VOID WARRANTY? RTS-500 Cutter Adapter for Festool Domino DF 700

Mario Turcot said:
P.S. Alex, I seriously thank you for your thoughtful insight on questions people have on the FOG.

And I am honoured to quote you also, you're welcome, Mario.  [smile]
 
Alex has a knack to get his thought out in about twenty words when many of us use two hundred. What makes it more humbling is that I assume English isn’t his native language.  [not worthy]
 
Everyone lives by their own code of ethics. Your money, your call.

I ran a yellow light, but received one for running red. Fought it in court and won. My daughter got three speed tickets in a row over two weeks (after a new speed limit sign (30 kph) was posted without warning on a section of road she passed to work year after year), and we paid all of them -- no questions asked. Lesson learned (after the tickets arrived in the mail [eek]), no more tickets.

Festool - If I broke, I cry. Pinching it on Festool for a free ride? Like Birdhunter's, not my choice. Old fashioned? So be it. Woodworking is just a hobby for me, and I can afford a couple of hundred dollars out without sweating. For the record, I don't own a DF700
 
I’d like to think my integrity level is on the high side but if I’m driving and notice I’m exceeding the speed limit, I don’t turn myself in.

If there are regions in the world that require warranties to be honored even if aftermarket accessories are used and Festool chooses to sell in those regions they are acknowledging aftermarket accessories might not be a problem.  They shouldn't have it both ways and one shouldn’t be penalized for where one lives. 

If an aftermarket accessory caused damage, it should be apparent without the accessory attached.  And, if it’s left attached, it shouldn’t be automatically assumed to be the cause and used by Festool to deny warranty coverage.

 
I think that as a multi-million dollar company you should be flexible with warranty repairs and not make too much fuzz about it.

Let's face it, from all the tools sold only a fraction returns for repair over its lifetime and for the company that cost is not that big compared to their sales revenue. For a private person a sudden repair could cut deep in his budget.

Now if you get a drill back with a 4 inch nail through its hull, fine, claim abuse to deny warranty, but if you send a tool in with a 3rd party accessory attached I find it rather petty to deny warranty on such basis. Especially because you should be able to use 3rd party accessories in any tool if they are made for it.

Could DeWalt force you to use only DeWalt bits in their drills? Of course not. So why would it be OK when it's a Domino?
 
Alex said:
I think that as a multi-million dollar company you should be flexible with warranty repairs and not make too much fuzz about it.

Let's face it, from all the tools sold only a fraction returns for repair over its lifetime and for the company that cost is not that big compared to their sales revenue. For a private person a sudden repair could cut deep in his budget.

Now if you get a drill back with a 4 inch nail through its hull, fine, claim abuse to deny warranty, but if you send a tool in with a 3rd party accessory attached I find it rather petty to deny warranty on such basis. Especially because you should be able to use 3rd party accessories in any tool if they are made for it.

Could DeWalt force you to use only DeWalt bits in their drills? Of course not. So why would it be OK when it's a Domino?

Alex,  Festool isn't making a big fuss about it.  The warranty laws that have been quoted here and the actual Festool limited warranty are all about adhering to the law which is primarily about needing to put things in writing so that the consumer has the opportunity to read.  Whether or not they do read is outside of the realm of the law.

But, I would offer politely that it would be hard for manufacturers to bring a tool to market and then anticipate whatever someone else would come up for it and then automatically be required to cover a repair necessitated by effects of that other thing.  In a perfect world I would hope that the manufacturers of those third party items - would have taken the time and effort to fully test their items long term on whatever tools they were designed for - AND then warrant that their item would not cause damage to the tools.

Peter
 
Peter, didn't this issue came to fruition when somebody posted here that Festool refused a warranty repair on his Domino because he had left a 3rd party cutter on when he send it in? Not sure it was the RTS or another cutter, but it's not just theory.

As for 3rd party items, I don't think there are even that much possibilities for the Domino as there are for some other tools like drills, jigsaws or angle grinders. A good tool manufacturer designs its tools with a certain sturdyness to allow for variations in its intended use. Certainly Festool always claims to have the most robust tools on the market. 
 
What Festool doesn't affect me at all.  I was following along with this thread which was about a guy asking a question about whether or not using the Seneca adaptors on the DF700 could void the warranty.  I have just tried to point out that there is the possibility based on what the warranty says.  I posted what the warranty said here in NA.  I didn't write that.

Others have gotten into the debate on whether it would be right or wrong.  Others have also posted their interpretations of the law that they have done a Google search on.

I chose to use what I felt were the most conservative answers.

I'll stand by my beliefs and statements that using third party accessories on a Festool product might cause warranty issues if that tool has an issue and has to be sent in for service.

Everyone can do as they choose.

Peter

 
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