Ok, not sure that all of the representatives at TW understand the legalities of it.
Having dealt with TWs Return Portal application system, there is a series of questions that must be completed before they will accept a return and they encourage you to contact the manufacturer if it is a manufacturer problem.
As I said originally, contact TW and they may take it back, but be prepared to contact Bachmann.
They said to contact Bachmann and engine has been sent, we shall see.
My “problem” with on-line shopping for my model railroad is not the large, single, one time purchase, but the little maintenance items items like one package of special Kedee coulers or a tube of GOO or small detail parts. Stuff I used to go to a, “now-gone”, local hobby shop for and then look around for other stuff. Fun. It’s too expensive ordering these little items one at a time and pay all the different shipping charges, which are uisuslly higher than the single item. Now I make a list and try to order everthing at once from a single seller, if possible. But now projects and repairs are delayd until it becomes worth ordering. I wish a store like Hobby Lobby could partner with, and order from, Walthers with store pick-up, like the hobby shop used to do, with no shipping charge added to the cost. Used to take less than a week. Now I vented. Thanks.
Your very worst outcome will be that Bachmann cannot fix it or replace it do to lack of parts or new inventory.
In that case Bachmann will offer you a list of items of equal or greater value as a replacement.
Because of how I think about this stuff, I would have already placed an order for a replacement while they might still be available, then sort out the problem in whatever way becomes necessary.
Worst case, sell what they send you on Ebay and possibly come out ahead…
Sheldon
I hear you Sheldon. Glad you added the details of how they handle things. Item has been on its way, we shall see what happens.
No worries, I have a moderate amount of Bachmann and have had to return a few things for service or replacement. I have also bought parts for non warranty repairs on used stuff I have bought, and for kit bashing.
So I have a fair amount of experience with their service/parts department.
Interestingly, as a percentage of models I own, I have had way more “defects” with Broadway than with Bachmann…
Sheldon
I have had the opposite experience.
I purchased two products from Home Depot that were defective and had “Do Not Return To Store” instructions.
One was a Moen shower fixture, and one was a Ryobi power tool.
Both of these were handled immediately by the manufacturer to my complete satisfaction.
-Kevin
Ditto. I own exactly 3 BLI units - 2 have had a defect. (Not counting the one totally DOA with no hope of saving. In that case, I have 4, with 3 defects…) So my “avereage” from them, on defects, is 66% (or 75)!!!
(I do not own any BLI railcars.)
I own a lot more from Bachmann, and had exactly 2 defects. (One a lighting wire was not connected [or broke off in transit], one a motor had bad brushes from the factory. I’m not counting the one where they missed a screw inside that held the rear gearbox in place in a Spectrum unit, as that is missing a screw, but not really a defect per say…)
Bachmann average is under 10%, count railcars as well, less than 5%. (This counts Bachmann units I was given and tested and passed on to a friends son who likes trains.)
And the one BLI - a 2-8-2 Mike, was a really bad design flaw creating a recurring defect. It has been fixed, twice by them, twice by me, and is again suffering from the exact same issue. It’s currently sitting on a shelf, relegated to the “round to it” fix list. (And has been on said “round to it” list for a few years now…)
Let’s not be too quick to jump all over BLI.
Here is my experience.
I have owned 9 BLI steamers, only 2 were returned for repairs, essentially the trailing trucks with weak springs on a 2-10-2 and a 2-10-4. The repairs were successful.
I have owned 7 Bachmann Spectrum steamers, 3 were returned, and Bachmann opted not to repair them, claiming no parts, and then gave me a choice of locomotives that I did not want.
I have never owned a Bachmann diesel, but I have owned 18 BLI diesels, none of which have had any defects.
Rich
Rich, it is just the luck of the draw, all these companies have similar quality, and similar failure rates.
And it is the luck of the draw if you bought a Bachmann engine at the wrong point in tme when all the “replacements” had been sold or given away…
Maybe BLI does more in terms of parts and repairs, rather than replacing stuff, maybe not. I don’t have any hard data. But they did not have parts for my two defective Mikados? My other 5 Broadway locos, all steam, are very good.
Bachmann did not always have a new loco to send me, one time they had the loco, but not in the correct roadname. They sent me the new loco, and my original body shells. Yes I had to do the swap…
Several items I returned to Bachmann were used items I bought cheap, and was willing to pay their flat service fee to get repaired or replaced. Two of which were doodlebugs, In two cases they sent me the whole doodlebug/trailer coach combo because they did not have the right roadname.
In my case, I planned to repaint some of these doodlebugs anyway…
Other than Proto2000 cracked gears, I have never had a warranty issue with any brand of diesel (not counting the doodlebugs). LifeLike gave me about 20 locos worth of geared axles decades ago - when those ran out I happily bought some Athearn gears.
Correct, that is a workmanship error. It still should be covered by factory warranty.
I owned one BLI locomotive, a 2-6-6-4, and it never ran. It was returned, and they refunded my money.
I have two BLI freight cars, both NYC steel boxcars. These were a major pain to bring to my specifcations for operation, but that is not a BLI issue. It does prevent any future sales to me.
-Kevin
Had one BLI, defective, fixable but I will just e-bay it as defective. One MTH, works perfect except for the automatic couplers, they work but I don’t find them reliable. 12 Bachmann’s (recently bought), all work perfect except the one I sent in for waranty.
I agree with you, Sheldon, and in fact, that was my point. There is nothing inherently wrong with either BLI or Bachmann. In fact , one of my very favorite steamers is a Bachmann Spectrum 2-6-6-2.
Rich
I just glanced at my roster and found that I have at least 65 BLI locomotives. Of those I have had some issues. I kept notes and off hand I’d say my “need to repair” rate runs around 10%. In every case Broadway service department has been helpful with either sending me the repair parts (usually faster than having them perform the work) or, in only one or two cases, replacing the loco with another one.
Even out of warranty they have been good at helping with repairs. I had a couple of PRR 2-10-0s with cracked axle gears. These were ten-year old engines. They gave me several options and I chose to send them the wheel/axle assemblies and they installed new gears and returned them to me at no charge. I only paid postage to Florida.
Just this week I needed a pair of handrails for a Mikado I bought over five years ago. They are sending me replacement handrails at no charge.
All three of my P5as needed new motors and decoders. Again they sent replacement parts and I made the simple repair myself. No need to return the bad parts.
Now here’s something I haven’t seen mentioned about Broadway — and that’s their “Refurb Outlet” store. I don’t know of another manufacturer that sells their repaired products, at about 40% off retail, on the open market. I wonder how many of these engines have defects that may go unnoticed or not properly repaired only to cause grief for the buyer down the road? I wonder if this increases the percieved repair rate? Over the years there has to be a pretty good number of “refurbs” out there.
In my opinion it seems like BLI has had a run of bad luck with the Paragon 3 decoder. Weather an inherent design flaw or perhaps a manufacturing problem it seems like their reliability took a hit with the introduction of these decoders.
They are now
[quote user=“gmpullman”]
I just glanced at my roster and found that I have at least 65 BLI locomotives. Of those I have had some issues. I kept notes and off hand I’d say my “need to repair” rate runs around 10%. In every case Broadway service department has been helpful with either sending me the repair parts (usually faster than having them perform the work) or, in only one or two cases, replacing the loco with another one.
Even out of warranty they have been good at helping with repairs. I had a couple of PRR 2-10-0s with cracked axle gears. These were ten-year old engines. They gave me several options and I chose to send them the wheel/axle assemblies and they installed new gears and returned them to me at no charge. I only paid postage to Florida.
Just this week I needed a pair of handrails for a Mikado I bought over five years ago. They are sending me replacement handrails at no charge.
All three of my P5as needed new motors and decoders. Again they sent replacement parts and I made the simple repair myself. No need to return the bad parts.
Now here’s something I haven’t seen mentioned about Broadway — and that’s their “Refurb Outlet” store. I don’t know of another manufacturer that sells their repaired products, at about 40% off retail, on the open market. I wonder how many of these engines have defects that may go unnoticed or not properly repaired only to cause grief for the buyer down the road? I wonder if this increases the percieved repair rate? Over the years there has to be a pretty good number of “refurbs” out there.
In my opinion it seems like BLI has had a run of bad luck with the Paragon 3 decoder. Weather an inherent design flaw or perhaps a manufacturing problem it seems like their reliability took a hit with the introduct
I just love those little baby mallets, there are five of them here.
Sheldon
Someone said something about contribution and in that vein I have noticed that even companys that have never offered something in your era will eventualy do something. I got a bunch of MTH hoppers in my time period of 1939, we will see if the new owners will continue this trend, also Rapido is now ofering boxcars in my timeframe.
I don’t mean to “pick on” any manufacturer, just my observations.
How many count the “Always Blown Headlights” in the original Genesis line a “defect”? With the LED availablity then and up until they finally gave in, I would include that as a “defect” in the design.
My perpetually defective BLI is the infamous “Chuff Sensor” issue they had in their steam loco’s for a long time, due to the design using a Reed switch sensor.
The DOA was a unrepairable AC6000 that was refunded. (Blown Paragon Decoder, fried motor, plus other issues.)
Another Steamer and a second AC6000 have had zero issues.
As far as the poor workmanship screw never included, it was covered under warranty, but the LHS I purchased from simply gave me some screws that were the right size no charge next time I went there. (Saved having to ship for a screw worth maybe 10 cents tops…)
But, most manufacturers have a dud every now and then.
Well haven’t gotten confirmation of delevery yet, who knows how long things take these days.
Did you not get a tracking number when you made the shipment?