Experiance With Griots Lifetime Warranty

[bmwgeek]

I emailed griot's garage last month and was told lifetime warranty only applies for purchases directly from them and other vendors haves their own return policies and warranty.

Has anybody purchased one from a different vendor and successfully claimed warranty? Do they ask for receipt or if it was from authorized vendor?

 

[Alex22]

Alex22---Here is the email address of a customer service rep at Groits who has been very helpful to me regarding the GG6-- Harris, Kyle M <[email protected]> Send him a note and ask about the warranty, etc and please post his replies here so everyone doesn't send him the same questions.

Email has been sent and as soon as he replies Ill let you guys know, thank you all this has been very helpfull.

 

[Alex22]

From Griots,
In regards to your question, we have never had a bad batch of our Random Orbitals. Our orbitals are not industrial strength machines and cannot handle 10-12 hours of continuous use. Many detailers use our machines in this way (all day, everyday) and then say our orbitals are defective or do not work after a year or two of use. The orbitals are designed for a hobbyist or the weekend car guy who has a few vehicles to regularly polish and wax, it's not designed for professional use.

Our lifetime warranty covers manufacturer defect, we do not warranty wear and tear. So if the orbital unexpectedly stops working and was purchased directly from us, we will repair or replace the machine. If the orbital stops working due to being dropped, abused, run-over, etc. we will not warranty it.

If the orbital or any products of ours are purchased through an outside vendor such as Auto Geek, all returns and warranty claims must go through them, we cannot accept orbital returns without having a record of the purchase in our system.

 

[VISITOR]

^ that's why on any tool with a 'lifetime warranty', i try to purchase it direct so there isn't any confusion or problems later down the line. depending on the retailer you bought it from, sometimes it's more hassle to deal with them...

 

[Meghan]

If the orbital or any products of ours are purchased through an outside vendor such as Auto Geek, all returns and warranty claims must go through them, we cannot accept orbital returns without having a record of the purchase in our system.

We have a very close working relationship with Griots and due to that there are no issues with warranty replacements with any units you purchase from us.

 

[Alex22]

We have a very close working relationship with Griots and due to that there are no issues with warranty replacements with any units you purchase from us.

Oh hi Meghan, first of all happy Birthay hope you have a blast later on. I will put my trust in you after I purchase it later on. Go Autogeeks.

 

[ski2]

From Griots,
In regards to your question, we have never had a bad batch of our Random Orbitals. Our orbitals are not industrial strength machines and cannot handle 10-12 hours of continuous use. Many detailers use our machines in this way (all day, everyday) and then say our orbitals are defective or do not work after a year or two of use. The orbitals are designed for a hobbyist or the weekend car guy who has a few vehicles to regularly polish and wax, it's not designed for professional use.

**And yet allot of pro's use it regularly, have no complaints and have had good customer service from Groits

Our lifetime warranty covers manufacturer defect, we do not warranty wear and tear. So if the orbital unexpectedly stops working and was purchased directly from us, we will repair or replace the machine. If the orbital stops working due to being dropped, abused, run-over, etc. we will not warranty it.

If the orbital or any products of ours are purchased through an outside vendor such as Auto Geek, all returns and warranty claims must go through them, we cannot accept orbital returns without having a record of the purchase in our system.

I sent an email to the generic customer service address and recieved this reply:

Thank you for your email in which you asked that since you purchased our 6" Random Orbital from Amazon.com, if that impacts the warranty in any way?
No, that does not impact the warranty at all. You are still afforded the same warranty as if you had purchased it directly from Griot's Garage. I hope that helps.

Go figure?????​

 

[Alex22]

I sent an email to the generic customer service address and recieved this reply:

Thank you for your email in which you asked that since you purchased our 6" Random Orbital from Amazon.com, if that impacts the warranty in any way?
No, that does not impact the warranty at all. You are still afforded the same warranty as if you had purchased it directly from Griot's Garage. I hope that helps.​

Go figure?????​

Wow man whats up with people these days. Griots customer service needs to all be in check, I also figured that if Meghan posted that they had a strong bond with Autogeek that it covers it what i dont get is why would they tell me the last part of the email. UGhhh so far not well organized customer service Griot. Im going to go email the generic email now and see what other story they come up with.

 

[bmwgeek]

Someone call Richard Griot to ask. :laughing:

 

[Greg Gellas]

From Griots,
it's not designed for professional use.

It's confusing cause their description says this.

"Powerful enough for a professional. Safe enough for a first-timer"

Which is it?

 

[Alex22]

This is so depressing. I bet its just a marketing scheme.

 

[ski2]

This is so depressing. I bet its just a marketing scheme.

I dont' think so--they have a reputation of standing behind their products. I read posts of many detailers who did have problems and had no problem with getting their units replaced. I haven't heard of anyone complaining about Groits customer service.
I for one am very satisfied with my purchase of the GG RO.

 

[ShinyRex]

This is so depressing. I bet its just a marketing scheme.

Maybe you are overthinking this a tad. No one else has a lifetime warranty and the PC and GG are comparatively priced. With Autogeek there to assist incase there is an issue you really can't beat either machine in the sub 200.00 price range.

 

[BobbyG]

This is so depressing. I bet its just a marketing scheme.

Alex,

No disrespect, but you're suffering from Paralysis through Analysis.

This is common when analyzing data and information in order to make the best decision but all these machines are quality machines and for the most part outlast their warranty many times over.

Lifetime warranties area marketing ploy that the parent company uses to sell more merchandise but this can be a double edge sword. Their product must be designed and built to last and the original owner must hang on to the sales receipt. They're betting their product will last a lifetime and you're betting it won't. ..

I've had my Porter Cable 7424 for 14 years and not one problem, well, I did have one. We had heavy rains one spring about 8 years ago and my basement was flooded with 1 foot of water. My polisher spent 2 days submerged before I realized it and like most expected it to hit the trash bin.

I took it out to the garage and with compressed air blew as much water out of the unit as I could. It sat in the garage for nearly a week to thoroughly dry. I plugged it in expecting nothing and when I switched it on guess what, it worked as if nothing ever had happened.

My original Porter Cable 7424 today.

But then again, there's always the Makita BO6040 Dual Action Orbital Sander/Polisher you might want to take a look at....:laughing:

Makita BO6040 Orbital Sander/ Polisher

The quality of Makita tools are legendary and I suspect this tool is no different...

 

[5.4 Shelby]

It's confusing cause their description says this.

"Powerful enough for a professional. Safe enough for a first-timer"

Which is it?

I dont see anything misleading here. It is "powerful enough for a professional". They are not claiming "durable enough for a professional."

I was a Griots customer long before I discovered AG and I will be for a long time. They sell quality products and stand behind them. Over the years I have had 3 or 4 minor issues. They have always made it right.

They have to set a limit or people would take advantage of them. As the email above said, they will stand behind a manufacturer defect, just not wear and tear.

Professionals have to expect their power tools to wear with high volume use. Cords are going to short out, brushes are going to wear out and even the occasional broken shaft will occur. IF they have gotten a few thousand hours of use, they got their moneys worth. We are talking about $130 here, not, thousands. I have torque wrenches that cost more than that. Most details cost more than that.

Alex, buy one. It will serve you well. If it doesnt, they will stand behind it (both AG and Griots).

Btw, what is your intended use? Hobby or profession?

 

[Old Tiger]

We have found that Griots does a great job honoring the life time warranty. I would not be worried about them standing behind it.

Case closed! I bought one with a 25' cord . It failed and AGO took care of all. UPS dropped off the new and took away the old. 1 week for all! Painless!

 

[Alex22]

Well after getting another email from Griots,
Thank you for contacting Griot's Garage with your question. Anything purchased with our name either from us or our vendor has alifetime guarantee against product defect.

After this and Meghan that told me about them having a good relationship with griots then im convinced on the Griots.

 

[5.4 Shelby]

Well after getting another email from Griots,
Thank you for contacting Griot's Garage with your question. Anything purchased with our name either from us or our vendor has alifetime guarantee against product defect.

After this and Meghan that told me about them having a good relationship with griots then im convinced on the Griots.

Good decision. Get it, use it and enjoy it.