warantees, whos good and whos bad

[Lloyd Smale]

List the 4 best companys in the shooting industry that in your opinion have the best warantee and the 4 that have the worse. One thing though to avoid bashing companys that are borderline all i ask is if its in your worse list its a company you wont buy from again. to many people complain and then turn around and buy more from a company. If you buy more there not all that bad.
Heres mine
GOOD
Dillon
rcbs
hornady
leupold
 
bad
cimmeron arms
magnum research
bushnell
weatherby

[Bigeasy]

GOOD - Crimson Trace.  Bought a set of laser grips for the 1911.  The laser diode came loose the first day of use.  Called them about it, got lots of apologies, and in three days a new set was delivered to my door, with a note asking me to return the old ones in a pre-paid mailer.  New ones have worked fine in well over 1K rounds.
 
BAD - Taurus.  To much to go into detail, but would never buy another....
 
Larry

[Land_Owner]

GOOD
Remington with regard to Handi-rifles

BAD
None so far as I have followed the "crowd" above and found all the good ones....
Correction TASCO they are the pits.

[LanceR]

Lloyd,  I seem to be hard on scopes.

I have had two scopes that got damaged while in use, a Leupold and a Burris.  I had one, a Sightron, on which a turret cap would not thread on even though it was brandy new.

I had bought the Leupold and the Burris used.

Leupold and Burris responded in the same way even though I told them that I had bought the scopes used and was responsible for the damage.  tTey both said"We warrant the scope, not the purchaser."

All three companies said "The sooner you send it to us the sooner we'll get it back to you."  All three paid for the return shipping.  Burris and Sightron included new lens covers and all three, on request, sent extra turret covers and declined to charge for them.

For firearms, Savage is the only outfit I ever sent something back to.  I bought one of the very first 20 gauge 220 slug rifles and it had a terrible failure to fire rate.  It took two trips back to get it right.  On the other hand I have a Savage 10ML II smokeless powder muzzleloader than I managed to bulge the barrel of by short loading it.  I called and was told that it would cost $220 to replace the barrel.   I mailed it off and included a letter explaining that it was close to our muzzleloading season and if they could expedite it I would appreciate it.  Three days after they got it I got a call.  They had noted that I had removed the iron sights and plugged the holes.  They asked if I wanted it drilled and tapped for iron sights. I said "No." to which they replied that that would save some time and that they would proof test it and accuracy check it right away so it could ship that day. 

I asked if they would include the new style breech plug and some other parts I wanted and they agreed to do so.  I then asked if they wanted my credit card info.  They said "No.  There will be no charge."  to which I replied that I had damaged the rifle.  They responded that they were aware of that but that they were also aware that last year it took two trips back for the slug rifle to get fixed so there would be no charge for the new barrel on the muzzleloader.   To say the least, I was pretty darn pleased.

Lance

[Glanceblamm]

Good
 
Ruger as I returned a new M77 rifle with extra bright ring in the web area of the once fired...They made a chamber cast then went on to say they replaced the barrel (no charge to include shipping)
 
T/C as they replaced the complete stock of my Patriot bp pistol which had cracked up near the tang (no charge to include shipping)
 
Bad
 
The Limited Warranty products and my failure to return a product registration form or keep the original reciept. Been burned on this a time or three but have been consience enough to hold on to everything "box and all" for the last several years.

[Siskiyou]

Bushnell has been good to me over the years.

[Lloyd Smale]

thompson center is another one that deserves to be on my good list .

Good
 
Ruger as I returned a new M77 rifle with extra bright ring in the web area of the once fired...They made a chamber cast then went on to say they replaced the barrel (no charge to include shipping)
 
T/C as they replaced the complete stock of my Patriot bp pistol which had cracked up near the tang (no charge to include shipping)
 
Bad
 
The Limited Warranty products and my failure to return a product registration form or keep the original reciept. Been burned on this a time or three but have been consience enough to hold on to everything "box and all" for the last several years.

[Glanceblamm]

thompson center is another one that deserves to be on my good list .

I kind of expected someone to call my hand on the T\C ownership (and warranty issue) which did not happen yet so I did some investigation on my own.
 
http://www.tcarms.com/customerService/returns.php
 
It appears that under S&W, they have gone to the Limited Lifetime for a new purchase?
 
I dont know what their policy is on my old smokepoles, dont have reciepts for these anymore.

[Lloyd Smale]

 i had a lighted crosshair tc scope on one of my contendors that i broke by my own mistake. I told them it was my problem when i called and they said to return it and theyd fix it for free. Well i was shocked as 4 days later i got a new scope in the mail. I hadnt even sent back the old one yet. I called them and told them i hadnt and they said send it when you get the time or just keep it!!! All that was wrong with it was the switch was broke. I gave it to a buddy to use on one of his guns. Well this year i was shooting the same gun and the crosshairs broke loose in the scope. This time i just boxed it up with a letter and sent it in. they sent  me back a new 2.5x8 non lit scope with an letter saying they didnt make the old model anymore. So id have to say they still stand behind there products like the old days.

[Land_Owner]

In this day and age when the economy is spiraling downward; when just saying "Politician" is cause to spit; when it is stress-releiving to have a job, any job (even though the workers are paying the freight for the freeloaders); it is very good to know that the Corporations in which we have individually invested - in part because of their stated policies - are in FACT continuing to foster loyalty through Customer Service.  Their word is their bond. 

This thread is an affidavit that purchasing QUALITY equipment leads to a lifetime of reliable performance or your money back (in like kind and support service).

Good thread...

[dukkillr]

Unbelievably bad:
CZ-USA - And their warranty shop is only minutes from my office.
 
Unbelievably good:
The North Face
 
I've had OK experiences with:
Nikon
Cabelas
Rappala

[30-30man]

I've had good luck more than bad but here is my list:
 
Good:
Simmons: When they were in business..They sent a new scope to me before i sent the old one back.
Mueller: Sent out a new scope no questions asked
Cabelas: No questions asked returns
OFF: They paid for the floor of my camper to get repaired after a package of 100% deet ate through the package and then ate the lineolum floor.
Worst:
Bushnell: wants you to pay postage both ways and an inspection fee only to deny claims from scopes they have discontinued...They give the bent tube by rings excuse on almost everyone of them...You will never have a bad experience from them until you try to get a scope fixed that they no longer make..
 
Goodyear tires:  They are good for a year..That's about it!  I only got 19,000 miles out of them and they were taken care of rotated etc. Tires wore like butter. Prorate only allows for very minimal replacement cost....I didn't even bother.
 
Hornady ammo:  I had a box of 10 duds in a box of 20 of 7.5 Swiss.  They claimed it was the gun but I tried to refire them out of two other rifles. I got the ammo from a dealer and the boxes had a oil residue on them.  I really think it was his fault but was hoping Hornady would send a box to replace it.  They told me I was SOL, but in a nice way...They said they didn't warranty manufactured ammo. I never bought another.
 
Pentax:  The only reason I give them the thumbs down is because they charge a $19 inspection fee and you still have to pay to ship the scope to them...Postage doesn't come close to $19....I think this is excessive.
 

[Glanceblamm]

Pentax:  The only reason I give them the thumbs down is because they charge a $19 inspection fee and you still have to pay to ship the scope to them...Postage doesn't come close to $19....I think this is excessive.

I recently gave Pachmayer $6.00 shipping on a set of grips...when the Manila envelope arrived it had a $2.40 cancelled stamp on it so it was kind of like Grin and bear it.
 
I was glad to get those grips but also glad that they did not sting me for anymore on the shipping.

[Bugflipper]

Good- Spikes Tactical sent product and prepaid mailer. Petsafe did the same sent a collar for their instant fence. Vortex, sent a new scope after I mailed the damaged one in.  Leuopold did the same but their product failed instead of my fault. Hi lifter outlaw atv tires, busted a belt and they sent a new tire.

[SHOOTALL]

good , RCBS
          Woolrich
          Ruger , my experince was good
          Cabela's
Bad ,   Taurus
          Lee , I will buy the case trimmers but nothing else .
         
          Winchester / Browning warranty service . Might buy a gun with knowing not to return for service.
          Bass Pro ATV service dept.

[Land_Owner]

shootall, et al,

I just return shipped for factory service a 22-year old Winchester shotgun, Model 1300, that I bought new, but which blew up the brass head of a 3" Winchester High Velocity load.  See this thread for pictures of the brass http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,238346.0.html

They ripped the guts out of the shotgun, replaced them with new parts, and shipped it back to me in 5-days FREE of CHARGE for all parts, labor, and shipping.  Now I HAVE to crow about Winchester Service after being treated like that!

[Lloyd Smale]

that is impressive landowner. Ive never had to send back a winchester so i guess thats impressive too. There probably the only gun company i can say i havent had a problem with a gun. this weeks brag will be on ruger. they just replaced the barrel on my 264 for free.

shootall, et al,

I just return shipped for factory service a 22-year old Winchester shotgun, Model 1300, that I bought new, but which blew up the brass head of a 3" Winchester High Velocity load.  See this thread for pictures of the brass http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,238346.0.html

They ripped the guts out of the shotgun, replaced them with new parts, and shipped it back to me in 5-days FREE of CHARGE for all parts, labor, and shipping.  Now I HAVE to crow about Winchester Service after being treated like that!

[Dave in WV]

Good. Redding. I called them Monday about two dies recently purchased and the seating stems didn't seat the chosen bullets into the case deep enough. Yesterday the stems came in the mail free of charge.
 
Bad experience. Midway USA. I bought several 100 count boxes of 7mm bullets. I opened one to load some ammo several months after the purchase and there were several .308 150gr bullets in the box instead of 7mm 140gr bullets. I called and was told to send the box back at my charge and "they'd look into it". I now open, inspect, and count anything I buy from them.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup reddings another good one. To be honest ive had pretty good luck with customer service at midway too.