Shimano Warranty

[jedimaster]

Well I have been a long time Shimano purchaser, in fact I just bought a new cumara yesterday to add to my other dozen shimano rods, not to mention the doze or so shimano reels. I am now very dismayed with shimano. I heard from a fellow angler that someone was refused warranty replacement on a Vrod due to the age. Now we all know Shimano has an excellent history of replacing broken rods. My initial reaction was "No WAY, Shimano wouldn't do that" I mean I have had rods and even a Vrod replaced. I sent an email to Shimano and in fact the reply I got implied that Vrods are too old. to be covered by the Limited Lifetime warranty.

This is not a good situation as far as I am concerned.

 

Here is the unedited email response I got back from Shimano with regards to the Vrods.

V-Rods featured a LIMITED lifetime warranty and have been discontinued for almost 7 years now. If a fishing rod has a product defect it will generally show up in its first initial stages of use. Through several years of usage, fishing rods are like anything else as they also go through stages of regular wear and tear. LIMITED lifetime warranty and LIFETIME warranty are not the same. If the rods are broken near the very top they may be able to be repaired depending upon where the break is situated on the blank section. With Kind Regards

 

 

To me this sounds as though they will no longer be replaced, and if the break near the tip they may be repaired, otherwise we are out of luck. I have sent a reply back and I will follow that up on here.

 

Now we all know that Shimano puts allot of money and work into fishing and conservation, and that yes a Vrod is now a very old rod, however a lifetime warranty limited or or not should last a lifetime under the conditions of the limitations.

[aplumma]

I hate to say it but LIMITED lifetime warranty... key word limited is a legal definition that is exactly what they are fulfilling. They are also correct that if a blank is defective then it will pop sooner than 7 years at that age the breaks are due to use and abuse not a defective rod. Even without the word limited if they enforced the defect rule stringently a 7 year old rod would rarely be a true warranty issue. Most of them if replaced are as a good faith replacement to keep the squeeky wheels happy and not bashing the products. If to many rods are replaced as a warranty rightfully or not then it is an overhead issue that will cause the rods price to go higher. It's a tight rope walk for sure keeping both the purchasers of new and the faithful of old both happy with service and price.

 

Art

[jedimaster]

Its just important for current and new customers to understand a few things

1) Vrods are no longer being replaced under the warranty.

2) The Limited Lifetime warranty does not last a lifetime. It is limited to some number of years determined by Shimano.

[ecmilley]

as I understand it, it's a warranty against defects and it is very unlikley a rod would fail after 7 or 8 years if wasn't dinged by a weight or something to that effect, i 've had many rods fail that were defective and they failed in the first or second outing.

Still v-rods are great rods but i can see where shimano is coming from and i wouldn't be happy if i was stuck with one that just up and broke

[ohhenrygsr]

In the end you did get your monies worth out of the rod and it provided endless memories.

[jedimaster]

Like I said the point is not how much money or use you got out of it. The point is if it says lifetime, that generally means lifetime, not until you get your use out of it. What if I fish 3 times per year? Then in 7 years that 21 outings. Is that sufficient use to have a lifetime warranty pulled on a product? What if I fished twice per week then sufficient use would be what 2 months warranty? I have had a few rods break on the first hook set, I have also had a few rods break after several years of use. If there is a time limitation on the use of a rod before it is no longer covered under warranty then the company should put a time limit on it. I doubt you guys would be too happy if you took your tranny in with 6 months to spare on the warranty and 50k left on its warranty and they said to you well you clearly got your use out of it. What about a tool that has a lifetime warranty? Are you going to not expect a new ratchet that you bought with a lifetime warranty if it breaks in 5 year or 10 years?

Doesn't change the fact that shimano puts out great products, just that the warranty is not lifetime as shimano has lead us all to believe thats all. At least offer to replace them with a fee or something like some other rod makers do or offer a rebate on a new rod of equal or lesser value.

[12 Volt Man]

thats disappointing.

 

the fact that they do not make the rod anymore is meaningless as most companies will use the equivelent price point rod in their lineup (in this case, the Crucial) as a suitable replacement.

 

my Sage fly rod is in washington right now under warranty work thanks to a car door . the bottom butt section broke and they are custom building me a new bottom section, and this rod they don't make anymore either. but they are going to make one for a small charge which is significantly less than the price of a brand new Sage rod.. thats what a lifetime warranty should be..

 

IMO, they should have been able to do more for you. the V-rods were not cheap when they first came out. they were an expensive rod and part of that initial cost was the great warranty.

 

it sucks that they go back on their word. what are they? politicians?

Edited June 24, 2010 by 12 Volt Man

[jedimaster]

Thats exactly what I mean, offer up something. A coupon or something. Some companies have a disclaimer that when a product is discontinued the lifetime warranty is nullified after X number of years. The shimano warranty makes no such references. Oh well, live and learn. I can see alot of Crucials and compres breaking by accident when the crucial and compre line get discontinued.

[12 Volt Man]

I don't think you should give up easily.

 

go over to Tackletour.com, register on the forum and post a message on the Shimano product support forum. there is a Shimano Rep that posts daily (user named Bantam1) that may be able to help you.

 

if that doesn't work, see if you can contact a supervisor and explain your situation. a lifetime warranty on an expensive rod should carry more weight than this.

 

there is no reason why they can't use a current equivelent priced rod and go from there.

Edited June 24, 2010 by 12 Volt Man

[canadadude]

It's not a lifetime warranty,it's a LIMITED lifetime warranty on manufacturer defects which does not include smashing it in a car door, steping on it,smashing it off the side of a boat... ect.Manufacturer defects will show the first or second time using the product not 7yrs later. Why can't you understand the difference? I'm sure if you could prove to Shimano you had a brand new v-rod that was 7 yrs old and broke do to manufacturer defect that they would honor the warranty.The thing is you need to learn the difference between lifetime warranty and limited lifetime warranty.

[12 Volt Man]

^

correct. and I stand corrected as I was posting as if the rod had a true lifetime warranty (eg. the sage rod I mentioned) vs a limited lifetime warranty that only covers manufacturer defects in the rod.

 

sorry for your rod breakage.

[jedimaster]

Limited lifetime warranty as stated in the shimano warranty does not indicate any such description of any term or number of uses before the rod breaks. This is the warranty as stated on the shimano website..

 

Shimano and Shimano Canada Ltd. / LTÉE warrant to the original retail purchaser that this rod will be free from non-conformities in materials and workmanship. Shimano's sole obligation under this Limited Lifetime Warranty is to repair or replace, at Shimano's option, a non-conforming rod at no cost to the original retail purchaser other than the cost of packing, insuring, and shipping the rod to Shimano. This Limited Lifetime Warranty will be considered VOID if the rod is found to have been subjected to repairs not authorized by Shimano, or if it has been modified, neglected, improperly maintained, misused, abused, or the appearance of the product reveals damage by your failure to provide proper maintenance.

 

You will notice the part in bold states nothing about the length of time I use the rod. These two rods look brand new not a nic on etither of them. They have not been repaired, they have not been modified, nor neglected, improperly maintained, misuused or abused. The only damage is where the rods are broken. So explain to me how in this limited lifetime warranty it states that if you have it for X number of years or use it X number of times, its warranty is now void?

[canadadude]

Well dude fight with Shimano that after 7yrs of use the rods suddenly developed non-conformities in materials and workmanship because as it states thats all the warranty covers. Good luck with that

[jedimaster]

So how many uses or how long does a limited lifetime warranty last then? 1 time on the lake? 1 year? 2 years? 5 years? 20 years? Do you not think it would be a good idea to define how long a limited lifetime warranty lasts for?

[canadadude]

The lifetime warranty lasts for your life, however it's limited to non-comformities and workmanship which will show up the first few times in use.It's a marketing ploy, the manufacturer knows full well if there is a defect in the blank it's going to break with in the first few times of use.If there is a problem in workmaship ie: misaligned guides,poor finish, ect the purchaser will find this out quickly. Limited lifetime warranties only protect you from getting a product that should have probably been rejected at the factory.Loomis rods have the same Limited lifetime warranty, but they also have what is called an expediter warranty which is you pay $75.00 and they replace the rod no questions asked.

[irishfield]

I'm still using a Berkley Lightning spinning rod, that I bought in 1983, and a Lebaron Special bait caster rod(same darn thing in black wrap) that I bought at the same time. Both have a lifetime warrantee.. that I've yet to collect on in 27 years, and I sure don't have the receipt anymore! My most used rods.. What are you guys doing to yours???

[GoneFishin]

I agree with what you are saying. I buy shimano rods because I (know) I can replace it no matter what. After hearing this though I am a little disipointed. We spend the money because we know we are getting a quality product that will be In the line up for life, or atleast that's what I thought...

[jedimaster]

If there is a problem in workmaship ie: misaligned guides,poor finish, ect the purchaser will find this out quickly. Limited lifetime warranties only protect you from getting a product that should have probably been rejected at the factory.

 

This is not the case at all. I bought two Clarus rods at the same time 4 years ago, both have seen equal treatment and use. One of them just this year the epoxy has started to peel off at all of the guides. I went to Aikmans with the one where the epoxy on the guides has started to come off and he said nothing he can do only the blank is guaranteed against breakage. When it breaks he will replace it, but the guides, finish misalignement etc are not covered. This warranty as we all know is against the rod from breaking.

 

Its not a money factor, as obviously if I am spending money on new Cumara rods I have money to spend. Its a principle of the fact that every one of us that has bought a shimano rod bought it knowing full well if it breaks we are gonna take it back and get a new one. Heck people even sell used shimano's with a disclamer saying if you break it you get a new one. It's just very disapointing. I tend to think when you put the word lifetime it means for life, weather or not the word limited is put in there with limitations on what has been limited int he warranty. Especially when the limitations do not state anything to do with the length or time it will be under warranty.

[canadadude]

I'm still using a Berkley Lightning spinning rod, that I bought in 1983, and a Lebaron Special bait caster rod(same darn thing in black wrap) that I bought at the same time. Both have a lifetime warrantee.. that I've yet to collect on in 27 years, and I sure don't have the receipt anymore! My most used rods.. What are you guys doing to yours???

Berkley Lightning rod.....I got one I left in the trunk of the car and it warped on me,it's got a constant bend in the tip hahahahahaha.What do you want from a cheap rod made from crap,I showed the Berkley rep and he just laughed no warranty.I didn't press the issue because I thought it was pretty funny myself, it's found a happy home in the corner of shame in the basement hahahaha

[canadadude]

This is not the case at all. I bought two Clarus rods at the same time 4 years ago, both have seen equal treatment and use. One of them just this year the epoxy has started to peel off at all of the guides. I went to Aikmans with the one where the epoxy on the guides has started to come off and he said nothing he can do only the blank is guaranteed against breakage. When it breaks he will replace it, but the guides, finish misalignement etc are not covered. This warranty as we all know is against the rod from breaking.

 

Its not a money factor, as obviously if I am spending money on new Cumara rods I have money to spend. Its a principle of the fact that every one of us that has bought a shimano rod bought it knowing full well if it breaks we are gonna take it back and get a new one. Heck people even sell used shimano's with a disclamer saying if you break it you get a new one. It's just very disapointing. I tend to think when you put the word lifetime it means for life, weather or not the word limited is put in there with limitations on what has been limited int he warranty. Especially when the limitations do not state anything to do with the length or time it will be under warranty.

Dude you posted the warranty yourself, read it and try to understand it, if your under the impression that if you break it you automatically get it replaced your very wrong. The warranty dosn't state that at all or anything close to it, it's a limited warranty

Edited June 25, 2010 by canadadude

[Uncle Buck]

Warranty doesn't mean jack crap...

 

had a St. Croix avid float rod...

"lifetime warranty"

 

cork coming out of the handle all over the place... along the whole grip

took it in, sorry, blank is covered not the cork... $300 rod What the hell???

[bigbuck]

ST. CROIX Avid and up!! I have not had a problem with St.Croix on warranty and have sent 3 rods back to them (I have 7or8) that have seen heavy use and got them back no problem.

[jedimaster]

Canadadude, I think you need to give your head a shake. Your telling me that the intention of the warranty is not to cover rod breakage? So have you never bought a shimano rod new from a store? The first thing out of every sales persons mouth is that if you break it they will replace it for life, Bass Pro, Lebaron, Gagnons, JB's, AV, Fishing world all say this during the sales pitch. Even if you talk to the shimano reps at the shows, or the repair centers, they all say if it breaks we replace it. Defects in quality, and workmanship are NOT covered. The only thing that is covered is if the rod actually breaks. As I said I took a rod in that had defects in the workmanship and they are NOT covered as the rod was not broken. The guy at Aikmans even said the guides, paint, finish handles are NOT covered for any reason. Only the blank is covered if the rod breaks. That is the limitation. The limitation specifies nothing about a length of time the rod is covered. It only limits what parts of the rod are covered and under what circumstances the rod will not be covered as I posted. No mention of a time limitation or a number of casts limitation.

 

 

Dude you posted the warranty yourself, read it and try to understand it, if your under the impression that if you break it you automatically get it replaced your very wrong. The warranty dosn't state that at all or anything close to it, it's a limited warranty

[JohnF]

Isn't the real problem here that warrantees are legal commitments, and as such are couched in all kinds of legalese that no one ever bothers to read. The sales clerk in the fishing rod store gets tired of mentioning all the disclaimers and qualifiers that are part of the legalese or he has learned that explaining the qualifiers detracts from the effectiveness of his sales pitch, so the sales pitch becomes "and it's got a lifetime warranty" which isn't exactly true. Then the buyer goes home thinking he's got a comprehensive warranty with no qualifiers or limitations (that are spelled out in the fine print on the tag we tear off and throw away) and in some cases even tries to resell the rod with the pitch that it's a "lifetime warranty" plain and simple.

 

When you think about it rationally why would a manufacturer of an item that retails for a few hundred bucks max after all the different levels of markup from manufacturer through distributer to retailer be stupid enough to offer an open-ended no questions asked warranty? This is a product that by the nature of it's intended use is going to be at least slightly abused, even unintentionally, like when you hook into an accidental 50" muskie on an Ultralite rod. If the line doesn't break then probably the operator has used a line rated way above the rod's load limits.

 

Of course there are going to be qualifiers on any warranty offered. Any company that doesn't do that will probably not be in business long enough to honour warrantees on older rods.

 

Realistically shouldn't we be buying the rod for it's performance rather than how good the warranty is? After all, even a very expensive spinning rod is still only a few hundred bucks and as far as I'm concerned, if I'm going to hand over a few hundred bucks for a spinning rod I'm looking primarily for the performance and will not sacrifice any of that for a super warranty. And if I pay top buck for a ridiculous warranty at the expense of great performance I'm defeating the purpose of buying performance rods. If the very best performing rod happens to have a wonderful warranty then that's great. I can only hope the company knows what it's doing and will still be in business when I need more rods of the same calibre.

 

The key is to not just accept the sales clerks claims about warranty. Read the fine print. Ask what limited means. Don't expect something for nothing. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it's probably not true.

 

I don't think the disappointment should be with Shimano or whatever manufacturer is involved if the fine print said "limited". The disappointment is either with yourself for not reading the warranty terms or with the sales clerk who misrepresented the product warranty.

 

At the end of the day you have to ask yourself which is more important to you - the performance or the warranty claims. I'll take the best performance my pocketbook can afford. Any reputable manufacturer is going to have a reasonable warranty offer.

 

JF

[canadadude]

Here's a solution to your problem....walk out to the parking lot, open your trunk, stick the rod 1/2 way in, slam down the trunk, walk back into the store with the rod snaped in 1/2 and get new one.The limitation is the warranty only covers manufactered non-confromities and workmanship read the warranty you posted.It can't be made any simpiliar,don't listen to sales persons read the factory warranty. It's very clear, right from Shimanno I don't understand how you can't get it.