Me!

Me too! I love tinkering and always try to fix stuff myself first.

Its funny you should say this, yesterday I shipped a few items on ebay and the clerk who was very difficult to deal with... short of manners and patients... took my items from me and just tossed them 6 feet away into the bin... and I just looked at him and said " I am really glad I put insurance on those items" and walked out...

I repair all my stuff if I can... but some items Lionel holds you hostage in not giving you parts unless you ship the item back... from there you feel you are rolling the dice...

I wish I had the capabilities. I'll try somethings but usually not engines.

Spence - I'm with you on this.

Art

I do...  I've never sent anything back for repair, although I have sent my #900 controller and base back to ensure that it was 100% (I bought it used).

Thanks,

- Mario

I'll try to make repairs if I think I am capable.  If it appears as though it is beyond me, then I don't hesitate to request a return or send it out for repairs.  In your case, the problem fell right on the cusp of trying self-repair or sending it back, as you aptly pointed out.  Bob 

Never sent anything back yet. That does mean my Lionmaster PRR T-1 still does not smoke.....but all others I have fixed myself. I have bought a few DOA locos knowing I could fix them and still have little cash in them. 

ME.  if it works, take it apart and find out why.  hahaha. kidding, if its under warranty, it goes back,  or a phone call is made.  otherwise i'll attempt to fix ,=  anything !!  common sense, use care, make notes & take pix.  im a diy kind of guy, not rich, kind of a neccesity.  i have many tools,toys, and equipment discarded by others as broken that are now as good as new.  just time and patience.

 With any warranty item, once sent out it that same one may not comeback, or nothing may come back WCS. My attachment to the item would be issue #1. Age improves the odds I keep it "in house". Then cost of the item new comes into play. And if it involves electronics board work? Off it would go 90% of the time (or out they just get pulled out)(I can do the work, I don't like to have to do it). Any basic stuff I'd offer/request to take care of myself before considering the RMA option.

I may write a letter about a home solved issue, otherwise they may never know it exists.

In general, I like repairing things.  

I agree Spence and Art,

Even before having physical problems with my hands, I never fixed anything on a locomotive other than cosmetic items. (broken stack, hand rail, etc) Rolling stock, electrical, et cetera, then I have no problem fixing them.

That is why I have taken shells off diesels to repaint, but I never would try it on a steam engine.

If I could I would, but I have great confidence in the reliability and permanency of my LHS's techies work!

The cost of shipping a locomotive in for repair, last one $52 FedEx Ground one way, together with the cost of upgrading ... has left me no option but to try the next diesel upgrade myself.  Steam I'll probably still leave to another to do.  I've upgraded my last MTH steamer so the next will probably be TMCC upgrades to QSI-equipped 3rd Rail steamers.  First I have to find someone who will do them reasonably.  When the bank gets some funds built up that is ... ;-)

I've been doing my own repairs for over 40 years and have had just one item to be serviced outside my shop in that time - it was a K-Line Diesel with a faulty motor that was under warranty, and it was done at the LHS where I bought it. I have the parts to fix it, but this is the only in-warranty failure I've ever had so I let them have at it.

I would if I could, if not I would hand carry it to someone who could. I hate shipping expensive fragile engines. if you have to pay the shipping for warranty work then then local makes more sense. too many stories of packages being mistreated. I have a Vision Challenger that needed warranty work since I got it 2 years ago, just can't bring myself to put it in the mail.

I'm with Mark and the physical problems; after having CTS and waiting too long for the surgery, my hands are numb.  I have figured out how to install Kadee couplers on some rolling stock, but I don't think I'm capable of anything involving fine, close, careful movements around the electronic stuff inside a locomotive.

To add to the fun, I also have RA that has affected my hands. 

Another reason why I collect prewar. I'm able to do 99% of all repairs. PD has slowed me down considerably. I just wait for the good days.

God Bless,

"Pappy"

Yes, usually.  Something like that definately.  A PS3 Dreyfus Hudson that was dead on arrival, yes.  Haven't sent anything back for repairs in five years now.

I do all of my own repair work, but then I don't buy anything new either.

If I bought a new item, a loco especially, it better work right out of the box or it would go back.

Popping a dislodged detail back into place would not be a big enough issue to send it back, but it darn well better run right. No excuse for a new engine to be DOA or die right away.

I fix all that I can and I'm old enough to know my limits after looking something over before attempting a repair. I do not like sending things back, and so far have not had to do that. I just bought a set of three new search lights that had one bad solder joint on the power wire of each one, easily got those fixed.

Whenever I tried to fix something in the past I only made it worse.  So now I don't attempt any repair at all. And my soldering skills leave a lot to be desired.  If my eyes were not 77 years old I could probably do minor repairs. I can still solder hot and common leads onto tracks though.

I flunked the course in Train Repair 101. 

quote:

Its funny you should say this, yesterday I shipped a few items on ebay and the clerk who was very difficult to deal with... short of manners and patients... took my items from me and just tossed them 6 feet away into the bin... and I just looked at him and said " I am really glad I put insurance on those items" and walked out...

I worked for UPS at one of their hubs part time many years ago. It was very common / normal to toss packages. If your package cannot withstand being tossed as described above, there is a good chance the goods inside won't make it in one piece.

Most of my life anything I had , tools, appliances, vehicles ect.. I've went at it 100 percent to fix it my self.

My trains, no. I am trying to learn. The only ones I had repaired have been sent to repair members on this forum .  If I lived close to those guys I would probably be giving them at least a engine a month to upgrade or add this or that.

It's not just the high cost of shipping that deters me from shipping but, the way postal service could care less on the way they handle items. May be just me. But I've received items that actually look like the box was used in a footfall game it was so beat up. Sorry for the vent on the PO.

Just my thoughts.

Larry

Vintage stuff, repair myself all day long. Modern stuff.... off to the shop.

How many would rather repair it themselves than send it back for repair?

I like taking my repairs to my local brick & mortar, Authorized Lionel, & MTH dealer, only about a 35 mile drive.

I'll do what I can at home. That is pretty much limited to changing traction tires, lightbulbs, smoke wicks, change batteries and that is about it. I usually make it worse, have a few screws left over, and can't solder (well, I "can" but.....:0)

All repairs go to Catoctin Mountain Trains. I will continue to use Mike, their tech, after Catoctin Mountain Trains closes for the last time on March 31, 2015. 

I run primarily post-war and a few conventional classic sets.  Some of my accessories are modern.  I enjoy keeping everything running. I get a lot of help from the experts on this forum.  Thanks

If you put a "FRAGILE" sticker or stickers on the box, it means run it over with only one wheel, not two.  

Fortunately, I run the old post war stuff that is simple (no integrated circuits). I can do most of the maintenance myself like my dad and I did when I was a kid. If I ran the new equipment (from this century) I would have to send it back, I'm sure, for even the simplest repair. Radio Shack TV Tuner spray and Liquid Bearings are my friends...

All of my pre-war and post-war stuff I do myself.  I have tackled a few modern engines and have had some success while others which were still in warranty after taking a look see I knew I needed professional help so back they went to MTH.

Oh boy.  I can relate to the hands.  My right index finger is so bad I hardly use it any longer. Too much target shooting I guess . Pick everything up with the thumb and middle finger.

 

Originally Posted by Tom Mohr:

Mark Boyce posted:

Even before having physical problems with my hands, ...

I'm with Mark and the physical problems; after having CTS and waiting too long for the surgery, my hands are numb.  I have figured out how to install Kadee couplers on some rolling stock, but I don't think I'm capable of anything involving fine, close, careful movements around the electronic stuff inside a locomotive.

 

To add to the fun, I also have RA that has affected my hands. 

 

Kerrigan,

Yes, I always pick things up with my thumb and middle finger.  Now I have to keep getting cortisone shots in the thumb knuckles every few months because of the arthritis pain.  Those shots lift me right off the chair, but they do the trick for about 3 months.

Tom,

CTS, yes I first had symptoms 30 years ago.  They treated me for arthritis, but my wife, an RN, insisted it was CTS.  I had never heard of it before she mentioned it.  Sure enough, it took 10 years to get surgery.  By that time, I couldn't even feel my hands any more.  I got the sensation of touch back, but not all the movement.

Last spring, I was diagnosed with scar tissue from the surgery 20 years ago pinching off the nerves in the same way.  I also have degenerative cartilage in my wrists.  I am scheduled to get surgery on both problems in the left wrist January 26th, then the right hand later.  I do not expect to get things right again, just if most of the pain goes away, I'll be happy.

All that said, ready to run, ready built structures, FasTrack, using more foam in construction are more appealing to me today than in my youth (45 years in model railroading in one scale or another).  I hope to do some simple scratch building and kitbashing, but doubt I will attempt anything like I did 25 to 35 years ago.  It doesn't matter, as long as it has to do with trains, I'm a happy camper!!  

Well said.  Long ago I bought the four volume set of Greenberg's Lionel repair manuals, K-Line's repair manual, and Greenberg's single volume repair manual.  I haven't gotten efficient with Olsen's databases, but expect to soon.  It seems that the 3360,OB w/ crisp instruction sheet doesn't want to raise and lower the hook.  Motor runs and the Burro goes forward and reverse, so I have another project.  I'll study what I have on hand and what I find at Olsen's and decide whether I'll tackle this myself.

Sending stuff back is such a hassle, I would much rather repair it myself.   I'll send an expensive loco back only after trying to fix it myself.   Expensive for me is $350+.  But I would rather just receive replacement parts and rebuild it myself.

Otherwise stuff will sit on a shelf pending a second look for repair-ability, or become a parts donor.   -Ken

How many would rather repair it themselves than send it back for repair?

I would.

I always fix minor stuff myself, even if it's under warranty. I've had all kinds of loose wires, loose screws, misaligned or broken trim parts, misrouted wires, etc. that it just made more sense to do myself than to spend $35 or more to send it back. With all the picky little stuff that is typically wrong with new locomotives, I'd waste hundreds of dollars in shipping charges for stuff I can fix myself. And, there's always the risk that something else will get broken along the way. I once sent one of those expensive MTH Euro freight cars in because it was missing a part, and they managed to break a couple of other trim parts in the process. At that point I decided to cut my losses and give up. My other experiences with MTH service have been good, but that one was a bummer. 

If it's electronics, or if it's Lionel and opening it myself would void the warranty, I'll send it in. Last two warranty items I sent in were a Legacy steamer for the notorious smoke fan motor problem, and the Lionel/K-Line SD-75 club engine for a bad R2LC board and some other electronic issues. Opening up any new Lionel locomotive is a risk because of their warranty policy. In the past, both Lionel and MTH have sometimes been willing to send me parts under warranty for me to install myself, but I don't know if they will still do that or not. Weaver will if they know you - Gary has sent me all kinds of stuff. Saves him the work of a warranty repair and the cost of return shipping, and he knows me well enough to know that I'm not going to screw it up and send him a mess in a bag to sort out.