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View Full Version : warantee does not match the salespittch


carediem
10-18-2003, 08:16 PM
Ridgid:

Based on a brochure I saw in HomeDepot and a salesman's claim that the batteries on the new Ridgid cordless drills are covered for life, and will even be replaced as many times as I wear them out, I bought a 14.4 volt Ridgid drill today at Home Depot. It is a very nice drill with very good torque for the weight and price.

I then logged into this web-site to print out the warantee, so I will have it when my batteries do eventually wear out.

I am disturbed to find that the "lifetime" warantee available on this site says nothing about batteries (or brushes, for that matter) In fact it says the "consumable accessories provided with the tool .... are not covered".

The salesman's word not withstanding, most manufacturers would normally consider a battery to be a consumable accessory. Given that the formal warantee does not explicitly include the batteries in the lifetime warantee, I sort of expect to be told when the time comes in 4 or 5 years that they are *not* covered, because they are "consumable" and thereby excluded form coverage.

A brochure is not a warantee, so I would rather not depend on that, espcially when it is in coflict with the formal warantee. (Likewise your newsgoup posting, as "BrandMan", on this site is not the same as a warantee.)

If Ridgid is really planning to honor this promise that is not backed by a written warantee, why not correct the warantee to be consistent with the the informal communications? Then we can all be more comfortable? If Ridgid is not willing to make the warantee consistent with the sales pitch and brochures I really have to conclude that the intention is to stop keeping this "promise" at some point after Ridgid is established in the cordless tool market.

PLEASE prove me wrong. Fix the warantee.

Thanks

Cutbuff
10-18-2003, 10:28 PM
The Limited Service Warranty on the Ridgid site which is valid until December 31, 2003 states:

"covers all defects in workmanship or materials and normal wear items in this RIDGID tool for the lifetime of the tool."

It's been stated by Ridgid representatives that "normal wear items" includes batteries, brushes etc.,

http://www.ridgid.com/newsite/manuals/LifetimeServiceWarranty.pdf

David

CactusHead
10-23-2003, 04:03 PM
Is this any different than what other tools offer?

Dave Arbuckle
10-23-2003, 04:10 PM
You bet it's different. Pretty much n-o-body covers wear items. Few indeed cover anything at all for original purchaser's lifetime. Milwaukee used to, but I don't believe they do any more.

If I'm mistaken, I would greatly appreciate pointers toward the policy of the companies I've overlooked.

Dave

Cutbuff
10-24-2003, 02:35 AM
As Dave has eloquently stated, no tool manufacturer offers a Lifetime Service Warranty. Jet has recently begun to offer a Lifetime Warranty, but not including "normal wear" items. This is unique to Ridgid, and is especially important with battery operated tools.

David

kcarl
10-24-2003, 07:24 AM
Yeah, I agree the Local Home Depot sales paper ad stongly implies that batteries are covered by the lifetime warranty. I wish Ridgid would be more specific. Usually, batteries develop internal "shorts" due to dendritic growth. This eventually reduces the overall voltage capacity by taking out one cell at a time. Being that this is normal end of life for rechargeable batteries, is it considered "normal wear." Sure would be nice for Ridgid to clear this up.

When I get time, I'll call the 800 number listed for warranty info. Battery life is my biggest issue with cordless tools. Most often, replacement batteries are more expensive than an entire new drill set.

BrandMan
10-24-2003, 07:35 AM
Kcarl, The batteries are covered!

kcarl
10-24-2003, 07:37 AM
Sorry about running this issue in the ground. Looks like the question was answered in the following link: http://www.ridgid.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=18;t=000025

Sounds like you can't go wrong with Ridgid. Gee, I wish I had a few k$ to replace all my crapsman power tools.

Ben S Patterson
10-25-2003, 05:16 PM
I have tossed a few tools into the trash can as a result of a batteries demise. When I went to replace the set of batteries and geting a nasty case of sticker shock I have just replaced the tool with a newer more powerfull version at a comperative cost to the replacement batteries alone.
I did the battery research before buying the Rigid. Hopefully when the time comes around they will stand up to it.