Made in China Vs made in Italy = 2 broken Boss 21

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cobraa

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Background story ; I remember a year ago when the machine came out most critic were regarding the ''made in china'' aspect Vs. the made in italy Rupes. Well, since the GG6 had great reputation I swapped both Rupes 21es I had for 2x Boss21. Obviously, as a Canadian, my machine are only used approx. 8 month a year.. and since I'm alone, one machine is only used as a spare..

Well, fast forward 14 month ( with about only 8 month of use, so maybe like 7 month for one and 1 month for the other machine), both machines are DEAD. TALK ABOUT QUALITY lol ? I'm disgusted by the ultra-poor built quality of this machine. It should be sold for 170$. No where near the price of a Rupes machine.

Why did I make the change ? My rupes were going strong, but i liked the new rubber on the machine and wanted to believe that the Griot had boosted the power/torque of the machine. Wasn't expecting a piss-poor built quality and durability like that.

What broke ?
- One machine snapped the shaft creating a dent on the roof of my friend's car. Yep, I had to call a paintless dent removal guy.. AWESOME ISN'T ? hen !! Never heard or saw that before !




- Next machine which is the spare one.. almost brand new.. it make a very high-pitch sound and the machine won't go higher than speed 3.5, it goes down but not higher than 3.5.. very useful.. so technically it still work but it's not usable.

Customer service experience ;

I must first start by saying I won contest from AG in the past, I was ordering like 10-20 times a year, always had AWESOME service, but in the last 12 month, I had to call 3 times out of 3 regarding my order. AG administration ; your customer service is going downward as heck.. watch out.

So I reached Griot Garage CC and they said it was possible to reach AG to receive a store credit instead of a replacement or a credit toward other griot's product. GOOD NEWS ( as I lost total faith and trust in this machine. I mean the freakin shaft snapped and caused paint damage !! I'm not going to use that machine around a Lamborghini .. lol!)

So i reach AG and after a few emails exchange I will copy the reply ;

I spoke to our management team in regards to this issue and unfortunately we are unable to issue any refunds or returns for these polishers as they are well past the guidelines as listed in our return/exchange policy. I have also looked over the emails exchanged between yourself and Tanya from Griots and it looks as though a credit from them was not approved and they merely suggested you contact the purchaser about a refund or exchange. I would suggest looking into the lifetime warranty option for these polishers.


To sum up ;

1) Made in china Vs. Made in Italy DO MATTERS
2) AG CC aren't very cooperative although they are the seller, Basically I'm on my own.. Should've just bought the machine from griot directly then...
 
Awaiting Visitors comments...time for some popcorn.
 
I found this on the GG site.

THE BOSS G15 and G21 are covered under a Two Year Comprehensive Warranty that covers everything including normal wear items such as carbon brushes and backing plates. Outside of the Two Year Comprehensive Warranty the G15 and G21 are backed by our Lifetime Guarantee against manufacturer defects, faulty materials or workmanship.

Seems strange that no one is helping you out.
 
Swanp Gas said:
I found this on the GG site.

THE BOSS G15 and G21 are covered under a Two Year Comprehensive Warranty that covers everything including normal wear items such as carbon brushes and backing plates. Outside of the Two Year Comprehensive Warranty the G15 and G21 are backed by our Lifetime Guarantee against manufacturer defects, faulty materials or workmanship.

Seems strange that no one is helping you out.
Click to expand...

He wants his money back which imho is unreasonable. They will replace the machine(s) under the warranty. He's expecting a refund.
 
Given the large number of GG products AG sells I'm very surprised they told you to Pound sand! Then again as companies branch out and grow larger, customer service usually goes downhill. I've been ordering from another well known supplier at tier 2 wholesale pricing which beats AG's best sales pricing. Best part is that they are located one state over so I always get my supplies next day.
 
custmsprty said:
He wants his money back which imho is unreasonable. They will replace the machine(s) under the warranty. He's expecting a refund.
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Would you feel safe working on an exotic or expensive car with yet another possibly defective polisher after having had two catastrophic failures, one resulting in a damaged vehicle? Given the extenuating circumstances I don't feel he is being unreasonable at all.
 
cobraa said:
[

So i reach AG and after a few emails exchange I will copy the reply ;

I spoke to our management team in regards to this issue and unfortunately we are unable to issue any refunds or returns for these polishers as they are well past the guidelines as listed in our return/exchange policy. I have also looked over the emails exchanged between yourself and Tanya from Griots and it looks as though a credit from them was not approved and they merely suggested you contact the purchaser about a refund or exchange. I would suggest looking into the lifetime warranty option for these polishers.


To sum up ;

1) Made in china Vs. Made in Italy DO MATTERS
2) AG CC aren't very cooperative although they are the seller, Basically I'm on my own.. Should've just bought the machine from griot directly then...
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with Autogeek customer service and what they told you. When my Meguiar's MT300 died on me, I did not know who to turn to. A quick PM to Nick and he told me the same thing you received as it was out of the return window and he told me to contact the manufacturer. That is ok because I had also contacted Meguiar's at the same time and they took care of it. I was looking at all my options and I found the right one.

I would recommend you contact Griot's for either replacing them or fixing them under warranty.
 
Wow, I had considered picking up a nicer GG but this reaffirms keeping my GG6. Sorry you had to deal with TWO issues on machines having so few hours.

My GG6 has been going at it for about 4 years with many, many hours. Only issue I had was the cord developing a broken wire inside. Instead of spending about $40 in shipping both ways and two weeks of town time for Griot's to replace it under warranty, I did it myself with a $7 cord from Lowes.
 
custmsprty said:
He wants his money back which imho is unreasonable. They will replace the machine(s) under the warranty. He's expecting a refund.
Click to expand...

refund ? Credit from Griot go to AG. AG purchase from GG so it doesn't matter. In return, I get store credit from AG, buy 2 Rupes machines and pay the balance. I never said refund.

unreasonable ? I hope your machine break and cause bodywork damage on the car your working with. I shall see who's unreasonable then :)
 
cobraa said:
By browsing the forum a bit, i can see I'm not the only one getting poor durability ;

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...-6-da-3-da/103972-another-g15-bites-dust.html
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The implied warranty is replacement, not money back, credit or refund. That has nothing to do with AG or GG customer service. AG cannot give credit when the implied contract is between the manufacturer and the consumer. I'm sure they can help facilitate the return.

I am the author of the referenced thread, so I felt it necessary to chime in for the whole story.

- In March 2016, we started the season with a Merc CLS550. About a 1/4 of our way into a new G15 (only used once or twice) something in the unit shattered and sent metal shrapnel and shards everywhere. It wobbled violently milliseconds before me removing my finger from the trigger, at which point it gave out. I was fortunate because I stopped, then it broke. If I continued I would have to explain to my customer why I installed pig-tails all over his CLS550. The G15 was replaced in a timely manner.

- Upon using the new G15 I was working on a 3peat customers brand new Chevy Silverado truck. This time, the G15 made a rattle sound as if something inside the unit had broken, plastic was just bouncing around in the casing. Again using caution, I went to my standby unit and completed the job. This time my unit wasn't replaced as quickly as I'd preferred, but it was replaced non the less. There are reasons why, but I won't get into it here.

- The unit has come in and I have used it several times. I must admit, it does not sound like my other two units and is a bit louder. Perhaps improvements? Don't know...

Since then I have opted to purchase a new Rupes Mark II 15mm, which I haven't used yet. I just did a Lincoln TC yesterday with the GG and it worked well. I don't like the fact that I've gone through two units in a single year and especially where it could have had disastrous results in both cases.

I also understand why you're trying to get credit, your faith is shaken and would like to return to Rupes. But that isn't the warranty as I understand it. Replacement is their warranty. Perhaps your best bet is to get it replaced (which they will send a new "in a box" unit") and you do what you will to recoup your loss. (i.e. Ebay, Craigslist, donation to charity and take a tax credit). With having said all that, wouldn't it have been best not to sell your Rupes and "test" the GG for a period of time, and or keep the Rupes as standby units? You can never have enough tools in the tool box.

Good luck in perusing whatever your desired results are, but AGO Forum probably isn't going yield the results you are expecting.
 
g35_coupe said:
Wow, I had considered picking up a nicer GG but this reaffirms keeping my GG6. Sorry you had to deal with TWO issues on machines having so few hours.

My GG6 has been going at it for about 4 years with many, many hours. Only issue I had was the cord developing a broken wire inside. Instead of spending about $40 in shipping both ways and two weeks of town time for Griot's to replace it under warranty, I did it myself with a $7 cord from Lowes.
Click to expand...

Exactly, i love my GG polishing pad, I loved my GG '6 machine and use a few of their chemicals so I wasn't scared to sell my 2 working Rupes machine that worked flawlessly ( not even a carbon brush to replace) for over 2-3yrs for these 2 machines and they both failed wayyyyy too quickly.
 
I have been using my G21 almost everyday since they were introduced. Never had an issue with it......HOWEVER.....the screws on the counterbalance did come loose in the first week. Some red loctite and no worries. Anything with that much in the way of movement and vibration WILL have some hardware issues without some basic maintenance (screw tightening, brushes, ect...). My old (5years) trusty GG6 started to wobble a bit....bearing was coming apart. Walked in to the Griot's store (I'm 20 min away) and came out with a brand new one in 5 minutes. Their customer service is awesome...you just need to call them. FYI...i have a buddy here who had his Flex 3401 disintegrate after 2 weeks of use as well...not made in China. Just sayin.....:xyxthumbs:

Mike
 
Cobraa .... I am closing the post, as you have provided your thoughts around this issue and no further resolve appears forthcoming currently. I have alerted management to this post to assure its been reviewed.

Please consider reaching out to Griots for their lifetime warranty application. You can then provide us with the resolve offered thru the manufacturer, and hopefully a stellar replacement tool.

I will be happy to post the update here for future reference as will Admin.
 
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