Commentary on Warranty Service

[ACY]

Dear Bachmann representatives,
I contacted the service department manager today regarding a doodlebug I had purchased as new old stock because it has a broken gear. Although I only paid $60 for it from a hobby shop online and it was still sealed in the shrink-wrap when I received it, the service department indicated that I would not be able to get a replacement doodlebug less the shell citing that my doodlebug was an older model. However, from my perspective it would seem fair and equitable to have the issue rectified in the quickest means possible even if that meant sending a replacement unit less the shell. Yet I was told I would have to wait a few months for a part since you had no more in stock even though you had a number of complete doodlebug assemblies available. I would not be dissatisfied at all with the resolution I was given if it were more immediate, however it appears I will have to wait until the part becomes available.
As I understand the warranty, any item purchased from a reputable and authorized Bachmann retailer brand new and sealed in the shrink wrap with warranty card is entitled to replacement or repair within one year of the date of purchase so long as the owner was not negligent in his operation of the locomotive and he is the first owner of the locomotive. Just because my item has not been cataloged in years and retailed for a bit lower price than the newer model does not disqualify me from that entitlement. However ,I acknowledged that since the newer model includes a DCC decoder whereas mine only had the 8-pin socket, it would only be fair to remove the decoder before sending me a replacement model less the shell.
I would completely understand if Bachmann no longer had any Doodlebugs available and offered me some other resolution such as another locomotive. However, since Bachmann still had plenty available it would make sense to me to honor the terms of the warranty since at this time they are unable to repair my locomotive, the only alternative is replacement with the newer model retaining my shell since it is no longer available.
The service representative was contending that since I only paid $60 for my model I am not entitled to a replacement model since the newer model retails for more than I paid, which is true, however several online retailers have the new model with trailing coach available for purchase for only $100-130, and if you figure the trailing coach to be worth $40-60 roughly that means the value of just the doodlebug itself must be $60-70 which is in fact not much more than I paid for my "new old stock" doodlebug. Meaning the $10-20 difference can be attributed to the DCC decoder and possibly a bit to the improved mechanism. In my book it is hardly worth arguing with a customer over $10-20 difference, especially when this customer has purchased many Bachmann locomotives, rolling stock, track, DCC systems and decoder and other accessories in both HO and N scales over the past 3 decades.

That is all I have to say on the matter, hopefully Bachmann will reconsider and elect to send out a replacement unit in a timely manner instead of making me wait indefinitely for a part. Hopefully there is a favorable resolution for all parties. Thank you for your time.

[jbrock27]

Seems there has been some mistake or at the least, some confusion.

[Irbricksceo]

ACY, I certainly understand your grief, I myself have had the odd hiccup. I sent two repairs in during the Christmas rush and one of them did not have a box, unfortunately, It seems the 2nd was tossed in a bin with the packing material, of which I had been anything but stingy, and it took a while to convince them there had in fact been two, adn that I was not trying to scam them. All that said, overall, Bachmann's Customer Service and Repair policy is practically believable, far above the competitors, the only shame is the people sending in Locomotives from 15 years ago and expecting a brand new DCC Loco, taking advantage of the setup. I've no doubt that that contributed to the price hike that the repair policy experienced (alongside the improvements in product quality) as it has nearly double over the last 6 years. In the end, I'm sure we can agree that their policy is a pretty sweet deal. I hope that you can rectify this event. You did contact the Manager, not a representative right? In my case, the CS Manager and the gentleman who performed the other Repair were very good, however the CS rep I spoke to on the phone inquiring as to my second repair was, quite frankly, incredibly rude. I'm not sure what exactly the problem is (for example, why you need one less the shell as opposed to a replacement, however they could surely remove the decode, or even perform a shell-swap.

[rogertra]

See my comments about warranty work over on General Discussion.

Cheers

Roger T.

[jbrock27]

the only shame is the people sending in Locomotives from 15 years ago and expecting a brand new DCC Loco, taking advantage of the setup

If someone bought a brand new Bachmann loco from an authorized seller, sent in their warranty card at the time, 15 years ago, then had a problem w/it today and sent it in with the necessary fee and postage they ARE entitled to a remedy.  Whether part of that remedy is a DCC loco or not is between the company and consumer. We have all seen an example posted here of an instance where this in fact is exactly what happened.  I don't know that it is fair to accuse someone of "taking advantage" in such an instance.  Their only expectation may be that they get their loco fixed or a replacement for it.

I've no doubt that that contributed to the price hike

How do you know this?

far above the competitors

I don't support this statement.  If you ever contacted other manufacturers you would find there are other good customer service oriented companies out there.  

[ACY]

If someone bought a brand new Bachmann loco from an authorized seller, sent in their warranty card at the time, 15 years ago, then had a problem w/it today and sent it in with the necessary fee and postage they ARE entitled to a remedy.  Whether part of that remedy is a DCC loco or not is between the company and consumer. We have all seen an example posted here of an instance where this in fact is excatly what happened.  I don't know that it is fair to accuse someone of "taking advantage" in such an instance.  Their only expectation may be that they get their loco fixed or a replacement for it.

In my particular case I bought a doodlebug earlier this year from a reputable hobby shop, that I knew was 10 years old or so. Apparently they found a couple that they never sold, so they had them listed online as new old stock. The item I received was sealed which should qualify it as brand new. I explicitly said they could remove the decoder from the new doodlebug and there would be no issue; however, Bachmann said they would not send me a replacement doodlebug since mine was 10+ years old. I was advised that I would have to wait indefinitely for a replacement part that is currently out of stock.

This in my opinion is quite a bit different from buying the locomotive 15 years ago and sending it in today, since my locomotive is still within the 1 year warranty period.

[Irbricksceo]

ACY, I was not referring to you, I was referring to people who send in the old Pancake motor Locomotives, something that HAS happened, we've heard of it on this very forum.

[jbrock27]

I disagree w/you ACY as your loco is more than 1 year old.

That said, if the consumer has fufilled all the requirements for their end of the deal (where purchased, new, warranty card completion and submission and provision of other fees), then it is the obligation of the company to honor its Limited Lifetime Warranty in some meaningful way whether the loco is 20 years old or 2 years old, pancake driven, goat power driven or nuclear powered.  Otherwise, Limited Lifetme Warranty means little.  I see no exclusions listed based on how the locomotive is powered, Brick.

[ALCO0001]

Hello,
I had some things go wrong like this and I spoke directly to the customer service manager whom is nearly at the top of the totem pole in the company scheme in the US.Provide a bill of sale and if it less than a year old it is under warranty over a year from the date of purchase it is not.
Jack

[Irbricksceo]

I just had two more repairs done, they called me about the replacement today actually. Make sure you provide a copy of some sort of sales receipt.

With respect for my comment on the abuse, Yes, technically, the warranty should make it eligible for the service charge, it just seems that sending a 15+ year old pancake motored Locomotive in and Paying twenty five bucks, only to receive a brand new locomotive could seem a little unfair when the person sending it in got it in a box of junker locos purchased on eBay or the likes. I have seen multiple instances of people saying they might want to do that. THAT is what I meant.

[jbrock27]

Thank you for clarifying what you meant, as I agree Brick when a locomotive has been purchased in that manner and then sent in for repair or replacement, that is outside of what the warranty is to provide.  From what I understand, Bachmann has for some time now, caught on to that little game.  Plus, those kinds of purchases more often than not, more likely than not, are not providing the buyer with a blank warranty card to complete and return to Bachmann to document the purchase at the time of purchase.  So that begs the question then, if there is no warranty card on file, why would the warranty process go any further when someone trys this kind of thing, than "sorry, we do not have record of your purchase, better luck next time".

And just bc people have asked the question about or stated their intent is to attempt to do the above, does not mean they get away with it.