Heads up to those who are shopping for new power tools and I'm curious to know if this scenario has caught anyone else out.
Extended warranties do have an influence on the decision when I buy a new tool. I like to buy good stuff rather than the cheapest and when parting with the cash I figure that in the worst case at least I'll get 2, 3, 5 years use for my money.
All too often though the extended warranty isn't automatic, you have to go online and trade your personal details to bump the warranty up from a basic 1 year to whatever.
Equally often, getting around to the admin of registering for that extended warranty - finding the website and the login details you previously set up - is a pain and easy to forget.
Today I got caught.
I have a top of the range Bosch cordless drill. About 18 months old. It's a brushless combi. It's comfortable and has been working great.
Today I noticed that the LED worklight is failing - one LED no longer lights. Slightly bad sign - LED's should last for tens of thousands of hours so either supplier quality control is substandard or I just got unlucky
3 yr warranty I thought, I'll just check it out before it packs up and ask them to mail me a spare part so I can fit it myself as and when
Oops - I have most of my Bosch kit registered but I've forgotten to register this one so I'm now out of warranty
Oops 2 - BIG SURPRISE - the LED isn't an individual replaceable part. Bosch have combined all of the electronics into a single composite piece - brushless motor control, trigger, LEDs, everything into one big assembly that fits inside the grip and includes the battery connector down bottom. £123 plus VAT ! if I wanted to fix a failed 5p LED. It actually costs more than I paid for the bare tool in a case.
Ooops 3 - now that I'm looking into warranty details, in passing I notice that bosch-professional are rated as BAD (1 star) by 76% of reviewers on trustpilot. I don't read review sites like trustpilot but if I was Bosch and my customers were crucifying my reputation in public, I'd surely be trying to do something about it.
Lessons learned:
Extended warranties do have an influence on the decision when I buy a new tool. I like to buy good stuff rather than the cheapest and when parting with the cash I figure that in the worst case at least I'll get 2, 3, 5 years use for my money.
All too often though the extended warranty isn't automatic, you have to go online and trade your personal details to bump the warranty up from a basic 1 year to whatever.
Equally often, getting around to the admin of registering for that extended warranty - finding the website and the login details you previously set up - is a pain and easy to forget.
Today I got caught.
I have a top of the range Bosch cordless drill. About 18 months old. It's a brushless combi. It's comfortable and has been working great.
Today I noticed that the LED worklight is failing - one LED no longer lights. Slightly bad sign - LED's should last for tens of thousands of hours so either supplier quality control is substandard or I just got unlucky
3 yr warranty I thought, I'll just check it out before it packs up and ask them to mail me a spare part so I can fit it myself as and when
Oops - I have most of my Bosch kit registered but I've forgotten to register this one so I'm now out of warranty
Oops 2 - BIG SURPRISE - the LED isn't an individual replaceable part. Bosch have combined all of the electronics into a single composite piece - brushless motor control, trigger, LEDs, everything into one big assembly that fits inside the grip and includes the battery connector down bottom. £123 plus VAT ! if I wanted to fix a failed 5p LED. It actually costs more than I paid for the bare tool in a case.
Ooops 3 - now that I'm looking into warranty details, in passing I notice that bosch-professional are rated as BAD (1 star) by 76% of reviewers on trustpilot. I don't read review sites like trustpilot but if I was Bosch and my customers were crucifying my reputation in public, I'd surely be trying to do something about it.
Lessons learned:
- Register your kit when you buy it - don't leave it for later and forget or you'll regret it
- DO take time to check out the review sites. They might not push me towards a brand but they surely will make me cautious about one that is receiving such widespread criticism for product quality and aftersales service
- If it's a big purchase, download the manual first and look at the parts diagram. My drill is a stunning example of a tool made for cheap manufacture but awful design for maintenance and repair.
- Bosch used to be great tools for longevity and easy to maintain. This is the second time in a year that I've looked into repairing one of their current tools and found it a total bust. I like (most of) their ergonomics. I like their battery tech. But the built in obsolescence has reached new heights here and ain't something to be encouraged ....
