I had just sent my trains back to like like, part of the reson I got proto 2000 was for the (er life time warrantee) and still cant beleve that they sent back my trains, and a nasty note telling me my train was to old, and that they dont have parts for me. kind of the same tretment I got last year when my train had electrical problems they just gave me some guff like (this train is from the 80’s)
Lifetime is lifetime. If they can’t repair it, they should replace it, or at least return the original purchase price.
hey thats a good answer mr B
but I think I have 10 proto locomotives and sent 3 in at once and they just got mad a t me[V]
B-
Did you tell them ahead of time the trains were being returned for repairs under warranty? Maybe send them a copy of your warranty registration. If they don’t honor it, it sounds like time for a letter writting, phone call, and e-mail campaign.
I know Bachmann honors their’s. If someone sends in an old 2-8-0 that they can’t repair, they replace it with a spectrum 2-8-0.
buchmann has a trick too
if you check there website it has a post that sead
• HO & N Diesel: $10.00
• HO & N Steam: $15.00
• Spectrum® HO, N, and On30: $20.00
• Large Scale: $25.00
ok so I send a 2-8-0 and thats a steam 15-
and its a spectrum that 20-
now its shipping and I ame well over $45
[:(!]
B-
I bought a rake at Sears - a Craftsman, with a lifetime guarantee. I used it to rake rocks out of my surface-of-the-moon, new construction, they weren’t kidding about those glaciers New England yard. I figured I’d get a year or 2 out of it, and then I’d get a new one. Well, 10 years later it finally broke. They gave me a new one, no questions asked. That kind of service inspires customer loyalty. And by the way, that replacement is still in my tool shed 15 years later.
Anybody from Life-Like listening? That’s what you mean when you say “Lifetime.” If it’s 20 years old and you don’t make the parts anymore, give the customer a new one, do some failure analysis on the old one, and then tell your employees that you expect them to be making trains today that will last for 20 years.
And by the way, Life-Like, I love my subway trains. They are a fine product, and I hope to keep them running for many years to come.
Guys,IMHO the best thing to do with a P2K engine is put a Athearn drive under it…[}:)] You see that way you will have a detailed body with a bullet proof drive.[:D]
I can’t even make out what the selections in this poll mean…
I have a few of the early P2K’s but don’t run them alot as I have not put decoders in them yet. Thanks for the heads up as it suggests that ifmine break I am not likely to bother returning them for repair.
Hire a lawyer and sue the crap out of them. Say that they caused you great mental anguish-but be sure and go to a doctor and tell him you need something for your nerves because of the problem you had with Life Like so you’ll have something on record. It’s worth a try. Just think of all the new trains you could buy with the settlement money and the pretty teacher you could hire to help you with your spelling-seriously…
trainluver1
I think this is more for small claims court but I agree. They need to stand behind their warranty.
On the other hand, if the engines were “abused” and mis-handled, you shouldn’t expect warranty work.
I tried to find their warranty information from their website but it was not posted. It would be interesting to see the fine print of the “life time” guarantee.
We already know that corporate profits have gone sky high over the past year
while household wage growth has been stagnating
AND THEY DUMP THE COST ON MIDDLE AMERICA
thanks L L
B-
Every P2K loco I ever bought had a “pedigree” card (I’m not sure what else to call it) with the model’s serial number on it. I wonder if that’s a required document…?
when I called on the phone I was told to just send it in
B -
I had a similar experience. They told me to send them. I did. they didn’t fix them. Sent them back telling me what they thought was wrong with them. And these were brand new. And they lost my decoders to boot.
Their attitute: Sorry tough luck.
I have no problems with Lifelike, but I have not sent any back. They did send me some parts for two of my models without any problems.
I have not had any experience with LifeLike, so I can only say…speak with your pocketbooks. Don’t buy their products any more.
Having said that, I would hope that everyone is being reasonable in that you can’t expect a company to “repair for free” something that may be out of warranty, or needs repair due to mishandling. If your LifeLike crashed to the floor due to inattentive operators, should something like that be covered? I wouldn’t think so. Should an engine that used to run well, but has been on the shelf for three years still be covered because it doesn’t run any more? That’s a hard call, but one would hope for flexibility from the company in these types of repairs.
When they say lifetime warrenty or guarentee I think they mean the trains life time so basically you get no repair service because its life time is up so they don’t do a darn thing.
I ordered a new boiler circuit board and motor for my dysfunctional Y3 three weeks ago.
The woman who answered the phone acted like I was bothering her by calling the company. She tried to get my shipping info too quickly.
And I’m still waiting for it to come…
I love that 4-8-8-4
B -