Festool Repair / Service

[PreferrablyWood]

I've had a few high valued out of warranty items break, and when I analysed the situation I've basically decided to put it on the shelf rather than get it fixed. I replaced the item with something similar, for a good price and moved on. I don't think it's too unusual that the cost of the repair often exceeds the price of a new unit. It's the practicalities of scale it's cheaper to produce new items on a production line that churns out many many items in a day then it is for one technician to sit find the problem order the parts handle shipping not just to and from the customer but to the parts department as well. It could happen that a user is so advanced on his own to find the parts and repair it himself, or in a speciel case it's a known design failure the the manufacture has to set right.

I think the 3 year guarantee period is pretty generous, though of course I'm apprehensive about a system approach if a central element breaks and there is no replacement because it is phased out.

 

[mrboult]

Thanks for the reply Gif. It seems they decided quite a lot was wrong with your sander, deeming the high cost of repair kind of appropriate given the sensible comments of preferablywood in the post above.

I find it all interesting food for thought on what action to take if an out of warranty tool goes bang. Considering how much broken festool's can sell for on eBay, providing the service dept hasn't already dismantled the crap out of it.

One thing I have definitely learnt here is that if I do send a tool in to Festool service for analysis, I'm damn sure not sending it in the systainer!
Certainly don't want to have to pay £33 to have the systainer shipped back to me if I choose not to have the tool repaired.

 

[leakyroof]

....but no one has ever seen a broken down RR ? That's the point  [huh]

what??? I've worked on broken down Rolls-Royces---- They get flat-bedded like everyone else on a tow truck to a dealer or shop... [huh]

 

[McNally Family]

One thing I have definitely learnt here is that if I do send a tool in to Festool service for analysis, I'm darn sure not sending it in the systainer!
Certainly don't want to have to pay £33 to have the systainer shipped back to me if I choose not to have the tool repaired.

I agree with this point completely, and will go one step further in that I would have kept the cord as well.  Having said that, once I found out the cost of repair, I would have gifted the defective device to Festool and moved on with a new device, with a new 3-year warranty.

The higher repair cost is directly related to labor.  My John Deere diesel riding lawn mower once had a small but consistent leak somewhere in the hydrostatic transmission.  I took it to the local John Deere dealership for repair, and was shocked when I received the bill for just over $400.00.  What shocked me the most however, was the fact the parts total was less then $5.00 (for an "O" ring), while the labor to tear down and rebuild the transmission was over $400.00.

Now, when my mower breaks down, I consult the schematics on the John Deere web site, and determine the parts I need to fix the mower myself, as I just did this season when my alternator froze up, preventing the fan belt from rotating.  Granted, the new alternator was just north of $300.00 (new John Deere Part), but minus the $400.00 tear down/rebuild labor charge.  In my case, a new replacement mower is out of the question, as this model sells new for just over $13,000.00.  Since my old used version cuts grass just as well as the new model, i will continue to repair the mower myself.

As for the condition of the returned tool, that sander was dead the day you decided to not repair it, but instead pay for the return of the corpse.  The fee you did pay was for return shipping, not embalming.  Next time, consider cremation, and let Festool sprinkle the ashes for you. 

 

[GarryMartin]

...and will go one step further in that I would have kept the cord as well.

The repair form asks that you return the Plug-It cord as I guess that could be part of a problem.

 

[Giff]

The labour cost was not the cause of the high cost. Total repair £211.00 total labour £24.36. The scrapping "free of charge" was not an option for me as included with the machine were a systainer, power cord (as requested) and a new backing pad total £78.00........return charge was £33.00.
I have now had delivery of my new machine the next day, with 3 years warranty, + insurance £193.00. Do the math (+s in English) !  [smile]Geoff

 

[Kev]

I think the moral to the story here is ... Ebay your heavy use Festools at 2 years and 10 months and replace them with new [eek]

 

[Michael1960]

I had a similar experience with a RO90 needing repair just out of warranty.  The labour was a minor component of the $400 repair bill.  The exorbitant cost of the spare parts tarnished my opinion of the brand. 

 

[AlexThePalex]

When something breaks on a Festool it's either an insignificant small part which you can order cheaply and install yourself, or it is something imoprtant and really expensive like the field coil, armature or electronics module. If one of the last three parts breaks, you're better off buying a new tool with Festool's high spare part prices.

 

[Giff]

This is where I think Festool are missing the point and I hope these posts filter back to them.

1. Festool are fantastic and I could not live without my Domino DF500 or DF 700, unique and brilliant tools.

2. I have routers, sanders, saws ( TS55 not quite as unique as it was), drills, planer and most of these are not unique.

3. Down the line to buy a Brand just because it has a name on it takes some thinking about. I have definitely bought
    into the Brand........but Festool could improve customer loyalty, and squash some of the "Festool dismissers" by establishing
    a policy that rewarded loyalty. Scraping tools that are out of warranty, but have not been used for their expected life cycle
    is a poor policy and feedback / pressure from a group like FOG will give them an insight into end user experience.

Geoff

 

[Phil Beckley]

This is where I think Festool are missing the point and I hope these posts filter back to them.

1. Festool are fantastic and I could not live without my Domino DF500 or DF 700, unique and brilliant tools.

2. I have routers, sanders, saws ( TS55 not quite as unique as it was), drills, planer and most of these are not unique.

3. Down the line to buy a Brand just because it has a name on it takes some thinking about. I have definitely bought
    into the Brand........but Festool could improve customer loyalty, and squash some of the "Festool dismissers" by establishing
    a policy that rewarded loyalty. Scraping tools that are out of warranty, but have not been used for their expected life cycle
    is a poor policy and feedback / pressure from a group like FOG will give them an insight into end user experience.

Geoff

Hi
As you may have guessed I am quite active on the FOG and I can assure you Festool recognise the importance of social media and forums such as this. I am still an end user outside of my training role for Festool UK.
All of this thread and your experience has been fed back to the service section. I
received an email that the machine was registered in 2008 so on this information there is nothing that can be done.
Rg
Phil

 

[carlb40]

Hi Oliver

I have a breakdown of the costs and could publish it if Festool approved, but the main expensive items are, Armature £33.87, Conversion Kit (no idea what it is converting) £51.00, Field Assembly £31.47, all + VAT.

Regards  Geoff

That could very well be the new bayonet dust port. I had an email from festool the other week. For about 50 quid per machine they will replace the existing dust port with the newer bayonet type.

From the email.

Convert to the NEW CLEANTEC Connecting System!

New integral bayonet catch between the dust extractor and tool!

Send your tools to us to let one of our dedicated Festool Service Engineers convert your tools to the NEW CLEANTEC Connecting system with integral bayonet catch.

This service ensures the fitting of the correct conversion part (includes the cost of the part itself), provides a full tool test, clean and PAT test, as well as including the collection and delivery of the tool back to the end customers chosen location.

The cost of this service is £49.95

If you wish to also get the hose upgraded with the CLEANTEC connecting part then the cost will be £59.95 - this includes the cost of both the tool and hose upgrades, including both parts.

To book this service, please contact our customer service team on 01284 760 791.

Tools that are currently available for conversion: TS 55/75, TSC 55, HK 55/85, HKC 55, RO 90/125/150, ETS 150, ETS EC 125/150

The following tools will be available from September 2016: ETS 125, DTS, RTS, OF 1400, DF 500, DF 700, PS 300, PS 420/ PSC 420 

 

[bobfog]

The thing that jumps out at me is good customer service is about consistency. I see threads praising Festool for out of warranty repairs FOC and then threads like this where they do nothing beyond the absolute minimum requirements. It seems like a lottery.

 

[six-point socket II]

(...)
This unit was out of warranty, but not by much.
(...)

(...)
I received an email that the machine was registered in 2008 so on this information there is nothing that can be done.
(...)

Hi!

There's something that doesn't add up here.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[McNally Family]

The thing that jumps out at me is good customer service is about consistency. I see threads praising Festool for out of warranty repairs FOC and then threads like this where they do nothing beyond the absolute minimum requirements. It seems like a lottery.

After "doing the math", what I see, is a tool that was registered 8 years ago, which meant it was 5 years beyond a generous 3 year warranty.  The owner was given the option to repair, return or save on return shipping and let Festool, who had already spent their time and money to determine the problem, bury the body.  The owner chose to have the tool returned to them as a way to retrieve the systainer, cord and pad.  End of story.

 

[PreferrablyWood]

I'm thinking out the "customer loyalty" statement in the above post. It seems like a tricky situation. On the one hand it's good that a company goes the extra mile to keep customers happy. But on the other hand if it's not really a sustainable practice, the practice of going the extra mile might just make the company go bust, and then where are you and what good is customer loyalty? I think a fast reply, with a clear message focused on the issue at hand is loyalty building. I'm not hugely active as user of the Festools I own, but a have always used my tools carefully, if there is a flaw in the tool that makes it break early on  I'm skeptical that getting it fixed will be a long term solution. My impression with Festool so far is that the tools hold up well when used carefully. No tool should be abused beyond reasonable limits, which is why I don't tend to lend my tools out, inexperienced users can overwork the tool and finish it off in no time..

 

[dalep]

(...)
This unit was out of warranty, but not by much.
(...)

(...)
I received an email that the machine was registered in 2008 so on this information there is nothing that can be done.
(...)

Hi!

There's something that doesn't add up here.

Kind regards,
Oliver

I was thinking the same, the first thing that I noticed was the lack of a t-loc systainer, these have been out a while now (2011 i think)

If the Tool in question really is 8 years old, then thats the end of the story. If it was out by just a few weeks then i am sure Festool would / could have done something as a gesture of good will, but in any business, that good will cant extend 8 years...

We must all take care when downing an episode of customer service in a public forum as the facts might not always be as they seem.

Dale

 

[ajones]

Interesting thread i think the op made the wrong decision sending the machine. For service
At 8 years old it should just been binned.
What could be a good idea is a thead about machine repair and associated costs too help owners make an informed decision. Before wasting time and money sending a machine for repair.
Also if festool could supply an average repair cost before the tool was sent for repair that would also help everyone.

 

[Giff]

Completely hold my hands up I didn’t realise when I bought this machine, I think it was dealer registered ( used to do that for you!) and I have been using Festool for a long time.

…BUT the post was nothing to do with warranty although incorrectly mentioned, by me, and is a bit of a red herring.

It was to do with repair and service.

The main point being that if a machine has exceeded economical repair, in or out of warranty, it could be replaced with a new unit, cheaper, and more efficiently than a repair…..and you don’t need a factory trained technician to put a unit in the existing case. Geoff

 

[Phil Beckley]

Completely hold my hands up I didn’t realise when I bought this machine, I think it was dealer registered ( used to do that for you!) and I have been using Festool for a long time.

…BUT the post was nothing to do with warranty although incorrectly mentioned, by me, and is a bit of a red herring.

It was to do with repair and service.

The main point being that if a machine has exceeded economical repair, in or out of warranty, it could be replaced with a new unit, cheaper, and more efficiently than a repair…..and you don’t need a factory trained technician to put a unit in the existing case. Geoff

Hi
I think all has been made on this. I have spoken to service and maybe at some point the areas raised will be taken forward.
If you go to the main UK exhibitions please come over and introduce yourself - on occasions spoken words can achieve more than the printed version of a conversation
rg
Phil