2 polishers down!!!

Sizzle Chest

Sizzle Chest

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So I have had 2 machines go down in the past couple weeks.

First up was my new Flex XFE7-15. I first used this machine on the episode of Competition Ready that I was a part of and really liked it!!
This machine is jinxed! I had a backing plate (5") fail on me while using it and thank goodness there was no damage!! I have since put the stock plate back on.
While using it, it was getting pretty warm/hot and then it all of a sudden just lost power. Any amount of pressure applied to the machine would kill it and it would stop working.

I contacted Flex and they had me return it to them. (it's still under warranty) Couple weeks later, boom, package from Flex arrives with a brand new machine in it! Awesome, thanks Flex!

I've been using it since I've received it back without any issues. I hope that it continues to perform like it is now!


So after my Flex took a dump, I switched over to my Rupes LHR21 MkII. It works like a dream and was doing just that...until I dropped it and broke the front end/handle off of it. Darn!! The machine was still useable, but very uncomfortable! I contacted Rupes and they had me return it.

Rupes literally rebuild my whole machine with a laundry list of parts that were replaced! Their flat fee is $85.00 and I felt that this is extremely fair due to it being my error in breaking it.
I just received notice yesterday that it shipped out and I should be receiving it back next week! I can't wait to get my hands on it again and see what a 'new' Rupes feels like! LOL

So there you have my polisher drama!!!
 
Makes me feel good about the purchase of my Nano and Mille. Nice to have a company stand by good customers.
 
Bummer man, but I am glad things worked out!!! $85 is better than $400+

PS:


e49c629c3679b3f73f3336e32b0a5541.jpg


I worked on this recently and I bounced from the Rupes 21 MK II to my Flex Finisher.

I forgot HOW MUCH I love the Finisher! It ran much smoother for me and the noise level was quieter.


Dan Tran
High Quality Car Detailing at the Comfort of Your Own Home
 
Note to self........... Put floor padding down when Scott is working.

Just kidding, brother! Glad to hear you are up & running again. :props:
 
Sorry to hear that, Scott, but glad you got both issues resolved.
 
Glad both of your machines got fixed quickly.

My Rupes 21ES broke 2 weeks ago. It has been at a repair shop for over a week now. I talked to them friday and he said a preliminary check was done and all the usual culprits were not at fault (worn brushes, broken electric cable, defective switch). So it's something more complicated and their tech for this type of tool was on vacation this week. Might have an answer next week.

While waiting I tried to find a Canadian Service Center for Rupes. Was not able to find anything on Google. I tried contacting the Rupes rep on Autogeek by private email... over a week now, still no answer. I also sent an email to Rupes USA asking how to proceed to fix a Rupes tool in Canada... over a week now... still no answer.... seeing a pattern here? Very disapointing.

Today I ordered a GG Boss 15mm. I had been pushing this for about a year. I wanted something more flexible than the 21mm, it's kind of a pain on curved pannels and most cars have curved panels now. I was gonna buy a Rupes Bigfoot Mark II 15mm but after seeing how poor the customer service is, I went with GG. The bonus is that is has a lifetime warranty instead of the 1 year warranty with Rupes. I know it's not as good a machine, but I refuse to give money to companies who don't support their clients.
 
I am reading more & more threads about Rupes machines failing. Ok, maybe a manufacturing problem.

But each thread I seem to read ends in "No response" or "Send it in for $80-100+)

Yeah, no thanks.

Their machines may be the greatest thing on the planet, but if they ignore problems and have issues, (as any company will have) That is a HUGE deterrence of the purchase of one of this companies machines.

You really need to at least ANSWER people with problems. JMO
 
PaulMys said:
I am reading more & more threads about Rupes machines failing. Ok, maybe a manufacturing problem.

But each thread I seem to read ends in "No response" or "Send it in for $80-100+)

Yeah, no thanks.

Their machines may be the greatest thing on the planet, but if they ignore problems and have issues, (as any company will have) That is a HUGE deterrence of the purchase of one of this companies machines.

You really need to at least ANSWER people with problems. JMO
Click to expand...

Well, in my case my machine is a few years old. I can't remember when I purchased it exactly but it has been about 4 years I think. Up till it failled, it worked perfectly. Not sure what is wrong with it or what happened. I worked fine, stored it, took it out of the tool box the next day and it was dead... so?????

For the rest of your message, totally agree with you... especially when you are the most expensive company in the segment.
 
PaulMys: LOL!!!! If I had padding down it very well may have helped!! LOLZ.

I have not had any issues with my Rupes other than self inflicted damage and I run them hard and often!


Sorry to hear Caldenyr that you are having issues getting a response from Rupes...completely different from my experience. I do know that you will be very happy with your GG machine as well as their customer service if ever needed in the future. Keep us posted on how you like the GG15. I would like to pick up one of their 21 units for a spare long throw in case I need it.
 
My BOSS G21 failed at the beginning of the month. Sent it in and they notified me that they are sending me a new one. Only issue is they don't have anymore G21 in stock and it won't be sent out until 23-25 of this month.

So I had to grab a new Rupes 21 Mark ll for backup. Great machine so far.
 
PaulMys said:
I am reading more & more threads about Rupes machines failing. Ok, maybe a manufacturing problem.

But each thread I seem to read ends in "No response" or "Send it in for $80-100+)

Yeah, no thanks.

Their machines may be the greatest thing on the planet, but if they ignore problems and have issues, (as any company will have) That is a HUGE deterrence of the purchase of one of this companies machines.

You really need to at least ANSWER people with problems. JMO
Click to expand...

I dont think you read this thread properly or it seems like you have joined in on an anti Rupes campaign just like your fellow pal judging from your recent posts. Regardless I’m sure this response from me will curb your nonsensical posts in future.

Also read slowly, the Flex keeps breaking.
 
Scott, you "fired them off the roof!!!" :)

I actually put my MKII to work yesterday... I first didn't use it because of the learning curve... I always just grabbed my G-15 to get the job done.... But once I got comfortable with the MK-II and pads, I started using it more but sparingly. Yesterday, I went through a whole detail with MKII Green & Yellow pads... LOVED IT!

I've been through two G-15's already... One the first ones ever made, the backing plat assembly disinterested... I got lucky... no damage done. The second just died...
GG sent me another one, and it's been running strong sense. I'm assuming the early versions had some engineering issues that got sorted in later generations.

Hopefully you'll be at 100% soon!
 
RZJZA80 said:
What makes you say that? What exactly makes it not as good?
Click to expand...

Watched a few comparative videos. The over all comments are:

Good points of the GG 15mm vs Rupes Mk2 15mm:
- A bit less expemsive
- Much better warranty and customer support (best in the industry)
- Better grip on the machine thanks to having rubber surfaces everywhere you would want to hold the polisher

Worst aspect of the GG 15 vs Rupes 15:
- Noisier
- Not as smooth
- Feels cheap. I guess they are refering to the plastic being used
- More vibration

So in actual use, I think the Rupes would be more pleasant to use although I have always hated the grip on the head of the machine. It's hard to use on vertical panels sometimes depending what position you are in. The rubber grip will help a lot. As for vibration, noise and smoothness, I hope it won't be too bad. I remember when I first started and was using a Meguiars polisher, after a buffing session I could no longer feel my hands from all the vibration for hours on ends. Never experienced this with the Rupes 21ES.
 
Ronin47 said:
I have had 3 Flex out of 4 fail within their first week.

Zero failures from all Rupes.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a bad batch of machines. Hope they fix it for you.

Don't know about Italian stuff being well made. In he case of cars it seems it's the opposite... Despite the fact I love Ferraris, they are supposed to be pretty unreliable. In any case, as I said before my machine never showed any signs of problems in 4 years (or so), I have no reason to believe they are poorly made or are prone to failure. Just very sad about the support when they do fail.
 
I was expecting a bad bashing, however, this turned out to be way way way cool! I had my Flex 3401 die on me after the 5th or 6th drop. I had a great experience with their customer service too. But rather take it to Flex (I can't remember the Flex authorized service company that I took it to, it was local) the next time, I took it apart and found out it is pretty easy to fix. If some knuckle head like me can fix it I know for a fact normal people can too! But love to see you had 2 excellent service stories.

The reason why I will fix it next time by myself, it is only a matter of time before I drop it again! DOH!

It's interesting, my PC7424XP is older (my 1st DA) and I have dropped it a couple of times (not as much as my Flex for sure) and I use it as my Mini DA and Wax applicator (and back up DA) and the thing keep on rocking!

As always thank you for your post!
 
Iive been very lucky I've had no issues with anything other than some.minor things with my Rupes nano..
It if it did occur, I have multiples of every style machine to keep me running.

Plus I sell longthrows if things go really against me
 
Kamakaz1961 said:
I was expecting a bad bashing, however, this turned out to be way way way cool! I had my Flex 3401 die on me after the 5th or 6th drop. I had a great experience with their customer service too. But rather take it to Flex (I can't remember the Flex authorized service company that I took it to, it was local) the next time, I took it apart and found out it is pretty easy to fix. If some knuckle head like me can fix it I know for a fact normal people can too! But love to see you had 2 excellent service stories.

The reason why I will fix it next time by myself, it is only a matter of time before I drop it again! DOH!

It's interesting, my PC7424XP is older (my 1st DA) and I have dropped it a couple of times (not as much as my Flex for sure) and I use it as my Mini DA and Wax applicator (and back up DA) and the thing keep on rocking!

As always thank you for your post!
Click to expand...

How do you keep dropping your machine? In 6 years in this business I have never dropped my polisher. Maybe you should revise what ever you are doing to drop it all the time. :)
 
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