Rupes polisher

BigAl3 said:
i like many look forward to purchasing one of these and await more reviews and feedback on them (still haven't decided on the 15mm or 21mm). the only issue i have is there isn't anywhere to send them back (it would be expensive to ship back to italy) if a problem arises with them. if there is, please post and let me and every one else know. maybe that' something that's being worked on right now...
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In my opinion which I could be far off, with the limited supplies of the Rupes in the States right now it will be hard to return one to a vendor for immediate replacement. But once the demands are met and extra inventory is available that problem may be addressed in a rather quick manner. Give it some time and I'm sure it will work out. :)
 
I purchased a 15. It will like mr. Dalton says make you put your rotary away. Trust me, both flex and meguiars will come out with one
 
Mike lambert said:
I purchased a 15. It will like mr. Dalton says make you put your rotary away. Trust me, both flex and meguiars will come out with one
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I doubt that and bet a pitcher of beer that won't happen. The "tooling" cost to make a power tool is very expensive and the ROI on the detailing polishers would not make sense, especially for a Meguiars.

Rupes is the newer kid on the block. I would wait for extensive in depth reviews. From what I gathered. The quality and fit and finish of the Rupes is a little behind the Flex. This is relatively common when comparing Italian vs. German made tools. I'm not feeling the excessive use of plastic and the fake carbon fiber for a $400 machine.

The Rupes has the throw advantage, but it is not force rotation. We'll have to see if the big throw and 5.3 amp motor will be better than the Flex's force rotation, smaller throw, and 7.5 amp motor.

I'm sure I'll end up buying the Rupes 21 just like I did when the Festool Shinex 150 came out.
This time I'll wait for the detailing community to put the Rupes through daily usage before I buy one.
 
SonOfOC said:
Rupes is the newer kid on the block. I would wait for extensive in depth reviews. From what I gathered. The quality and fit and finish of the Rupes is a little behind the Flex. This is relatively common when comparing Italian vs. German made tools. I'm not feeling the excessive use of plastic and the fake carbon fiber for a $400 machine.

The Rupes has the throw advantage, but it is not force rotation. We'll have to see if the big throw and 5.3 amp motor will be better than the Flex's force rotation, smaller throw, and 7.5 amp motor.

I'm sure I'll end up buying the Rupes 21 just like I did when the Festool Shinex 150 came out.
This time I'll wait for the detailing community to put the Rupes through daily usage before I buy one.
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:iagree:I'm also concerned about where to ship it for warranty work. Italy is a long way for a round trip.
 
It is like mike refers to, find something you like and use it often. This machine will change the mind of flex devotee's. the fit and finish is excellent . If you like what you have, stay with it if you are looking for improvement ,move in a different direction.
 
rwright said:
Flex won't be happy, that's for sure. Also look for excessive Flex marketing as a sign that the Rupes will be close.
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On the contrary. A little birdie told me Flex is jacking their price 2013-01-01.


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richy said:
On the contrary. A little birdie told me Flex is jacking their price 2013-01-01.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Jacking as in raising? I mean typically when something is jacked, well you know ;)
 
If Kevin Brown is personally importing and selling the RUPES polishers I'm sure it's an excellent machine. Though that in no way diminishes the Flex polishers. I have a 3401 and simply love it and I'm guessing it's going to last me a lifetime. There have been several amazing stories regarding Flex's customer service which for me is a huge part of the purchase. Someone here on the AG boards ran over his Flex 3401 and told the company what happened and they fixed it under warranty. Now that is amazing and unheard of in today's world. I've owned Italian motorcycles and other high end items that come from Italy. Beauty beyond compare but when it needs service (and trust me it will need service) hopefully the warranty center is located in the USA. YMMV but it's something to think about. But with all tools & equipment, figure out what your needs are and buy the best thing you can afford that gets the task done.
 
Rsurfer said:
:iagree:I'm also concerned about where to ship it for warranty work. Italy is a long way for a round trip.
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Oh...what I'm getting from these comments is there is no "Rupes USA"...yeah, good luck with that if there is no US presence here and the vendors have no stateside marketing/tech support or repair capability. Not a good situation.
 
richy said:
On the contrary. A little birdie told me Flex is jacking their price 2013-01-01
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probably so, i remember when they were under $300 and then went up to $309- $329. it's understandable though, costs and materials (and labor) go up and they have to adjust...
 
richy said:
On the contrary. A little birdie told me Flex is jacking their price 2013-01-01.
Click to expand...

probably so, i remember when they were under $300 and then went up to $309- $329. it's understandable though, costs and materials (and labor) go up and they have to adjust...
 
Being from Europe originally I realised (many years ago) that most Italian made products, and in particular automotive products are not gonna be my choice when there are other choices available.

Simply have a look at things like Ducati bikes, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Fiat cars..... I had many of them and being of a nice design means nothing to me any more.

One thing they have in common-highly UNRELIABLE, expensive to repair, and again

UNRELIABLE,

UNRELIABLE,

UNRELIABLE!!

And this is (IMO) against one of the most important (if not the most important) criteria when buying something - Reliability.

I never had Rupes in my hands, but I feel it will shortly fall into the category of the above mentioned Italian products.

Again, I'm talking from personal prospective .. I lived across the border from Italy and dealt with their products for many years.

I simply don't trust them, period.

ps. Anyone ever heard of Ferrari with 300.000Km on the odometer??
Probably not.

Mercedes? Seen so many Mercs with over 1,000.000Kms running like a champ.

I think I'll stick with my Flex twins for many years to come.


/
 
Working on a trashed 2008 Harley Fat Boy. You could not do anything to get this LHR 75 out of my hands. Went from using the PC7424 a few weeks ago on a Road King to this... There is no comparison.

Transmitted from the Dream Detail studio.
 
If you want Rupes, talk to Kevin Brown, Period!

This thread and information by Kevin Brown should answer any questions you have about the Rupes and it also talks about the 21 vs. the 15 towards the end.

I've had the LHR21e and the LHR75 for a little while now and they simply rock! :dblthumb2:


LHR75.jpg


20121108-DSC_2273-1.jpg


20121108-DSC_2270-1.jpg


Rupes.jpg
 
Danube said:
Being from Europe originally I realised (many years ago) that most Italian made products, and in particular automotive products are not gonna be my choice when there are other choices available.

Simply have a look at things like Ducati bikes, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Fiat cars..... I had many of them and being of a nice design means nothing to me any more.

One thing they have in common-highly UNRELIABLE, expensive to repair, and again

UNRELIABLE,

UNRELIABLE,

UNRELIABLE!!

And this is (IMO) against one of the most important (if not the most important) criteria when buying something - Reliability.

I never had Rupes in my hands, but I feel it will shortly fall into the category of the above mentioned Italian products.

Again, I'm talking from personal prospective .. I lived across the border from Italy and dealt with their products for many years.

I simply don't trust them, period.

ps. Anyone ever heard of Ferrari with 300.000Km on the odometer??
Probably not.

Mercedes? Seen so many Mercs with over 1,000.000Kms running like a champ.

I think I'll stick with my Flex twins for many years to come.


/
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Im on board with you. There is a reason why when you go to the Nurburgring all the Italian exotics are parked in the lot and the Germans are out owning the track.

They dont say Fix It Again Tony (FIAT) for nothing
 
Can not wait to read some objective reviews. :dblthumb2:
 
The LHR15 is coming in within the next two weeks. Look for a review about mid January. :xyxthumbs:
 
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