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Thread: batteries vs. new drill: Makita?

  1. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by Michael MacDonald View Post
    Larry's experience with the Rigid lifetime seems just plain wrong... How could a retailer do that? A 5-year warrantee is one thing, a lifetime warrantee is another thing. Different. Not the same.

    Larry - did they show you any "fine print" to establish this? That kind of bunk really would tick me off.
    This was several years ago, and I do not remember exactly how many years it was, probably more that 5, but I really do not remember. The whole thing ticked me off though, saying it was the lifetime of the tool not my lifetime. I had assumed it meant for as long as I owned the tool. Apparently "lifetime" means the reasonable lifetime of the tool these days. Reasonable lifetime can mean anything the vendor want it to mean I guess.
    BTW: I just went to their website and it looks like they may have changed their definition as of 2004 to be more in line with what I was thinking. I am sure I had purchased mine before then though.
    Lifetime Service Agreement The original purchaser of an eligible product may elect to register for a free Lifetime Service Agreement. To accept this Lifetime Service Agreement, you must register your product and submit proof of purchase for processing approval as described below. The Lifetime Service Agreement provides the original owner of qualifying RIDGIDŽ Brand tools a lifetime of free replacement batteries, free service and free replacement parts subject to the limitations set forth below.
    The Lifetime Service Agreement is available free of charge, on all eligible RIDGIDŽ Brand hand held power tools, stationary power tools and pneumatic tools, subject to the terms and conditions stated below. Customers have 90 days from date of purchase to register tools for the Lifetime Service Agreement. Once all conditions of the registration process are fulfilled, the tool’s service coverage lasts the lifetime of the original purchaser. The Lifetime Service Agreement status on a tool is not transferable to persons other than the original purchaser. Note: The RIDGID Lifetime Service Agreement is only available for eligible RIDGID tools purchased at THE HOME DEPOT.
    Larry J Browning
    There are 10 kinds of people in this world; Those who understand binary and those who don't.

  2. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Browning View Post
    The Lifetime Service Agreement provides the original owner of qualifying RIDGIDŽ Brand tools a lifetime of free replacement batteries, free service and free replacement parts
    Thanks for clarifying this Larry. I bought a Ridgid and was counting on free batteries for life. Your experience worried me enough to look up the exact terms of the warranty and I was about to post it as well.

  3. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Joiner View Post
    Thanks for clarifying this Larry. I bought a Ridgid and was counting on free batteries for life. Your experience worried me enough to look up the exact terms of the warranty and I was about to post it as well.
    Well, good luck with that! I am pretty down on Ridgid and their lifetime service agreement. I'm still not convinced that they will replace the batteries on a 20 year old drill. You will have to jump through all of their hoops. Here is a tip, be sure to make a copy of the receipt AND keep the original receipt in a cool dark place. I kept my receipt in the drill case where it was exposed to occasional light. The printing on it had faded to where it was almost unreadable by the time I needed it. Those receipts are printed on thermal paper and are not intended to last for years.
    Last edited by Larry Browning; 09-26-2012 at 7:54 AM.
    Larry J Browning
    There are 10 kinds of people in this world; Those who understand binary and those who don't.

  4. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Browning View Post
    Well, good luck with that! I am pretty down on Ridgid and their lifetime service agreement. I'm still not convinced that they will replace the batteries on a 20 year old drill. You will have to jump through all of their hoops. Here is a tip, be sure to make a copy of the receipt AND keep the original receipt in a cool dark place.
    Thanks for sharing you experience Larry.
    I think the terms have changed since you were refused new batteries. Now you must mail in your original receipt to get a Lifetime Service Agreement (LSA). Then register on-line to get an LSA number for each product. The LSA clearly says it"provides the original owner of qualifying RIDGIDŽ Brand tools a lifetime of free replacement batteries"

    Any company can get out of a lifetime warranty by simply not making the product anymore. I've had this problem with many of my old Craftsman hand tools. My battery costs were getting frustrating so I figured the Ridgid LSA was better than the warranties of it's competition. Plus the 12V driver/drill is a great tool.






    Last edited by Andrew Joiner; 09-26-2012 at 2:42 PM.

  5. #50
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    Andrew,
    I would get them to explicitly state that they are talking about the owner's lifetime and not the tool's lifetime. The more I read that statement, the more I can in vision some lawyer saying that "lifetime" is in reference to the tool and not the original owner. Even though to you and me it reads clearly that lifetime is referring to the owner, but those guys are sneaky! Plus, as you already stated, what are the chances that they will still be manufacturing a battery that will fit your drill in 20 years.
    Larry J Browning
    There are 10 kinds of people in this world; Those who understand binary and those who don't.

  6. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Browning View Post
    I kept my receipt in the drill case where it was exposed to occasional light. The printing on it had faded to where it was almost unreadable by the time I needed it.
    ha ha... "disappearing ink" as well. HD pulled out all the stops with your situation.

  7. #52
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    well... both batteries on the new Makitas died tonight... surprised me--I didn't think I had used them too much. Perhaps they were not fully charged to start. I will give them a full charge and try again.

  8. #53
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    Michael, here's my experience...

    I bought a Makita 18v NiCD drill a bunch of years back. Found that I could really use a second one. Both came with two batteries. Bought the circular saw, too...it came with two batteries. Before too long, four batteries were completely shot, and the other two were okay at best. I was in the same position... buy new batteries, get these batteries repacked, or get new tools. One more tidbit of info... One of the drills had issues with the clutch. So, that cost me $75 to fix. The other started to have issues with not "staying on" when the trigger was depressed. So, the second drill was in need of service. This lead me to do some number crunching. IF I had the drill fixed, that would be at least $75. Repacking 4 batteries/buying 4 new batteries would run me, what $250+? So, I'd be about $325 in...and still have old tools with old technology (NiCD).

    I went to the BORGs and did some research. What I ended up with was the Ridgid set. It came with the drill/driver, impact gun, circular saw, recipricating saw (something I was in need of buying anyway...), a "light", and two full size LiION batteries. The set was $500. They were running a special that if you bought the set, you got a free full size battery ($100 value). Also, the tool guy there knows that I am a good customer of the Orange BORG, and when I asked if they could do 10% off, he headed off to his manager to ask. He got the nod, and I ended up paying $450.

    The best part? ALL the tools, and ALL the BATTERIES have a lifetime warranty...even from dropping them!

    How do I like them. I do. Are they the best thing since slice bread? No. But I don't think ANY cordless tool is. Are they comfortable, reliable, ergonomic, sturdy, and easy to handle? Absolutely. Would I reccomend them? No doubt.

    There. That's my two cents...
    I drink, therefore I am.

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