It is currently 29 Mar 2024, 04:22


New Topic Add Reply
Author Message
Warranty-worth it?
Post 30 Jul 2022, 19:54 • #1 
Sport
Joined: 10/20/19
Posts: 37
Location: Black Hills, SD
Just a question - are warranties on rods worth it? I’ve been told that the warranty on a rod basically doubles the cost to the consumer. I’ve broken 3 rods under warranty in my life. 1 was on a “boutique builder “ rod, 1 was on a high end rod from a company based out of Montana and the other was a budget rod -Redington. The only one that honored the warranty was Redington which incidentally was the only one that didn’t break while casting.
So my question is, does a warranty actually matter or is it just a way to increase the price?
I’m a “boutique “ guitar builder so I’m not insensitive to the economics of producing and selling but I certainly don’t offer as a selling point something I don’t intend to honor.
I made purchasing decisions based on the warranty instead of going with a local builder but 2 out of 3 isn’t great. Hindsight, I should have gone with a local builder.
So, do you make decisions based on the stated warranty? Do you pay more for it or is there a market for a reasonable (30-90 day?) warranty at a lower cost. Or since it seems to be an industry thing priced in do you stick with large companies that are largely guaranteed to be around for the long term?
Thanks!
Paul


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 30 Jul 2022, 20:56 • #2 
Guide
Joined: 02/22/16
Posts: 307
Location: Livingston MT
Years ago my wife bought a Scott G2 with a "lifetime warranty". It snapped at a ferrule playing a fish and I went on their website to find out how to send the rod back for repair. Low and behold there is a list of serial numbers and the page stated "Any rod with a serial number lower than XXXX will not be repaired under warranty. So basically she bought a rod with a lifetime warranty and the company wouldn't honor it. They also wanted almost $200.00 including a $65.00 shipping fee to return it. This was before the USPS price increase.

So I wouldn't buy from a big company on the promise of a lifetime warranty. I believe most of them are now charging for a repair regardless of cause. Most boutique builders will warranty a material defect and repair anything else for a reasonable cost, certainly not $200.00

Tom


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 30 Jul 2022, 21:15 • #3 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/31/15
Posts: 1238
Location: Northern Rockies
There is quite a lot of chatter on social media about other major builders struggling to return warrantied rods for several months beyond their promises, often without contact. I don't want to slander anyone, as I can't verify anything, but it's also hard not consider the weight of evidence. That said, recently but pre-pandemic I have a good friend who had a major company (one of the same now piling up complaints) fix a break from a series that had long been discontinued for a reasonable fee and in a timely manner.

I think it's something of a gamble, and it's not something I would bank on. It's a nice benefit, but it's not a factor I would consider.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 31 Jul 2022, 07:25 • #4 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/05/06
Posts: 2087
Location: US-PA
As the owner of more than a few rods with "lifetime" warranties to the original owner I offer a resounding NO!!!

First off, when I bought my rods, the "service charge" for execution was my outbound freight...

Now it will cost me close to 50% of what I paid for the rod to get it repaired and I would venture to guess the likelihood the manufacturer still has blanks in stock is nil. That means I get one of their newer creations that don't interest me for a lot of reasons.

Besides that I have broke only one rod (glass) in my life. Ironically that rod WAS under warranty. At the time it broke (a total fluke and not my fault) the rod was new and it was only the second time I used it. It was a discontinued rod at the time it too... :eek

In a total panic, I called the rod manufacturer right from the creek I was fishing to ask if they still had blanks for this rod line and I was assured they still did. However that was not too long after they stopped making them and probably close to 20 years ago. Today that company doesn't make glass rods...

Even with that one instance of a warranty saving one of my rods I still say NO, warranties are NOT worth it.

But just try and get the manufacturers to offer the same rod with, for more money or without for less. ;)


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 31 Jul 2022, 07:52 • #5 
Sport
Joined: 10/20/19
Posts: 37
Location: Black Hills, SD
“But just try and get the manufacturers to offer the same rod with, for more money or without for less. ;)

I think this would be a very interesting experiment. If the price of a warranty is truly baked into the rod then a rod offered without a warranty should be significantly cheaper. Unless, of course, that is absolute poppycock
Paul


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 31 Jul 2022, 09:16 • #6 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
Well of course the price has to be factored in. Essentially, the warranty is an advertising puff to imply superior quality. Some products may have that; others don't. Tubular composites are breakable. Buy a rod for what it is, not for what the warranty implies. Personally, I would never expect a free repair or replacement on a product I damaged myself regardless of what the warranty said. Flaws in material or workmanship, yes. But these show up early in the service life and are covered generically by the implied warranty of merchantability all products have. If you do spend a lot on a rod, take care of it. The warranty--cost of occasional repair or replacement--is built into to the cost, much more of a prepaid insurance policy than an assurance the product will last forever. The best insurance is selecting a rod you will take care of and feel is worth the price regardless of the warranty fine print.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 31 Jul 2022, 09:20 • #7 
Guide
Joined: 09/05/17
Posts: 305
Location: On a Stream
I don't buy with warranty in mind as a priority. I broke two rods that had warranties. Both my fault, one while casting a G-Loomis spey rod, and the other a Tenkara rod from TRC that I stepped on while releasing a fish. Loomis repaired the rod, I had to mail the entire rod, and pay for return shipping, turnaround was a couple of weeks. TRC sent me a replacement section, neither asked me what happened.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 31 Jul 2022, 10:14 • #8 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/05/06
Posts: 2087
Location: US-PA
One of the interesting thing about rod repairs for me is when I've sent any of my Orvis bamboo rods for refurbishment (never a repair fortunately), Orvis picked up the return freight.

As I am not the original owner of any and at at least two are 75 years old, I think that is a pretty nice touch.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 31 Jul 2022, 11:37 • #9 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/21/06
Posts: 3081
Location: Orygun
whrlpool wrote:
Personally, I would never expect a free repair or replacement on a product I damaged myself regardless of what the warranty said. Flaws in material or workmanship, yes. But these show up early in the service life and are covered generically by the implied warranty of merchantability all products have. If you do spend a lot on a rod, take care of it. The warranty--cost of occasional repair or replacement--is built into to the cost, much more of a prepaid insurance policy than an assurance the product will last forever. The best insurance is selecting a rod you will take care of and feel is worth the price regardless of the warranty fine print.


That's precisely where I'm at. I mean, if I forgot to check that my ferrules were tight and one broke fighting a fish, that one's on me.

Any flaw in workmanship or materials will show itself within the first outing, usually within the first 30 minutes.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 31 Jul 2022, 13:01 • #10 
Sport
Joined: 10/20/19
Posts: 37
Location: Black Hills, SD
So given that it seems many folks seem to somewhat discount the warranty, is the industry hurting it’s by offering it as part of the rod itself? Instead of a rod being $700 - $1000 with the warranty-whatever it is - would they be better off offering the same rod at say $450 - $700 (just spitballing) with a simple free of original defects type warranty?


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 31 Jul 2022, 13:12 • #11 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 03/28/07
Posts: 1006
Location: US-TX
I’m dealing with St Croix on a warranty right now. They told me it would take 7-10 days to get a response, and it has been a couple weeks. This discussion is making me more concerned.

I was lucky enough to fish some private water on culebra creek in southern Colorado. I had opted to take an 8’ 4 wt graphite rod on this vacation due to severe luggage weight restrictions. Most of the fish were average sized browns, but the owner had stocked a few giant rainbows. There was one as long as my leg. I hooked one that was only about 26 inches long.

It took off downstream, went under a submerged long, and kept going. After some brief panic, I followed it under the log with the rod and grabbed the rod on the other side. Miraculously, it was still on when I reeled in the slack. I fought it for another 10 minutes before getting it to the surface.

Then, I saw the dry fly had come out, and dropper was hooked on it’s dorsal fin. It was also too big to fit in my net. I decided to try to beach it while keeping my rod at a 30 degree angle to avoid overstressing it. It suddenly snapped right below the middle ferrule.

I was actually glad I didn’t bring my favorite glass rod. That would be a lot more difficult to replace. Hopefully, St Croix will fix their rod at a reasonable price.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 31 Jul 2022, 16:53 • #12 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/11/06
Posts: 2516
Location: Nature Coast Florida
I can buy six to fifteen used glass for the price of many new rods. No warranty and have never had one break. Plus, love trying different rods and they don't lose about a third of their value the day you buy them.

I had a buddy working in a rod shop that had folks intentionally break rods in front of him because they wanted a new one. That's one reason rods cost three times what they should. (In addition to folks thinking it has to be great because it costs more)


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 31 Jul 2022, 17:10 • #13 
Guide
Joined: 08/19/16
Posts: 314
Location: Brazil
Whenever I buy a new rod (which is very seldom) I always expect it to have a lifetime guarantee, that is, a guarantee for life... of the rod. Once the rod dies, any expectations I might have of a manufacturer making good on the warranty also die.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 31 Jul 2022, 19:56 • #14 
Guide
Joined: 02/06/16
Posts: 328
Location: US
I have nothing but good things to say for some companies and their warranties. Orvis is first on that list. They make a good reel and will take it in and fix nearly anything for $30.00. I've sent quite a few reels that I can across back to them for servicing and all but one returned nearly new. I'll admit the one that didn't came back a hack job because they didn't have the proper screws, and I wish they just mentioned it before Dr. Frankenstein got to work, but on the whole they do a good job, They even took in a 711 I had that the original cork had ridged. Replaced the grip and reel seat, used the original components and added some nicely done script to it too. $30.00 plus shipping it to them. Cant beat that.

ECHO is another that comes to mind. Made a warranty claim on a mid section to a BAG Quickshot and they sent me a new one with in three weeks of filing the claim. Not bad.

Some companies and most custom builders do it right.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 31 Jul 2022, 22:44 • #15 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 01/26/07
Posts: 1385
Location: Ada, Oklahoma
Blue Halo rods are covered by the usual lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, and that is all the basic warranty covers. However, they also offer an optional and extra cost "waiver insurance" that will cover replacement of up to two rods for any type of damage that might occur. I remember when I bought my first generation Blue Halo rod, the extra expense was $100, which I declined.

Larry


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 31 Jul 2022, 23:26 • #16 
Guide
Joined: 07/22/20
Posts: 128
Location: US-CA
Ruff Hunter wrote:
ECHO is another that comes to mind.

I can echo (see what I did there?) the comment about Echo, I had a defect in the grip where the cork rings separated from the rod. An online claim was made and a replacement butt section was had a few days later.

There does not seem to be a good correlation between expensive rod = fantastic warranty service.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 01 Aug 2022, 06:02 • #17 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/24/11
Posts: 1144
Location: Belgium
In the past have had warranties respected by Sage, Scott and Orvis. I have never had a glass rod fail. Hard to say how much warranties inflate price of the rod. Certainly warranties are a cost for the manufacturer as is constant development of new product. I don't mind waiting for "blowout" sales and buying stuff for 50% off.

Generally warranties aren't worth much for me.

The way I see it if a rod is very expensive because it is meticulously finished and has had a fair bit of research put into the design, then repairs, replacement sections ought to be made available for an acceptable price.

I remember buying a DL4 off ebay (probably 20 years ago) and finding that the top section was an inch short. Winston wanted close to $200 back then so I just returned the rod to the seller for a refund. Don't have any green rods to this day. I work with composites so I know what carbon and epoxy cost. Once you have designed and tooled up to produce a rod, turning out an extra section isn't going to cost all that much if the shop is well organised.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 01 Aug 2022, 19:13 • #18 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/18/09
Posts: 5561
Location: Relocated to the Drought Stricken West.
I don't mind covering the cost of stupidity, and I am pretty good at it, but I don't like paying for other peoples stupidity. If it is a manufacturing defect, I expect them to do the right thing, but car windows and trying to lift up a heavy fish (sorry BassAckwards) I would be happy to cover. Presuming they can lower the cost of the blanks.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 02 Aug 2022, 07:45 • #19 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/24/12
Posts: 456
Location: US-MI
Great post. Over the last couple of years I have done over 20 repairs for local guides. Mostly replacing a guide or a tip tip, but all of the rods were over $500 retail and carried full warranties. Given the time line and cost of sending it in for repair it makes much more sense to drop if off to a local builder who can turn it around in a day or two for a fraction of the price.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 02 Aug 2022, 20:25 • #20 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/18/09
Posts: 5561
Location: Relocated to the Drought Stricken West.
Matt,

You have me really curious. What is the cause of these problems on the guides' rods. Customer abuse, guide abuse, bouncing around in truck beds? Was alcohol involved? Most of the type of think of when I consider warrantee repair are broken blanks, which a local builder can't help with.

Inquiring minds want to know.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 03 Aug 2022, 07:53 • #21 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/24/12
Posts: 456
Location: US-MI
Good question. Mostly from rods being stored in boats. The guides get snagged and pop. Tip tops are generally the result of the tip being broke an inch or two down. Most of the guides don't seem to mind a slightly shorter rod if it means they can get back on the water for $5.00.


Top
  
Quote
Re: Warranty-worth it?
Post 03 Aug 2022, 20:46 • #22 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/18/09
Posts: 5561
Location: Relocated to the Drought Stricken West.
It's funny how when you fish the rod hard, a slightly short tip really doesn't seem to matter much. The fish don't seem to care.


Top
  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  

New Topic Add Reply



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Jump to:  
Google
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group