Shimano warranty not worth Sh!t

[4liters]

My point being that if you don't service it they claim it wasn't looked after, if you do service it then you void the warranty. Having to send it to the manufacturer for servicing is a joke, it would cost more for a service than the price of a new reel for many of their lower end stuff. The warranty issues has nothing to do with my servicing and everything to do with being manufactured to a less than fit standard for its purpose and price. I have done my servicing for years and don't see why they tell you that servicing is required for warranty purposes and also provide an exploded diagram in the box if you are not meant to perform one.

The reel is less than 12 months old, it is priced nearly 10 times the price of their entry level Sienna and the quality, warranty and after sales support should reflect this.

My own personal case aside, if corrosion is not covered, bearings are not covered, servicing the real yourself voids warranty, sending it in for a service costs more than the price of middle of the road reel, then I maintain my argument that the shimano warranty is worthless.

Servicing is not rocket science and once not so long ago servicing your reel or your car was something you were supposed to do yourself and the instructions on doing it came with the product. Repairs are a shop job, servicing is maintenance and should be able to be performed by the lay man (and is except for the rules designed so as to void warranties).

For each and everyone to decide for themselves what they do with the information I've provided here. I for one will not be purchasing shimano again after my experiences in dealing with them.

your missing the point mate.
opening up the reel yourself will void warranty automatically, thats is what i have seen and heard before.
thats the whole point of the 10 years warranty, its only valid if you have the reel serviced by shimano.
and why would you buy a reel based on the 10 year warranty is beyond me, most people can never find the proof of purchase to start warranty claims, let alone worry about fixing a reel 10 years on. most buy a new one and move on
its the same case with other reels as well like daiwa.

best thing is to service yourself and forget about reel warranty.

line roller bearing WILL NEVER BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY no matter which manufacturer you go to, so your already fighting a loosing battle.

At the end of the day though they can say whatever they like on their warranty but if the ACCC says something different the warranty doesn't mean anything. I had a quick look on the ACCC website and can't see anything mentioned there that looks like it would exclude bearings in fishing reels from the guarantees provided by consumer law.

how much do you value your time????
is the $25 to fix it more valuable to you than trying to fight the company / warranty claim????

Most of the time they cave in as soon as they realise they are dealing with someone who knows their rights. The ACCC will rip companies a new one if they feel like it and most will readily wear the cost of posting a part out rather than risk a potential 6 figure shitstorm

[crumpet_avenger]

Only warranty claim i had was on a shimano beastmaster rod. The top completely snapped through fighting a fish. I bought it from complete angler in ringwood.
Lofty the manager tried saying to me i highsticked the rod and i told him that i wasnt that stupid. He proceded to offer me 3 subpar rods as replacements before i started to make a scene.
He promptly handed me a like for like and i havent been back since. Dont think that guy is the full quid.

[laneends]

If they weren't that picky they would be virtually refunding every sienna reel that is regularly used. They make compliance more expensive than just junking it. Hence they can give ridiculous guarantee periods for marketing purposes.

[AE092]

Skronkman try this, I cant guarantee it'll work however.

Find the suitable person/department you need to contact and send them an email briefly explaining the situation and your unhappiness with the response/results given, that you've been a loyal supporter from day dot and starting to look elsewhere.

I've done this with a few companies (Daiwa was one) and the result was swift and free. Make sure you get onto the PR/HR team though.

[Kenle]

Oh man, all my gear is shimano. But theyre all under $80 so ill call them disposables even though they all claim to have 10 years warantee. Replace them as soon as anything goes wrong or pawn them at cashies n grab another cheapy. They dont make reels like what they used to, for example the old shimano JHX series, i bought them 15 years ago and i still use them till this day without a hitch. Kinda miss them craftsmanship, now adays its just all hyped up garbage. Sorry to hear about your experience, maybe next time before you buy an expensive reel, perhaps call up thier warantee dept first n pretend something went wrong with the reel n see if they actualy look after you any better than shimano did and if theyre no different then you tell them that this is a gotcha call and theyve just tainted thier reputation on national live radio then hang up. Goodluck

[VooDoo]

Oh man, all my gear is shimano. But theyre all under $80 so ill call them disposables even though they all claim to have 10 years warantee. Replace them as soon as anything goes wrong or pawn them at cashies n grab another cheapy. They dont make reels like what they used to, for example the old shimano JHX series, i bought them 15 years ago and i still use them till this day without a hitch. Kinda miss them craftsmanship, now adays its just all hyped up garbage. Sorry to hear about your experience, maybe next time before you buy an expensive reel, perhaps call up thier warantee dept first n pretend something went wrong with the reel n see if they actualy look after you any better than shimano did and if theyre no different then you tell them that this is a gotcha call and theyve just tainted thier reputation on national live radio then hang up. Goodluck

Love your way of solving the situation :rofl:

Like yourself I am a Shimano person as well .. Have never really bother with their warranty promises much - it is way cheaper and reliable for you to get it services either by yourself or a professional closed to you. Replace any minor parts and if it's a major issues then cost vs benefits will say toss the reels away - especially the lower end models.

Think we all have an issues with our fishing gears?? Have a look at what Commonwealth Bank Insurance are doing to their policy holders and you will have a better perspective of life - We are all healthy to enjoy what we do so should be thankful for that.

http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/four-c ... 604H006S00

Guess the old saying rings so much truth - "Greed is the root of all evil"

[laneends]

My issue is not that they wont fix things, but rather the marketing of unrealistic guarantees, especially on the cheaper models.

As a kayak fisho everything to me needs to be treated as disposable as the exposure to salt water is extreme, not to mention high risk of loosing overboard

[cobby]

ACL, ACCC blah blah **** me drunk more **** than at Thompsons Road....

First, the warranty documents clearly state adequate care and maintenance. That's a once a year send back for a service kind of job (your money, not mine, is it worth it to you?).

Second, again adequate care and maintenance. Servicing yourself like purple said instantly kisses goodbye any sort of warranty you'll ever have. ACL or otherwise.

Third, it's a ******* line roller bearing for **** sake. It's arguably the most used item on a reel. It's a bearing, it's next to impossible to protect them in a fishing environment. They're not enclosed in a filtered virtual oil bath like a vast majority of major bearings in a car. It's a part that costs **** all to buy and takes very little time to replace yourself.

The warranties are in place to protect you from manufacturing failures. Gears inadequately made and shattering, that sort of thing. Not reels whose line roller bearings are corroded or a reel that's feeling rough after never being serviced in its over most likely 2 years of working

[hornet]

In the manufacturing industry I'm involved with our world wide warranty covers Manufacturing faults, Assembly faults, Material faults .. that's the guts of it. No wear and tear or corrosion.

[matt1991]

Under Australian consumer laws you can take it back to BCF as it would be deemed "not fit for purpose"
They will try to tell you its a manufacture issue and try to get you to deal with the supplier however its not under Australian consumer laws and they have the obligation to fix the issue.

Have a read up on the following link and if BCF kick up a stink show them this, otherwise you can lodge a complaint directly through the australian consumer law web page and they will sort it out for you

http://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consum ... ace-refund
https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consu ... guarantees



good luck.

2nd this....i have had issues with reels and straight back to BCF they go. They're responsible for the issue 9/10 i end up with a new reel free of charge.