Is MTH Still Selling Replacement Parts?

I placed an order last Monday, and received it last Friday, ....so unless they pulled tents during the week, I’d say they’re still selling parts,....😉

Pat

Another question is for anyone buying a new engine now, will they somehow honor the 1 year warranty a year from now?  For the moment, my thought is no, since MTH will cease to exist after May. I've got my eye on 2 RK locos due to be available in Jan and Feb. It may be hard to pay full or slightly less than list price.  Thank goodness we have some great MTH techs on the forum.

They already stated, parts will continue.

I have to wonder about the warranties, they're going to be delivering stuff right up to the end.

Sadly, if a company  files a U.S. Bankruptcy, then all past and future contractual promises, including warranties, are automatically cancelled and discharged.

An exception is in instances where a company files a Chapter 11 Reorganization Bankruptcy, under which they attempt to reorganize themselves and pay back only a percentage of their debts over a 5 year Plan.  In this case, the company can, as part of the Plan, "re-affirm" certain existing favorable contracts it has that are critical to the performance of the Plan, and continue to pay for the services or goods going forward.  ( A good example would be an Airline that is reorganizing, which has a favorable future supply contract from a vendor for future jet aircraft parts, and would need to have these parts to reorganize and keep flying.   But, of course, the Airline would have to pay full price for the parts.)

I don't think MTH plans on filing for bankruptcy, just ceasing to do business.  Here's my understanding of that situation. As a corporation, once they are out of business, there is no one to sue for unfulfilled warranties, debts, etc. except the corporation, which has no assets at that point.  Unless MTH is organized as a sole proprietorship or partnership, or some similar entity where individuals are responsible, or some individual can be shown to have violated the law, purchasers who expect warranty service and are denied, pretty much have no recourse, practically speaking. You could take the dealer to small claims court of course, if they refuse to provide warranty service or a refund, assuming local laws provide for that.

Lack of availability of replacement parts, if that occurs, and it will to some extent, would be governed by the same liability laws.  Indeed, it's perfectly legal not to stock replacement parts in most states, as I understand the situation.  There are some exceptions, such as the automobile industry, if I'm not mistaken.  But right now, it's an extreme case of caveat emptor (buyer takes the risk).

Important caveat:  I'm not a lawyer, I just play one on the internet .

Early on when MTH announced it would close their doors it was made clear that dealers who stayed and had certified service people in their organization could perform warranty work one year after product was delivered. One dealer on this forum made it clear they would honor warranties if you bought product from them.

Pete

@Norton posted:

One dealer on this forum made it clear they would honor warranties if you bought product from them.

And there's the rub!  That's not uncommon for dealers to honor warranties for products purchased through them.  However, if you've mail-ordered it from some shop on the other coast, the situation is a little more fuzzy.

Thanks for the responses. Soon I want to call up someone at MTH, and make sure the part is actually in stock. I suppose there is no use in making an account for their website, right?

Any feel for how long MTH will sell replacement parts?

What do you think are the most common parts you might need?

For me it is traction tires and pickup rollers.

@SteveG posted:

Any feel for how long MTH will sell replacement parts?

'till they run out.   I have no idea if they're just selling old stock or actually making new parts.

If you can take the time and watch this presentation  form Train World, you may find it helpful.  There is an interview section with a man named Mike Reagan who is overseeing MTH parts  website etc.  It starts around 37 minutes 30 seconds.  Hope this helps clear up some of your questions. :-)

Items qualifying for warranty service should be returned to the M.T.H. Authorized Retailer where purchased.

If the retailer has trained service techs, they can offer to repair the locomotive (M.T.H. will supply warranty parts as needed free of charge. If parts are not available a refund will be given to the dealer).

M.T.H. will no longer provide repair service on any products at its corporate headquarters.

If an item is defective and cannot be repaired, it needs to be returned to the original purchasing M.T.H. Authorized Retailer and the end-user can obtain a refund from the retailer. The original purchasing retailer will then return the item to M.T.H. for credit.

Customers may want to request that their items are tested by the retailer prior to taking the item home. All items are tested by M.T.H. Electric Trains prior to shipment from our production facilities. "

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

So, do some MTH dealers not have "trained service techs?" And, in that case, you would receive a refund for the locomotive you bought from them? I guess that's assuring? lol.    I'd rather have it fixed.

I'm buying my very first MTH locomotive ... a "special project" RS-1 done only for Pat's Trains in WV.  I don't expect to have any problems with it ... just a strange situation. I wish I could just drive it over to Henning's Trains myself, and MTH would pay GunRunnerJohn a fair labor rate and supply the parts.

@carnerd3000 posted:

Thanks for the responses. Soon I want to call up someone at MTH, and make sure the part is actually in stock. I suppose there is no use in making an account for their website, right?

There is no phone # to call, you have to make the account and order online.

I ordered parts last night around 10:00 PM mountain time, this morning around 10:00 AM I received shipping confirmation.  Nice quick service.

Jim

The Trainworld/MTH video helped, thanks.

They said the shipping delays from Asia impacts them (like so many other companies) and they're working to improve the parts website (it's a slow and tedious process).

No mention of discontinuing availability of parts. 

I wonder how many new-to-the-forum people will run across this topic and fail to notice that the the first half of the messages were posted in 2020. The ones after that don't offer much hint that anything's changed since then.

---PCJ