Lionel Warranty Repair

MTH is still servicing stuff after warranty, at least I think they are.  Lionel is not taking out of warranty repairs, don't know if this is permanent or temporary, but it's a pretty lame policy no matter which it is!

You are correct.    It seems like Lionel is overwhelmed with warranty repairs and have no time or manpower for non-warranty items.     I think it is a safe bet to say, Lionel will not win the Award for best run company.     LOL. I can say more, but will be kind.   

I just don’t think Lionel has the manpower to handle non warranty repairs. They used to depend on their brick and mortar dealers but as we all know they are now far and few between. There may not be a solution in today’s market. Hire more people then prices go up. Do not increase staff but take non warranty repairs then quote one to two years turnaround. Nobody wins. As far as the GM comment goes, you don’t send your car back to the factory for repairs you go to the dealerships. 

Has anyone heard that this applies to CAB-2 base or remote out of warranty repairs also?  Lionel's been great about fixing them.  RICH

romiller49 posted:

Hire more people then prices go up. 

If there's really money to be made in non-warranty repairs, why should prices go up?

Dwayne B posted:

How long does the Lionel repair warranty extend and how long is the MTH warranty?

1 year as long as the item is purchased within 3 years from the date of manufacture.

I thought I saw on the forum that Lionel will not do repairs if your item is no longer under warranty. Is that correct ?

Yes as stated above.

.... Is MTH like this also?........Maybe I misunderstood what I saw and it is not true.

MTH is 1 year as long as the item is within 5 years from the date of manufacture. I believe MTH is still taking non warranty repairs as John stated.

As far as out of warranty Lionel is concerned, it doesn't really matter. Lionel owners still have access to the repair services of one of the best "former Lionel " service techs, in Trainworx's Mike Reagan.

Not to mention. There are competent members like gunrunnerjohn, Alex M, and Marty F ( just to name a few) who can more than handle Lionel repairs as well.

 

Thanks guys for your answers......In my opinion it's very lame for Lionel not to service out of warranty items. Gives me the impression they are not willing to stand behind their product. I bet Joshua Cowen is turning over in his grave!......... VERY, VERY POOR BUSINESS PRACTICES!!

Dwayne B posted:

Thanks guys for your answers......In my opinion it's very lame for Lionel not to service out of warranty items. Gives me the impression they are not willing to stand behind their product. I bet Joshua Cowen is turning over in his grave!......... VERY, VERY POOR BUSINESS PRACTICES!!

It is, ...but as long as the fellas that Rick mentioned are taking on the after warranty repairs, you can sleep well.....these cats are the best of the best....they'll make recommendations to make it better than the factory!...……….Pat 

Doesn't say much for them that they receive so many defective products back that can't keep up with warantee repairs.  Also considering most items start to develope problems outside the 1 year of use timeframe, it really makes one wonder the longevity of their products...

As someone who does repair work for my LHS, the non-warranty repair business is cyclical. The months before and after Christmas are overwhelming. Trains are piled up to the ceiling waiting for repair. Then, during the summer months the flow slows to a trickle.

I surmise that Lionel prefers to maintain a consistent level of staffing. It's not like Target. They cannot realistically bring on extra people seasonally for a few weeks and expect them to have the knowledge or experience to service Vision line products. I would guess that this is one reason why they will not accept non-warranty work.

Having said this, for most of Lionel's history, they have accepted non-warranty repair work. Sometimes only in the slow season. Today, they are far too swamped year-round with self-inflicted warranty work arising from engineering, production and QC problems.

They would certainly be doing themselves a favor if they made an investment in training more service technicians, which they haven't done in many years. They could also better support and modestly build back up their diminished network of Authorized Service Stations.

GregR posted:

As someone who does repair work for my LHS, the non-warranty repair business is cyclical. The months before and after Christmas are overwhelming. Trains are piled up to the ceiling waiting for repair. Then, during the summer months the flow slows to a trickle.

I surmise that Lionel prefers to maintain a consistent level of staffing. It's not like Target. They cannot realistically bring on extra people seasonally for a few weeks and expect them to have the knowledge or experience to service Vision line products. I would guess that this is one reason why they will not accept non-warranty work.

Having said this, for most of Lionel's history, they have accepted non-warranty repair work. Sometimes only in the slow season. Today, they are far too swamped year-round with self-inflicted warranty work arising from engineering, production and QC problems.

They would certainly be doing themselves a favor if they made an investment in training more service technicians, which they haven't done in many years. They could also better support and modestly build back up their diminished network of Authorized Service Stations.

You stated your thoughts very well,  if only Lionel would listen.   Lionel Customer Service personnel appear to be aware of the feelings of their customers but..... no action.  

gunrunnerjohn posted:

romiller49 posted:

Hire more people then prices go up. 

If there's really money to be made in non-warranty repairs, why should prices go up?

I just don’t think non warranty repair would generate enough profit to offset the additional cost of adding staff. To maintain or increase your profit margin you either reduce expenses (adding staff does not reduce) or increase your selling prices. Just my thought. 

romiller49 posted:

gunrunnerjohn posted:

romiller49 posted:

Hire more people then prices go up. 

If there's really money to be made in non-warranty repairs, why should prices go up?

I just don’t think non warranty repair would generate enough profit to offset the additional cost of adding staff. To maintain or increase your profit margin you either reduce expenses (adding staff does not reduce) or increase your selling prices. Just my thought. 

Their minimum charge is $100 plus parts and it goes up from there.    I believe with the amount non-warranty work that’s out there,  it could be a lucrative business.   Plus they are making money on parts.       Just my opinion 

I bought a Lionel 6-82726 Postwar FA Green Passenger Train Set and when I tried to register it online in Lionels website it would only allow me to register it as out of warranty so i'll be sure not to loose my receipt.