Festool Fail

[Rodger Kanis]

Does anyone else think that if this thread had been about a Grizzly tool it would have been shut down by now?

I thought this would be a case of "contact the manufacturer to give them a chance to resolve the problem" before posting about it in the forum?

Hehehe... Yeah, I admit that crossed my mind, too. Must not have hit the threshold.

I think it may be good to let it stay, though, as it's educational to those buying items that are only available through official dealers. If the deal is too good to be true...

[Rick Christopherson]

I don't think people think YOU were the dishonest one, but rather the dealer was.

Bargain Hunt is not a Festool dealer for the same reason you won't find them at Home Depot. Bargain Hunt specifically sells scratch-and-dent, refurbs, and demos. However, Festool no longer permits these to be sold by any dealer except during a national authorized sale.

If you go to this link and enter the zip code for Birmingham, AL (35210), you will find all of the authorized Festool distributors.

[Rodger Kanis]

Rick... Yep! I forgot to put quotes around that one ("dealer") like I did in the rest of the post, indicating skepticism.

[Shane Holland]

John,

My apologies for the issues with the CT MIDI you purchased. Obviously, for reasons already mentioned in this thread, I cannot speculate on the condition or legitimacy of the unit you purchased. However, Festool offers a 30-day money back guarantee for refund or exchange, less shipping charges if applicable. Also, we have a 3-year warranty on all of our tools. As someone else stated, regardless of what brand or price you pay, there is a potential for defects in products of all sorts. But, Festool stands by their commitment to remedy such issues quickly and to the full satisfaction of the customer. I would argue that our customer service is among the best in the industry. Since the unit was returned, we will never know what may have been causing the issue with your dust extractor.

For the record, Bargain Hunt is not a Festool dealer. Purchasing from other than an authorized dealer can void the warranty. So, you assume risk in doing so. As they say, buyer beware. For that reason and since you didn't contact us for assistance, I believe your thread title may be unfair.

If you or any other forum member have questions or need assistance, please always feel free to contact me night or day. Even when I'm on vacation, like I am today.

Shane Holland
Festool USA
sho@festoolusa.com
765-894-2172 (c)

[Matt Meiser]

Bargain Hunt....bth_rollingonasslaughing.gif

So knowing that any legitimate return to a dealer goes back to Festool, this probably literally fell of the back of a truck or in some other way is "distressed" merchandise.

[john lawson]

Shane and others:

So, let's see if I have this straight; let's say an "authorized" Festool dealer goes chapter 7 bankruptcy. They have an auction and sell all their inventory. Is Festool going to buy back 10 unsold vacuums? Just out of the goodness of their hearts? I doubt it.

So, if they don't, and Bargain Hunt buys those 10 vacuums and puts them for sale in their stores, and a customer buys one of these new vacuums in good faith, your saying Festool wont honor the warranty? How would the customer know that? The customer would find out when you refuse to honor the warranty? Sounds a little mercenary to me.

To recap: I went into a retail store, bought a product that did not work and returned it per the retailers stated policy, what's the beef with that? If I had wanted to keep it I would have returned it to Festool for warranty. I just didn't want the hassle associated with messing with tools that don't work. I buy tools that have a good reputation and depend on the integrity of the quality of the tool to make it a good purchase. I have occasionally used warranties but I don't like to and I don't make purchases based on a warranty.

Having said that I am disappointed to hear that Festool would not honor a warranty on a tool that was bought in a straight up retail purchase.

[Matt Meiser]

He's not saying that, they print it right in the warranty, and its not an uncommon condition. Its right in the warranty you said you received.

All customers receive a free extended limited warranty (1 year + 2 years = 3 Years) on new Festool power tools purchased from an authorized retailer.

http://festoolusa.com/service/warranty/

https://www.google.com/#q=warranty+authorized+dealer

Alpine's warranty policy covers only products purchased through our authorized dealer network

All purchase of Clarion products, including those made over the internet, from non-authorized Clarion dealers will NOT come with full-factory warranties.

This warranty is void if the timepiece was not purchased from an Authorized Movado Dealer

Westone'swarranty is valid only on products sold by authorized dealers.

he Hoover Warranty Program will not honor products that are purchased through an unauthorized dealer.

[john lawson]

Yes, but you only get to read a warranty after you buy something.

And yes, that is what he is saying, as are you.

[Matt Meiser]

True...I've often wondered about that with respect to return conditions that are printed on the back of a receipt. Obviously it stands the legal test, and I can completely understand why manufacturers void warranties for grey market stuff.

[Chris Parks]

A lot of defenders of the faith in this thread. I too own Festool but it is only a good quality tool not a blind faith religious experience as some seem to think. Where someone purchases any item is up to them and yes there are ways around Festool's Retail system, buy direct from Europe as a lot of users in Australia now do. I have never done it but a lot are and the savings are huge apparently. If the tools are so good the return for warranty issues do not arise so I am told. There is no way I would do it but no one has to my knowledge had issues so far.

[Greg R Bradley]

Shane and others:

So, let's see if I have this straight; let's say an "authorized" Festool dealer goes chapter 7 bankruptcy. They have an auction and sell all their inventory. Is Festool going to buy back 10 unsold vacuums? Just out of the goodness of their hearts? I doubt it.

You could doubt it but you would be wrong, which seems to be the pattern here. They WOULD take them back. Any opened items would be refurbished and sold as refurb items. I don't know what they would do with items that were still sealed. They might open them and re-certify them for sale.

I can tell you that I bought 5 Bosch remanufactured Rotary Hammers once and could not find any evidence any one drilled holes in concrete. I guessed they might have just been in a dealer inventory that went OOB.

I would never be one to say that anything Festool is always perfect but they do have first class customer service. You can see some of that in Shane's post.

For the record I do own a Festool Midi, bought because it fit one need well, which is storing in a very small space with sanders and supplies attached in the engine room of a yacht. I would think the CT22 and other full size vacs fit most buyers' needs better than the Midi/Mini. I would assume that is why they are discontinuing the Midi/Mini and redoing them. I assume they are making them fit the TLoc Systainers better. I also own 3 Fein vacuums, one of them 20 years old. I also have 1 Bosch, 1 Milwaukee, 2 Jamco, 2 Rigid, 1 Shopvac, 2 Makita, and a Dewalt. Different units for different needs in a variety of businesses.

[John Keeton]

This thread is closed. As has been stated numerous times this does not seem to be a Festool issue. But, more importantly, the OP has failed to follow the guidelines for a rant thread.

John, you have been given good advice on buying from an authorized dealer. In the future, you may want to consider that on future purchases.