Lifetime Guarantee My Arse.....

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Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,760
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
So my Dinghy Dolly wheels finally broke. I bought them, in large part, because they carried a lifetime guarantee.

So I call the manufacturer, they are very much still in business, and ask to purchase some parts. I did not ask for warranty because the wheel completely fell off and I never found it.

Their answer; "We no longer make that product and don't offer parts either. Try google."...

"Try google"??

You gave me a lifetime warranty, are still in business and no longer even sell or offer "lifetime warranty" parts..... WOW!!!


Please beware when buying any product that manufacturers CAN NOT support "lifetime warranty" products if they are discontinued.. This is why many warranties are no longer worth the paper they are printed on.....:cussing::cussing::cussing:

End rant....;)
 
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alexco38

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Sep 25, 2008
1,096
CS 30 Toronto
Life time warantee for them, not for you buyer !!

I would never buy something because of the claims by the company. Always buyer's beware.
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,760
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
alexco38 said:
Life time warantee for them, not for you buyer !!

I would never buy something because of the claims by the company. Always buyer's beware.
Click to expand

Yes but when you live in Maine and have rocky beaches a lifetime warranty is very appealing for dinghy wheels.

It also tends to instil confidence in your purchase when a manufacturer offers more than 90 to 360 days of warranty.. This is a large company producing a known quality product (in other markets) and are still in business. I never thought I'd be stiffed by such a company....
 
Tim R.

Tim R.

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May 27, 2004
3,626
Caliber 40 Long Range Cruiser Portland, Maine
They do a lot of business with the military. They can probably do whatever they want.
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
My favorite warranty is for caulk. Won't crack or peel away for fifty years. If it does bring the empty caulking tube and proof of purchase for a free replacement.
 
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Old Skool Neil

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Jan 22, 2008
880
Fed up w/ personal attacks I'm done with SBO
OK, I can appreciate your disappointment in the warranty language but what do you expect them to do today regarding a product that was discontinued over a decade ago?
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,760
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Old Skool Neil said:
OK, I can appreciate your disappointment in the warranty language but what do you expect them to do today regarding a product that was discontinued over a decade ago?
Click to expand
Over a decade ago? I bought the wheels in 2006 from West Marine...... The warranty support person yesterday told me they discontinued them "about 2-3 years ago".....

I guess I would expect that when you sell a product, that requires drilling multiple holes in a four figure boat, and comes with a "Lifetime Warranty", and you are not out of business, that they might at least continue to support the product as long as they can... 2-3 Years is not very long for a product advertised and sold with the "Lifetime Warranty" being such a prominent part of the advertising...

If they discontinued it 2-3 years ago, as I was told yesterday, that is a pretty poor level of support for a warranty that states "lifetime".... I guess they only meant "lifetime of the product"......;)

On another note a forum member here has agreed to ship me a brand new in-the-box set!

I don't "expect" the manufacturer to do anything more than they can, which is nothing, because they discontinued the product. I only post this as a reminder that "lifetime warranty" may not mean "lifetime" even when the company is still in business.....
 
Chuckbear

Chuckbear

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Jan 3, 2009
821
Marine Trader 34 Where Ever I am
MS, You ask for parts. I can understand if a company redesigns a product and eventually stops carrying parts due to the lack of demand. Especially if the warranty offers replacement of the product. I don't see where you ask for a replacement rather than parts based on the lifetime warranty. Have you had that discussion with them? Chuck
 
Tim R.

Tim R.

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May 27, 2004
3,626
Caliber 40 Long Range Cruiser Portland, Maine
Chuckbear said:
MS, You ask for parts. I can understand if a company redesigns a product and eventually stops carrying parts due to the lack of demand. Especially if the warranty offers replacement of the product. I don't see where you ask for a replacement rather than parts based on the lifetime warranty. Have you had that discussion with them? Chuck
Click to expand
Chuck, MS lost one of the wheels which does not constitute a warranty claim. He just wants to buy some parts which has exposed Pelican's lifetime warranty shortcomings.
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,760
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Chuckbear said:
MS, You ask for parts. I can understand if a company redesigns a product and eventually stops carrying parts due to the lack of demand. Especially if the warranty offers replacement of the product. I don't see where you ask for a replacement rather than parts based on the lifetime warranty. Have you had that discussion with them? Chuck
Click to expand
Yes, there is no replacement because there are none and there are no parts to replace, because there are none..... They would have replaced the parts if they had them, according to the warranty guy...

My wheel completely disappeared which means a broken shaft or a lost c-clip. This is why I did not initially ask for warranty because I did not know which was the cause, the shaft breaking or the c-clip falling off. Did not matter because they dropped the product and had nothing to offer despite selling it with a "lifetime warranty".. These have been a GREAT product for our use. I don't fault it, but I do have a tough time with a lifetime warranty product that a company completely ceases supporting. This is not just a camera case that could be replaced with a similar/like product, this is a product that requires drilling 8 holes into the transom of a very expensive dinghy...
 
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Old Skool Neil

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Jan 22, 2008
880
Fed up w/ personal attacks I'm done with SBO
My information regarding when the product was discontinued came from inside Pelican. I don't know but perhaps there's a time lag between cessation of production and exhausting available inventory. Depending on the market interest and inventory size that time lag could easily span years.

Please understand, I'm not arguing the language of the warranty.

So, if production had ceased over a decade ago and they no longer had any product or supporting parts on hand, what do you expect them to do? What is it you want? You said, " . . . when you offer a lifetime warranty, something more than "We discontinued that try google.." might be appropriate....." Let's not leave it hanging, assuming their inventory is exhausted on a discontinued item what would they have to do to satisfy you?
 
Chris Burti

Chris Burti

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Dec 2, 2003
480
Catalina C-320 Washington, NC
I'll go one better...or actually worse...Atlantis, another major player with a supposedly quality reputation calmly informed me that that 'lifetime' for them meant the "expected lifetime" of thier gear which in their view was about 10 years. So sorry...

In my view, arbitrary warranty interpretations are a sign of lousy customer service...
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,760
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Old Skool Neil said:
My information regarding when the product was discontinued came from inside Pelican. I don't know but perhaps there's a time lag between cessation of production and exhausting available inventory. Depending on the market interest and inventory size that time lag could easily span years.

Please understand, I'm not arguing the language of the warranty.

So, if production had ceased over a decade ago and they no longer had any product or supporting parts on hand, what do you expect them to do? What is it you want? You said, " . . . when you offer a lifetime warranty, something more than "We discontinued that try google.." might be appropriate....." Let's not leave it hanging, assuming their inventory is exhausted on a discontinued item what would they have to do to satisfy you?
Click to expand
What I was told just yesterday was that the product was "discontinued two to three years ago". Whether that means parts discontinued or the product I don't know.

All I know is I bought the wheels in 2006 so if they were discontinued ten years ago those wheels were discontinued when I bought them and would have been discontinued for three years... I find it hard to believe I paid WM price for a three year discontinued product but anything is possible?

Here's what I would love for them to do, but would never expect it to happen........... Honnor your written warranty!;)

I got a call from Kirk the assistant manager at the Portland, ME West Marine. He found a brand new pair in the company and is having them in-store transferred to me. (that would be a 10 year shelf life beyond the product being discontinued:confused: Wow!).

The price is good, my cost is about $45.00. I have no problem with that...

So I will now have two sets of these wheels so that in the future, when or if I break them again, I will have my own warranty coverage...;)

For all the West Marine bashers Kirk at WM in Portland, ME bent over backwards for me trying to source me a set of these wheels and FOUND THEM.


A special thanks to Jibes138 and Kirk at West Marine in Portland !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will never be out of dinghy wheels again....;)
 
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