| That's a great idea to be notified before expensive repair. Instead of getting a bill and a paragraph saying if you do not respond or pay within 60 days your reel will be disgarded. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Bn, I would definitely second the Sportsmans Repair! Chuck does some great work and takes care of you very well! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but read this article: http://www.tackletour.com/news2007colemanpurefishing4-10-07.html |
|
| |
|
| Exactly..say I had all TE's...can't you just send those into Shimano and they do all the service and send them back to you for free?
...maybe they charge me half that, but I'm a lot happier and don't have to consider switching to Shimano TE's just for their warranty and service ....
Shimano does not "do all the service and send them back to you for free".
they rank their service levels depending on what reel you bought, and how much that particular reel costs. i sent in 3 reels to Shimano for service this year, all of which were only 1 year old.
on a Calcutta 400 TE, which costs $350, you get the premier level of service (it's called "platinum" or something like that). this is one of the advertised features of this reel and it's part of what you're paying for. it means prioritized work for faster turnaround time and the charge is somewhere around $25. i just had one in for service this year and got it back in around 3 weeks.
on a Chronarch, which costs $250, they provide a lower service level which meant a wait of 8 weeks to get the reels back, and charges for parts and labor. i sent 2 reels in and it was like $35 for one reel and $42 for the other. (ie., $77 for two reels which cost $500.)
you sent in two reels to Abu Garcia.
Abu Morrum cost about $200-$250 new a couple years ago?
Abu 6500 CL Big Game, costs $120
so let me get this right...you're complaining about being charged $67 to get 2 reels repaired which cost you $370 tops? especially considering the amount of use that you put on your reels? and this is after years of service for other reels that was basically free?
no offense, but get "reel".
they repaired 2 reels for half the price of one new one.
|
|
| |
|
| Lambeau,
You failed to read my original post where I said I JUST got them back from another Abu service tech guy at a cost of about $25, for the 2, I had 3 reels in at a cost of $39 for the 3 so I will just figure the 2 were about $25...his service did not meet my standards, one came back to me with a noticable "grinding" feel and the other was very rough...
My "complaint" was that Abu has treated reels I have sent in with seemingly no rhyme or reason for what they charge...I send in 5 reels, get 5 back no charge,
then send in 2 and get a fairly hefty bill...the Morrum just so you know was more of a spair and did not see much use..the CL was less than ONE year old..yes there is such a thing as wear and tear but the only thing wrong with it that I could tell was the "grinding" feel left by the other tech I sent it to...I know they need to charge something for their work....but maybe I'm just use to the "old" way they use to treat me and my reels...I got a PM from CNelson and he agreed that "things have changed" down there recently....
I'll probably try Sportsman Repair next time....
|
|
| |
|
| You failed to read my original post where I said I JUST got them back from another Abu service tech guy at a cost of about $25, for the 2...his service did not meet my standards
so is your issue with Abu's factory service that charged you the $67, or with an independent repair guy who charged you $25 but did bad work?
that's a HUGE difference, and your original post really focused on Abu's factory service. your follow-up posts compared them to Shimano's factory service and suggested Shimano does it for free.
i'm simply pointing out that the service you received from the Abu factory is very comparable to other companies such as Shimano. suggesting that Abu is somehow ripping you off doesn't match with the facts of how other companies such as Shimano operate. Abu is pretty close, if not BETTER.
you might be unhappy, but that's very different than whether or not they're treating you unfairly.
maybe I'm just use to the "old" way they use to treat me and my reels
i think this is likely the case for many of us.
however, their amazingly good service in the past does not mean that their current treatment is bad. maybe not the gravy train people are used to, but still very fair, imho.
|
|
| |
Abu...reel repair