Another dead kapex 2nd time

[Tomi]

Hi
My kapex Just return yesterday from Service cost of repairing £214
New motor fitted, brush holder, etc.
What you thing guys should I sell it and go for newest model?
Any reviews on latest one ?
Or stay away from kapex as they not reliable?

 

[green fever]

Well I have tried to stay away from the Kapex debate , but I have to throw my two cents in , I've had 4 120's three were 240volt & the fourths was a 110 v. This is the only version that never failed I eventually sold that as I stopped doing site work ,
the other three failed same problem failed armatures , I had the last Kapex repaired by Festool uk free of charge & this was out of warranty but was kept in storage for 12 months so the saw only had light work in the first two years as that was a back up saw , I actually lost faith in the Kapex due to the on going issues & these aren't isolated issues as they have been well documented on this forum, after my last saw was repaired by Festool uk great service bye the way, I sold it and purchased a 10" dewalt , while it does not have the same dust extraction & the other functions as the Kapex it cuts whatever I need to and it gives very good results , I do use better saw blades on it Freud various tooth sizes for there own purpose , my point is the dewalt is half the cost of a Kapex & I would consider it to be a great purchase & certainly not half the saw as opposed to the Kapex , in a nut shell I would not buy another Kapex , don't get me wrong I still have many Festool tools that I still use but the Kapex 120 in my experience is Festool Achilles heel . My 10 cents turned into a lot more !!

 

[Tomi]

I’m feeling gutted because all this kapex issues that happened to me
And disappointed as a festool customer
I don like to pay for festool mistake on armature design.
I will switch to bosh glide as don’t like Dewalt

 

[Oldwood]

I’m feeling gutted because all this kapex issues that happened to me
And disappointed as a festool customer
I don like to pay for festool mistake on armature design.
I will switch to bosh glide as don’t like Dewalt

If you have not looked at Makita the LS1019L saw it is a nice saw. I have one and it required a little setting up when I first got it but is accurate and I believe it will stand up well.

 

[RKA]

[member=62807]Tomi[/member] Festool posted here sometime this past summer acknowledging this issue.  In their statement they indicated they had made changes in 2017 to address the issue.  So any saw being sent in should get updated parts.  Your last repair likely did not get the newer parts since that repair happened in 2016.  So there is some hope that the recent repair should be a more permanent fix if you believe what Festool is saying. 

Now, this statement was issued by Festool USA, I don't know whether that statement applies to other markets as well, but I would hope so.  Certainly worth confirming with your local service center before you make a decision.  And obviously any of this is predicated on Festool having credibility in your eyes.  Based on the history you describe, nobody can blame you if you decided to move on.

 

[Doug S]

I would stick with the Kapex you have, the repair should be the updated motor so hopefully you should have no more problems from now on, they are a great saw when they are working.

They should not by charging you £214 for this repair  [sad]

 

[ChuckM]

They should not by charging you £214 for this repair  [sad]

The least they should do for a loyal Kapex owner...for a motor issue not due to user fault.

 

[Tomi]

I’m using it now as working at big joinery project at Winchester university.
I just need a saw that cuts accurate and is reliable as I need it all the time on site. It’s frustrating when it’s getting broken even when you care for it like for baby, it’s a most expensive mitre saw on the market it should at least like my other ones.
I employ 8 joiners they using my old Dewalt 718xps it last me for 7yeras still going no problem
Bosh glide 2 yers of taking a hardest cuts and abusing by all my guys it’s always on stand ready to go.

I’m worry that the new motor will have a short life as previously
I’m not happy to keep paying for repair
I will prefer to spend this money for new one.
Any one have experience with the Milwaukee mitre saw?

 

[blues]

Motors and electronics thay control them have been around for ever. This technology had been perfected and its so mainstream that no one should be expected to pay a premium for a saw that so often fails. Horror stories. Yes they get fixed, but it's a pain to deal with, and you are paying a premium for festool quality. The brand image is taking a hit, hope they realize it.
While im invested a lot with other festools, i decided not to touch the kapex. I turned to the 10" lxt makita. Could not have been happier. It's just rock solid and batteries last forever. Cut capacity has no match. Truly a remarkable tool for those who want to switch out of the kapex.

 

[Cheese]

Any one have experience with the Milwaukee mitre saw?

I've had 4 of them, the last 2, a straight chop and a slider lasted for over 20 years before I sold them to my neighbor. They're still going strong 5 years later. I cut everything with them including paver bricks. I can't imagine the newer Milwaukee's are worse than the earlier versions.

Sold the Milwaukee's to fund the Kapex...

 

[JFelchlin]

Kapex?
Love to buy one...
But sadly - With all the continuing failure reports - It seems that nothing’s really changed -
Except Festool’s PR advertising rhetoric: “New and Improved”.
You can “put lipstick on a pig - But it’s still a pig”.
It’s still only a great saw... IF you get one that keeping working.

My 10+ year old BOSCH 5412L Compound Miter Saw -
With a Forrest ChopMaster Saw Blade on it?
It’s still cutting straight and true and clean -
Cut after cut after cut after cut...
Year after year after year after year...

 

[Doug S]

I was speaking to someone from Festool last week who said they were certainly getting a lot less Kapex coming back for repair, maybe the fix has worked.

 

[kevinculle]

I was speaking to someone from Festool last week who said they were certainly getting a lot less Kapex coming back for repair, maybe the fix has worked.

There are 10+ years of vulnerable Kapex saws out in the field and repairs decrease suddenly a few months after a fix is introduced... :

 

[ChuckM]

I was speaking to someone from Festool last week who said they were certainly getting a lot less Kapex coming back for repair, maybe the fix has worked.

There are 10+ years of vulnerable Kapex saws out in the field and repairs decrease suddenly a few months after a fix is introduced... :

Good point (though the new motors/parts were believed to be introduced more than a year ago). The majority of Kapex are old models and have not been fitted with the new motors. The so-called fix will have no effects on them.

Rather, I think the motor problem could be due to certain production batch(es) spoiled by some defective or below-standard parts from the parts supplier. I recently spoke to a local vendor rep. in person who has handled Festool repairs of machines sold through his location (a lot) for 8 years or so. He did not see an unusual Kapex repair rate compared to that of the rest of Festool machines. Anyway, the older my Kapex is (now 4 years +) and the more I use it (like any regular mitre saw without "TLC"), the more confident I'm its motor is fine. It has seen significant use in the last two years.

 

[Doug S]

I was speaking to someone from Festool last week who said they were certainly getting a lot less Kapex coming back for repair, maybe the fix has worked.

There are 10+ years of vulnerable Kapex saws out in the field and repairs decrease suddenly a few months after a fix is introduced... :

They have been repairing the Kapex (in the UK at least) with the updated part for I believe about 2.5 years now. Saws that burn out often do it more than once and often don't last 2 years between the smoke. I got about 18 months each out of my first 2 motors. The 3rd motor is the updated one and still working after over 2 years. I am sure if they had fitted another original style motor it would have been back in for another replacement by now. The number of returns will have dropped because the repeat offenders have stopped burning up.

 

[DeformedTree]

I was speaking to someone from Festool last week who said they were certainly getting a lot less Kapex coming back for repair, maybe the fix has worked.

Can't send in for repairs what was never bought.  [tongue]

Not sure if the issues have hurt sales, only Festool would know and they clearly aren't going to talk.  But yes, I'm sure they made headway on the issues, and or people gave up on ones that die a lot.  But obviously Festool is always going to say something like "that was in the past, it's better now".  You will never get a statement like "they break just the same" or "you wouldn't believe how many dead ones come in these days"

 

[peter halle]

I was speaking to someone from Festool last week who said they were certainly getting a lot less Kapex coming back for repair, maybe the fix has worked.

There are 10+ years of vulnerable Kapex saws out in the field and repairs decrease suddenly a few months after a fix is introduced... :

They have been repairing the Kapex (in the UK at least) with the updated part for I believe about 2.5 years now. Saws that burn out often do it more than once and often don't last 2 years between the smoke. I got about 18 months each out of my first 2 motors. The 3rd motor is the updated one and still working after over 2 years. I am sure if they had fitted another original style motor it would have been back in for another replacement by now. The number of returns will have dropped because the repeat offenders have stopped burning up.

The information you received is not entirely accurate at least from the NA market.  There have been more than one attempts to identify and rectify.  The latest one seems to have been more successful than the other(s).

Peter

 

[CumminsDiesel]

My 10+ year old BOSCH 5412L Compound Miter Saw -
With a Forrest ChopMaster Saw Blade on it?
It’s still cutting straight and true and clean -
Cut after cut after cut after cut...
Year after year after year after year...

Same with my 17 years old 10" DeWALT which I sold...

Still working,year after year after year after year...!

The stories like this keep me from buying a Kapex and I'm glad I didn't buy it, but instead I bought a new design 10" DeWALT.

 

[Tomi]

Base on my experience stay away from this saw I keep using it now only because just Been repaired. It’s not reliable I repair it already twice due to motor failure. The prices for new kapex are crazy for what you getting. And the other brands making a really good machines for more than half of the price. After my issues with kapex and the fact I have to pay for repairs I started to going out from festool products.

 

[ChuckM]

No doubt the poorly-handled Kapex issue has left a bad taste in many owners' mouths. Even owners like me who have not (yet?) got burned are looking over their shoulders every time they hear a smoking story.

I sincerely hope that Festool will tap into SawStop's engineering, QA/QC expertise and practice, and see how Festool can do better. Granted, Festool is much larger and carries a lot more products, but SawStop has proven its value by beating other established players in the field, not by competing on price but on quality, service and reliability. Frankly, if SawStop released a Taiwan-made Kapex, I would choose it over the German-made Kapex...even if the prices were similar.

A Kapex recall so a new motor could be put in is what Festool should have done.