DeWalt warranty - what a joke !

antiskeptic

Discodog wrote: »

I decided to invest in some decent screwdriver bits so I bought a set of DeWalt diamond extreme bits - just about the most expensive out there.
The largest flat bit snapped whilst unscrewing a roofing bolt out of a bit of timber so hardly a strenuous job.

The set was about €30 Euro so this broken bit has a value of about €2 & I thought that DeWalt would happily replace it. So I emailed DeWalt. Firstly they wanted a date & proof of purchase - do we really keep the receipt for screwdriver bits ? Anyway I sent them the info & I explained that I was perfectly happy to buy a replacement bit.

In their latest email DeWalt want me to photograph the broken bit & photograph the bolt :eek:. If they are going to be this ridiculous over a €2 bit how would they be with a €200 drill ?

I have a brilliant 12v Milwaukee screwdriver & I wondered if they did a holster so I emailed them in England. The reply I got was as follows:

"We are just about to introduce a holster & belt. Can I send you one for free & maybe you could let us know what you think of it ?"

Rather than go through the trouble of taking photos, just send them a link to this thread. If they don't mind their target market hearing negative reviews..

That said, I've always found straight screw bits problematic. Unlike a pozidrive (which will hop out of the screw) there is nowhere for the bit to go if the applied torque exceeds it's own torsional strength.

Discodog

antiskeptic wrote: »

Rather than go through the trouble of taking photos, just send them a link to this thread. If they don't mind their target market hearing negative reviews..

That said, I've always found straight screw bits problematic. Unlike a pozidrive (which will hop out of the screw) there is nowhere for the bit to go if the applied torque exceeds it's own torsional strength.

I sent them a link a couple of days ago & they thanked me for it !.

Batteries are a staggering rip off. Take them apart & replace the cells, you can get them from Maplin. I have a wonderful Makita 12v chainsaw. The batteries were giving grief because, as with a drill, you still have lots of power left when you need to recharge.

With NiCads, every 20 charges, I attach a 12v light to the battery to drain it till the light starts to dim then recharge as normal. It resets the memory.

Did anyone have grief with their Li batteries in the cold weather ?.
Anyone notice that batteries are the same price wherever you buy them ?

I think that my problem is with the Dewalt system where call centre type people have to follow procedure. If I had bought the set locally the retailer would of probably changed it. The zip went on a 15 month old Snickers jacket - the retailer spoke to the rep & Snickers replaced it.

yoshytoshy

I've read in a few pages online that if you use cordless tools for longer sessions ,it's best to use NiCad batteries.
Li-On batteries wear out quicker the longer the drain on the battery is. I notice this myself when I use my recipricating saw ,the battery wears out quickly if I keep the trigger pressed for a while.
Both the drills I have will last for a couple of days on the same batteries.

Discodog

The plan was for Li to totally replace NiCad & NiHy but my local dealers insist that a lot of users are turning away from Li. My 12v Milwaukee reciprocating saw is fine if I use the bigger batteries.

If you run a Li tools under high load the temperature of the battery rises & then the thermal overload cuts out. The same thing happens when the temperature is too low. I read a funny article by some guys in Canada who had to keep their Li batteries in an insulated box otherwise they wouldn't work.

If NiCads are unhappy they will still work whereas a Li just stops.

slowburner

Discodog wrote: »

I sent them a link a couple of days ago & they thanked me for it !.

Batteries are a staggering rip off. Take them apart & replace the cells, you can get them from Maplin. I have a wonderful Makita 12v chainsaw. The batteries were giving grief because, as with a drill, you still have lots of power left when you need to recharge.

With NiCads, every 20 charges, I attach a 12v light to the battery to drain it till the light starts to dim then recharge as normal. It resets the memory.

Did anyone have grief with their Li batteries in the cold weather ?.
Anyone notice that batteries are the same price wherever you buy them ?

I think that my problem is with the Dewalt system where call centre type people have to follow procedure. If I had bought the set locally the retailer would of probably changed it. The zip went on a 15 month old Snickers jacket - the retailer spoke to the rep & Snickers replaced it.

There is a related thread over in the woodcraft forum.

William Powell

Discodog wrote: »

...

If I had bought the set locally the retailer would of probably changed it.
.....

You didn't buy this set on eBay by any chance?

Discodog

William Powell wrote: »

You didn't buy this set on eBay by any chance?

No but the seller does sell on ebay & is a main Dewalt dealer. Why do you ask ?.

Discodog

slowburner wrote: »

There is a related thread over in the woodcraft forum.

We need a general tradesman forum.

Buford T Justice

tbh a general tradesmen forum would be nothing more than a gang of people who thought they could just pimp themselves for business.... so I think DIY is just fine.

yoshytoshy

Fingers McGee wrote: »

tbh a general tradesmen forum would be nothing more than a gang of people who thought they could just pimp themselves for business.... so I think DIY is just fine.

I don't think thats the case fingers ,personally I enjoy talking to chippies and sparks on jobs and learn a lot from them. I'm not really interested in woodwork etc ,but yet always pick up tips from lads I'm working around.

Pimping and the likes goes on all the time anyway ,plenty of moochers on the forums as it is.

William Powell

Discodog wrote: »

No but the seller does sell on ebay & is a main Dewalt dealer. Why do you ask ?.

Because I saw 4-5 sets for sale on ebay.ie about 2-3weeks ago, they looked genuine but I know from experience with other brands that the copies can look very good.

Discodog

Fingers McGee wrote: »

tbh a general tradesmen forum would be nothing more than a gang of people who thought they could just pimp themselves for business.... so I think DIY is just fine.

I disagree. I think that there are a whole set of issues that effect tradespeople & the posts get scattered across Boards. The battery thread is classic example & so is this thread in that woodworkers use bits. At the moment you have to decide which forum offers the best compromise.

William Powell wrote: »

Because I saw 4-5 sets for sale on ebay.ie about 2-3weeks ago, they looked genuine but I know from experience with other brands that the copies can look very good.

I am sure that there are fakes - of just about everything. I buy quite a lot on ebay but I tend to buy from well established sellers. I bought this set from a website but the seller is on ebay & has a feedback of 13,000 !
He's not going to risk that by selling fakes.

I have never had a problem with tools from ebay & amazon. The savings can be huge.

slowburner

Discodog wrote: »

We need a general tradesman forum.

Would you not think that a tradespersons' forum would end up being cliquish and that there would be nothing but whinging?

Hootanany

De Walt is rubbish Hilti Festool & Makita are the best. On Ryobi my 1987 Chop saw is still in everyday operation only had to change the switch once.

Boggles

Discodog wrote: »

I decided to invest in some decent screwdriver bits so I bought a set of DeWalt diamond extreme bits - just about the most expensive out there.
The largest flat bit snapped whilst unscrewing a roofing bolt out of a bit of timber so hardly a strenuous job.

The set was about €30 Euro so this broken bit has a value of about €2 & I thought that DeWalt would happily replace it. So I emailed DeWalt. Firstly they wanted a date & proof of purchase - do we really keep the receipt for screwdriver bits ? Anyway I sent them the info & I explained that I was perfectly happy to buy a replacement bit.

In their latest email DeWalt want me to photograph the broken bit & photograph the bolt :eek:. If they are going to be this ridiculous over a €2 bit how would they be with a €200 drill ?

I presume their warranty system is the exact same for a drill bit as it is for a drill.

Also I would suggest it is wrong to assume any company will gladly send you out a replacement of any product without establishing a few facts, it is actually pretty fair and reasonable to be honest.

It may seem overkill for just a measly drill bit, but if their policy was to hand out new bits for free every time someone mailed them about a broken one, I can see that becoming a problem on a larger scale.

What I don't understand is if you offered to buy one, why didn't they either tell you they don't do that or quote you a price, seems they are still stuck on warranty route.

Your first port of call if you believe the product was faulty should have been with the person or establishment that supplied it to you.

Dewalt generally for the price bracket are second to none IMO, it's actually amazing some of the comments on this thread.

fred funk }{

I have a Dewalt 18v drill and it's top notch. It gets abused most days and I have it nearly four years. It's been dropped from the top of the ladder twice, landed on grass but it still took a thumping. It's still working like the day I got it.

Anyone that says it's the same as B&D is talking rubbish.

yoshytoshy

I use to work with a bloke who had a full set of dewault cordless tools and swore he would never buy them again.

All the tools were opening up and couldnt hack the work we do.
Maybe for chippies they are grand ,but for cutting metal and drilling walls ,they were pretty bad imho.

Discodog

slowburner wrote: »

Would you not think that a tradespersons' forum would end up being cliquish and that there would be nothing but whinging?

Us whinge ?

No more than anywhere else. There are so many topics that don't fall into a category. A guy recently posted on the Galway forum about Snickers Gloves. They are not a typical DIY item at €30+ a pair. Nor are they specific to woodworkers, plumbers etc.

Trade requirements are very different to DIY & then there are subjects like insurance, heath & safety, etc etc etc.

Spread

Comparing a DeWalt and B&D tool is like comparing a Ford Fiesta with a Ford Taurus. Being made by the same company does not mean that they are the same inside the shell. DeWalt have been around (making radial saws) since the 20s so they have got to have done something right. I've used quite a few of their tools for over 13 yrs and am more than pleased. One drill in particular, used for about 9 yrs mixing skimcoat and fluffing wet-dash took a lot of punishment and is still going strong. (It is now in a garage for retired tools ).One of the most important points with all power tools is that the user should understand the tool's capabilities.

slowburner

Discodog wrote: »

Us whinge ?

No more than anywhere else. There are so many topics that don't fall into a category. A guy recently posted on the Galway forum about Snickers Gloves. They are not a typical DIY item at €30+ a pair. Nor are they specific to woodworkers, plumbers etc.

Trade requirements are very different to DIY & then there are subjects like insurance, heath & safety, etc etc etc.

All fair enough I suppose

slowburner

Hootanany wrote: »

De Walt is rubbish Hilti Festool & Makita are the best. On Ryobi my 1987 Chop saw is still in everyday operation only had to change the switch once.

Were Ryobi around in '87?
I've heard some bad things about Makita chop saws but nothing but praise for DeWalt. I still have a DeWalt screw gun ('98ish) which refuses to die even though all its replacements have given up the ghost. Wish I could afford Festool though.

gsxr1

spunk_monkey wrote: »

I use to work for DeWalt, driving around the country in a massive yellow DeWalt demo van doing demo shows etc.

To say they are the same as black and decker is ridiculous .

DeWalt is designed for professionals, using their tools day in day out. The parts used in them are not comparable to DIY tools such as black and decker.

Give a trades man an 18 v cordless black and decker and it's will be burnt out in days. I have seen DeWalt stuff last over 10 years.

Generally speaking , DeWalt make the best woodworking gear.

Festool are superior but the price is a lot to swallow.

have to agree with you. I think there is better than Dewalt out there. Like Hilti for example. But the price of Hilti tools reflect the difference .

I have often seen and heard people who know not of what they speak off remark on Dewalt as B&D in a yellow casing .

My 18v XRP screw gun has done 6 years daily second fix carpentry. It does need a new set of batteries now, but owes me nothing and is still running great. I also had a Milwaukee(just a month out of warrenty) in the passed which self destructed internally while mortising out a door lock .
My dewalt tools are US/Mexico made. Euro Dewalt should be the same.

Hootanany

slowburner wrote: »

Hootanany wrote: »

De Walt is rubbish Hilti Festool & Makita are the best. On Ryobi my 1987 Chop saw is still in everyday operation only had to change the switch once.

Were Ryobi around in '87?
I've heard some bad things about Makita chop saws but nothing but praise for DeWalt. I still have a DeWalt screw gun ('98ish) which refuses to die even though all its replacements have given up the ghost. Wish I could afford Festool though.

Yes they were I bought it in Canal St New York 180 us dollars

Discodog

Well DeWalt don't want to sell me a bit ! Luckily an ebayer is happy to oblige. I fully accept that DeWalt tools may be OK but I can only judge from my experience & they have lost a future customer for the sake of €2.

I actually think that the design of DeWalts larger flat bits is at fault. There is simply not enough metal to support the ends of the "wings". I have a CK bit which came from a screwdriver. It is the same overall width but is far more substantial. Also the DeWalt bits are very thin so there may be room for movement in the screw slot whereas the CK one fills the slot.

CJhaughey

All Dewalt stuff is not the same, they have a commercial range as well as DIY stuff.
I took apart my 14v XRP drill after the switch went south and the gearbox is all bronze. Hard to beat that kind of build.
Ryobi are OK for the price but aren't built as strong.
Their gears run in a plastic housing not cast aluminium.
Maybe the old Japanese Ryobi stuff was better but the Chinese stuff is built to a price and it shows.