My Rupes DIED!!

[RZJZA80]

Rupes has great customer service. I own 7 Rupes tools and have never had a problem with any of them that was not taken care of very professionally. I would not hesitate to buy another Rupes tool. You have to remember it’s a machine and machines fail. Rupes stands behind their machines and repairs them here in the USA. How many other manufacturers can say they make and repair their machines in the USA? I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Rupes is the only one. It means a lot to me that Rupes actually manufactures stuff here in the US, pays taxes here, and provides jobs for Americans. Anyone can spec a polisher from China and slap their name on it, but it takes guts and money to R&D and manufacturer a polisher in the US. I’m not knocking Griots, Adams, CG, and others who buy inexpensive polishers as it makes detailing less expensive, but let’s give Rupes kudos for improving their products with their own workers and technicians instead of outsourcing their products. Ok I’m off my soapbox.

I remember a time when people wanted Rupes specifically because they were made in Italy.

How exactly do you define inexpensive? Last I checked GG BOSS polishers were almost as expensive as Rupes polishers. They've raised their prices with each version it seems so now they've got the most expensive, but that says nothing about how good they are or have inferior GG is.

 

[RZJZA80]

Well...this might come off jerkish. It's all in how you take care your item. Personally I don't really care too much for the warranty one because I take care my polishers and never had to worry about a warranty. I've never had any issues with polishers I've owned. If it were to break I would just throw it in the trash and buy a new one.....side note so...you can have the best "warranty" but have sh**** customer service so.... does that still put you in the class of world class? If you build it right you don't have to worry about selling a "limited" lifetime warranty. Only polisher I had a issue with was the 3401 flex after I found out it was used then dealing with the manufacturer for selling a used polisher as new but everyone chooses differently. So I won't knock it.

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Your cars must never need any work to fix anything, you must never get sick, your home appliances must last a lifetime, since you take such good care of things and that's all that's required for something to last.

That's why I said jerkish. I'm speaking for myself. I've had polisher for years with no worries but not everyone is so lucky. I clean all polishers weekly and so does the workers. So when it does for me I personally just throw it in the trash and buy something new. It takes more than just the warranty for me. That lifetime thing is just marketing at it's best. Griots polishers are made in other countries for cheap and sold in the states. So you better offer some type of incentive. Rupes makes their own polishers in house. Each polisher is tested for hours before it's put up for sale. It's like comparing a chevy to a lambo.

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Yes it's all just marketing. It tells the customer that they stand behind their products, believe in their quality, and won't leave them hanging later or for extra charge. The warranty of cars is the same way, just marketing to sucker you in.

 

[ClearVue18]

Your cars must never need any work to fix anything, you must never get sick, your home appliances must last a lifetime, since you take such good care of things and that's all that's required for something to last.



Yes it's all just marketing. It tells the customer that they stand behind their products, believe in their quality, and won't leave them hanging later or for extra charge. The warranty of cars is the same way, just marketing to sucker you in.

That's one way to think about it lol. At the same time if you make it right then you wouldn't need to do all that. Your work should speak for itself. Any appliances I have that break down I just replace it. Refrigerators just don't break down within a year. I'm just speaking for myself and not for anyone else. I personally just replace it and move on....but I buy based on track record and not just warranty.

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[Bill D]

I’m not a fan of GE appliances FWIW. Too many issues I’m continuing to have with them. I don’t know what to replace them with

 

[DETAILROOKIE]

I’m not a fan of GE appliances FWIW. Too many issues I’m continuing to have with them. I don’t know what to replace them with

We ended up replacing our GEs with Samsung and no issues in 3 years.

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[Calendyr]

Well...this might come off jerkish. It's all in how you take care your item. Personally I don't really care too much for the warranty one because I take care my polishers and never had to worry about a warranty. I've never had any issues with polishers I've owned. If it were to break I would just throw it in the trash and buy a new one.....side note so...you can have the best "warranty" but have sh**** customer service so.... does that still put you in the class of world class? If you build it right you don't have to worry about selling a "limited" lifetime warranty. Only polisher I had a issue with was the 3401 flex after I found out it was used then dealing with the manufacturer for selling a used polisher as new but everyone chooses differently. So I won't knock it.

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I hear what you are saying, and there are things that are out of your control. For example, my Rupes 21 broke because the electronic speed regulator failed. It's not a maintenance item or something you can take care of. What is the motor burns or a connection inside the machine breaks? These are not the kind of things that you can prevent. So if it happens, do you prefer to have a company that gave you a lifetime warranty or just a 1 year one? I have not dealt with Griot's Garage customer service, but people here on the forum have and I have not read a single bad experience since I joined here 7 years ago. I think that speaks volume for their customer service both in terms of the warranty itself and how they treat their customers.

As for Rupes, it depends where you are. In the USA, I think the only issue is the very short warranty they provide. You can send the machine in and they will fix it for you at a reasonable price and within a reasonable amount of time. Here in Canada, they have no authorized repair shops, general repair shops cannot get the parts for it. I had the choice to send it to the USA for repair or try to bring it to a Rupes reseller and hope they can fix it. Considering the cost of shipping to the USA and back was gonna be over 100$ plus the price of repair, I took it to a shop 50 miles from where I live. So that's a driving time of about 3 hours total in our overcrowded highways here. It took them 6 months to get the part. Thank god I had plenty of other polishers I could use, if it had been my only machine I would have been forced to purchase an other one to keep working. This is not reasonable nor acceptable to provide this lack of service to your customer when they are purchasing the most expensive tools in their category.

 

[Calendyr]

Rupes has great customer service. I own 7 Rupes tools and have never had a problem with any of them that was not taken care of very professionally. I would not hesitate to buy another Rupes tool. You have to remember it’s a machine and machines fail. Rupes stands behind their machines and repairs them here in the USA. How many other manufacturers can say they make and repair their machines in the USA? I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Rupes is the only one. It means a lot to me that Rupes actually manufactures stuff here in the US, pays taxes here, and provides jobs for Americans. Anyone can spec a polisher from China and slap their name on it, but it takes guts and money to R&D and manufacturer a polisher in the US. I’m not knocking Griots, Adams, CG, and others who buy inexpensive polishers as it makes detailing less expensive, but let’s give Rupes kudos for improving their products with their own workers and technicians instead of outsourcing their products. Ok I’m off my soapbox.

Are you sure they are made in the USA? When Larry Kozilla made a video about their production facility, I am pretty certain it was in Italy.

As for repairs, of course it will be in the USA, they can't ask their customers to send heavy tools oversees for repair, shipping would be astronomical. What I can tell you is that they don't have a repair center in Canada, and there are good chances that many other countries are in the same situation. If they had no repair center in the US, they would not be able to sell the tools there, no one would buy them.

As for the quality of the machines, I agree they are the most effective, least vibrating and most enjoyable to work with... doesn't mean that the electronics and mechanical parts are better. Out of all my polishers, the Rupes was the only one to break. The cord on my Meguiars polisher broke, but that is more of a maintenance item, cords fail over time... other than that, all my other machines have not failed yet. Of course the Rupes is the oldest one with the Meguiars so it might be just a matter of time for the other ones. My Meguiars works the hardest, being fitted with a brush and used to scrub cloth seats and carpets.

 

[Calendyr]

I remember a time when people wanted Rupes specifically because they were made in Italy.

How exactly do you define inexpensive? Last I checked GG BOSS polishers were almost as expensive as Rupes polishers. They've raised their prices with each version it seems so now they've got the most expensive, but that says nothing about how good they are or have inferior GG is.

What I can say is that I have a GG Boss 15 and it feels cheap compared to the Rupes. It has better ergonomics, the grips are better and all that. On the bad side, it vibrates A LOT more, the noise is really annoying, and it stalls more than the Rupes despite it's smaller orbit (15mm vs 21mm). My Rupes has been equiped with a 5 inch backing plate so they should operate about the same, but they really don't. Of all my polishers, I will always reach for my Rupes ES21 first, then my Torx 10 and then my Boss 15. I have converted my Porter Cable to a 3 inch backing plate so it has a dedicated workload now. Same for my Meguiars V2, it's now an interior carpet brush tool.

 

[custmsprty]

We ended up replacing our GEs with Samsung and no issues in 3 years.

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And I've had nothing but issues with every Samsung appliance I ever bought. Two refrigerators, junk. Washing machines, junk. Three basket replacements. Dishwasher, junk. Broken door hinges, clogged filters etc. Thankfully I always buy the geek squad protection at Best Buy or I would have been SOL.

 

[custmsprty]

I sell hand held battery powered friction weld strapping tools and none of them have more than a 1 year warranty, it's pretty standard in our industry. They also cost a lot more than a polisher. I'm taking one to a cusitmer in a couple hours, $2,800.00 and that's the cheap knock off made over seas. The top of the line would be $3,800.00. One year warranty on the tool, 90 days labor.

 

[Bill D]

Hmmm. Maybe I should go whirlpool

 

[ClearVue18]

I know I'm gonna catch a lot of heat for this. It's just like comparing harbor freight. Harbor freight is like the ghettos bootleg man. They take someone else products have it made overseas then sell it cheap here then push off their warranty. I understand people want to save money but I mean don't get fooled by the corporate bootleg man selling warranties to get you to buy. Research the brand and see what there track record is if they're known for a long lasting and you're all set.

YouTube

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[Calendyr]

I sell hand held battery powered friction weld strapping tools and none of them have more than a 1 year warranty, it's pretty standard in our industry. They also cost a lot more than a polisher. I'm taking one to a cusitmer in a couple hours, $2,800.00 and that's the cheap knock off made over seas. The top of the line would be $3,800.00. One year warranty on the tool, 90 days labor.

I don't know if the US has a legal warranty policy, but here in Canada, we do. So even if the manufacturer says 1 year warranty, you can sue them if it breaks in an unreasonable amount of time. Let me give you an exemple, let's say you purchase a fridge and it breaks after 2 years, and the manufacturer had a 1 year warranty on it. If you go to court, they will force the manufacturer to pay for the repair, because 2 years is not a reasonable amount of time for something that is supposed to work for a lot more than 10 years.

So for the tools you are selling for 3K, I would argue that it is not reasonable either to expect them to only work for 1 year without issues. It might be more difficult to judge for pro tools since they can be submited to more abuse than consumer goods, but still, tools generally last several years at least, not just a year.

People were talking about Samsung appliances earlier, and I know that they have had some serious reliability issues. I am sure there were several verdicts against them to force them to pick up the tab for repairs here in Canada. Here is some info regarding this for my home province: The Legal Warranty: Automatic Protection for Consumers | Educaloi

 

[Todd@RUPES]

So, my new Mille decided to stop working today during a detail on a black car!!! It seems to be either the trigger or the speed selector. Now, it wont work at all. Do any of you have any suggestions?

Sorry to hear this! RUPES warranties all of their professional products for 1 year from the date of sale. Warranty is carried out in the same factory in the USA that a number of RUPES tools are birthed from and shipping is covered both ways.

 

[custmsprty]

I don't know if the US has a legal warranty policy, but here in Canada, we do. So even if the manufacturer says 1 year warranty, you can sue them if it breaks in an unreasonable amount of time. Let me give you an exemple, let's say you purchase a fridge and it breaks after 2 years, and the manufacturer had a 1 year warranty on it. If you go to court, they will force the manufacturer to pay for the repair, because 2 years is not a reasonable amount of time for something that is supposed to work for a lot more than 10 years.

So for the tools you are selling for 3K, I would argue that it is not reasonable either to expect them to only work for 1 year without issues. It might be more difficult to judge for pro tools since they can be submited to more abuse than consumer goods, but still, tools generally last several years at least, not just a year.

People were talking about Samsung appliances earlier, and I know that they have had some serious reliability issues. I am sure there were several verdicts against them to force them to pick up the tab for repairs here in Canada. Here is some info regarding this for my home province: The Legal Warranty: Automatic Protection for Consumers | Educaloi

In theory no company really has to offer a warranty at all in the USA, they can always sell "as is" and "buyer assumes all resposibility". Lots of used cars are sold that way here in the states.

The Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act (P.L. 93-637) is a United States federal law (15 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq.). Enacted in 1975, the federal statute governs warranties on consumer products. The law does not require any product to have a warranty (it may be sold "as is"), but if it does have a warranty, the warranty must comply with this law. The law was created to fix problems as a result of manufacturers using disclaimers on warranties in an unfair or misleading manner.

 

[custmsprty]

I sell hand held battery powered friction weld strapping tools and none of them have more than a 1 year warranty, it's pretty standard in our industry. They also cost a lot more than a polisher. I'm taking one to a cusitmer in a couple hours, $2,800.00 and that's the cheap knock off made over seas. The top of the line would be $3,800.00. One year warranty on the tool, 90 days labor.

These tools are used in heavy industrial strapping applications and take a ton of abuse, so a 1 year warranty is more than reasonable. Some machines I sell only come with 90 day warranties and some as much as 5 years.

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[PaulMys]

And I've had nothing but issues with every Samsung appliance I ever bought. Two refrigerators, junk. Washing machines, junk. Three basket replacements. Dishwasher, junk. Broken door hinges, clogged filters etc. Thankfully I always buy the geek squad protection at Best Buy or I would have been SOL.

I was warned off of Samsung by someone I trust, and I am glad. I warned another friend, but he bought a fridge and washer dryer set made by Samsung anyway. almost 4k for all. His washer broke within 4 months, the fridge lasted just under a year, and he now says his dryer is "having this burning smell".

That is some pretty bad stuff.

Conversely, I have had 2 Samsung TV's for years, and they are great.

 

[Bill D]

Yeah I steer clear of Samsung appliances as well because I heard the same things

I may consider whirlpool or something else.

 

[custmsprty]

I was warned off of Samsung by someone I trust, and I am glad. I warned another friend, but he bought a fridge and washer dryer set made by Samsung anyway. almost 4k for all. His washer broke within 4 months, the fridge lasted just under a year, and he now says his dryer is "having this burning smell".

That is some pretty bad stuff.

Conversely, I have had 2 Samsung TV's for years, and they are great.

The burning smell is from lint build up near the dryer heating coil. He needs to clean that asap, it can cause a fire. My coil burnt out and I replaced it myself with the help of you tube video. I couldn't believe the amount of lint built up outside of the lint trap. It was every where throughout the entire machine.

 

[PaulMys]

The burning smell is from lint build up near the dryer heating coil. He needs to clean that asap, it can cause a fire. My coil burnt out and I replaced it myself with the help of you tube video. I couldn't believe the amount of lint built up outside of the lint trap. It was every where throughout the entire machine.

This is VERY true.

But he says it's more of an ozone (electrical) burning smell. Needless to say, he stopped using it.