Sears Warranty Response

[MLAKEY]

Look out of used part's, called with problem with my z motor, they advised that they would send new motor. When the motor arrived it was a used motor. Just goes to show when a company grows to fast you get bad service.

[Dyna Rider]

and take it from an insider...extended warranties are among the most profitable businesses out there....its like HillaryCare...everyone pays in, only some use it, therefore making the payout very little. It doesn't matter if you're fixing a car, a TV, or a human being...its all paid out of the same pool of cash flowing into the insurance company.

If it’s that lucrative why doesn’t LHR sell an extended warranty?

Bill

[pkunk]

We understand that Sears has begun selling extended warranties on the
CompuCarve. We do not honor or service any extended warranty at this time.
We can only refer you back to the Sears store where the sale was made.

Thank you.

LHR Technologies

My take on this (unofficially) is Sears is supposed to take your broken Compucarve, that is under extended warranty(after the 1 yr, 200 hr CW warranty runs out)and send it to LHR for repairs on their dime. As stated previously, an extended warranty is an insurance policy, but we'll have to see how this comes out in the wash. Sears warranty division would have to pay cash for the shipping & repair to LHR as they do not at this time have a working agreement.

[ou1954]

I haven't bought a machine yet but a bit concerned by all the discussions and comments about repair.

Can anyone report a year or more of solid performance? I have never had a power tool fail and need repair.

Finally, is there a difference between tne reliability of the Sears units and the factory models, has there been an improvement over time?

Written by a 25-year ShopSmith owner.

(Correction, 49 years of owning a ShopSmith- On second unit, the first was lost in a fire. It still worked but insurace provided a replacement, used but a later model. My 1/2 inch Skill drill that went through the same housefire still works after replacement of the switch and power cord.)

The Drill and first ShopSmith were both purchased in 1958 and all my power tools have been well used, and yes, I have a single-speed router, the kind that takes a lot of holding when you turn it on.

Still, I am not assured that the CarveWrite is the right investment for me, especially after reading the missing screws and lictite postings.

On the other hand I acknowlwdge that ShopSmith has released fixes and upgrades over the years. As it turns out, the designer who selected the final drive belt (later replaced by another belt type) once worked for me. Jack Edgemond is the name I recall. His hobby in San Diego was building concrete boats!

Thanks.

[pkunk]

ou1954, of the 10,000 units sold, there are a handfull of disgruntled users that have had more than their share of problems. The 2 machines are the same and are like nothing you have in your shop. You cannot expect a CNC (a computer driven machine) to have the same reliability of a table saw or a jointer or even a router. Think like this- is an old single speed router more reliable than one of the newer variable speed models? If you've never had a power tool need repair, you've not used it enough.

[ChrisAlb]

Here, Here pkunk! Well said!

If I had all the "repair" money from the last 30 years from various tools in my pocket right now, I'd buy TWO more CW's right now, take my wife on a cruise and move to warm enough climate to ride my HOG all year round! LOL

[twehr]

I have had two machines. The first one never did complete a project (bad power supply - cut motor issues, etc.) I was very unhappy and disappointed and pessimistic. I took it back to Sears after 3 weeks and they gave me another one.

This second one has worked perfectly.

I may have certainly caused some problems (I did burn up one flex drive because it was not lubed, one cover switch got filled with dust and quit). Now, I have a routine for cleaning after every project and other periodic maintenance that has keep everything running smoothly. So, it sits very happily along side my CNCed mill and lathe. (AND it is getting a lot more use than they are, just because it is so much more fun.)

In short - some will fail out of the box. No one, I am sure, is more aware (and displeased) with this fact than the people at LHR. Others will work beautifully IF you take care of it, mostly following the tips and suggestions you find here on the forum.

[newcarver]

May I ask why you are not offering an extended warranty?

My original question was why lhr does not offer an extended warranty not sears. LHR denies any involvment in sears offering this for the compucarve, and does not offer one for the carvewright. I guess it comes down to the fact that lhr has us over a barrel being one of two sellers of their product. So if your machine has had alot of issues during the warranty, why would any company wish to offer any further assistance to customers who stuck with them through the trials of a new machine. I stuck with it and now am a bit scared by the rate of breakdowns and labor costs, not to mention when i get a part there is a 50/50 chance it isnt even a new part and now i have to pay for that. I have never had an issue with sales, techs or any other people who work there, they have been great in the resolution of my issues. Sears offers this now for the compucarve, what about the carvewright owners? I guess they have to fend for themselves, right. Others have stated that they just dont have tooffer added protection, and they are right. They CAN do what they wish, and will continue to do so. I can't be the only one who wishes they would back up the machine i have grown to like so much. Others have said if you have never had tools breakdown, then your not using them. I can only say to that, i have many tools as well as a hunder other products as we all do and if they all acted up the way this does, i would probably go with the one who does offer extra protection over one who does not. Most products i have bought lately(even at walmart) offer an added service plan. So back to my original question, why is lhr not offering any added assistance for the faithful users?

[ChrisAlb]

Hi Newcarver,

I haven't been following this thread so please forgive me if this has been asked and answered already. But, have you asked LHR this question?

The folks in here don't work for them. I know I wish I could answer it not only for you but for myself as well as I'm a CW not a CC owner. I've been self employed in the building trades all my life and as such have a ton of tools to cover most every aspect of building custom homes from the dirt to the cabinets. In all honesty, I've never had an extended warranty on any of them. I guess I just never really worried about it much as I care for my tools to a point (some might think anal..lol) that I've never really needed one. That's not to say I haven't had a bunch go south on me over the years, I surely have and some, yep, right out of the box. I know a lot of folks have had a bunch of problems with their machines and I'm sure at least some of it is due to...well...just a bad machine. I don't know if it's just that I'm lucky or it's due to the anal thing but mine has been pretty good to me thus far. (I don't think it's luck though as I've never had any...LOL). Anyway, I'd love to know the answer to your question but I can't help thinking that you're asking the wrong folks.

If you have asked LHR I'd be very interested in what their answer was myself.

Chris

[newcarver]

Yes I have asked them this question several times since i bought it. When I purchased this 1yr and 1 month ago there was none offered by either sears or lhr. Their response was "no we do not, but it has come up..." That was all I got for an answer the first time I asked and the last 3 times i asked i got less than that for an answer. I asked in this thread due to lhr posting the initial response.