I have an MTH steam engine still in the warranty period and wondered whom is doing warranty service now that MTH repair has closed up shop? Where I purchased the locomotive is not a MTH warranty center.
Thanks,
Greg
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That's a problem. If you bought it before June 1, I have no idea who provides warranty services.
M.T.H. 2021 Transition Plans Revealed
All M.T.H. items will continue to carry a limited warranty, though defective items delivered after June 1, 2021 may only be eligible for a refund from the M.T.H. Authorized Retailer from which it was purchased if that retailer doesn't offer in-house warranty service. Full details about the warranty policy are available HERE.
Warranty Terms On Products Produced Before June 1, 2021
Not too much information on what to do with products purchased before June 1...
A big black hole for sure.
I am wondering how this new MTH warranty is going to work out. Let's say I preorder a "last run MTH Big boy with signed certificate" from a small dealer who does not do repairs. Let's say I wait over a year for this loco to show up. When I open it, I have either a cosmetic issue or a mechanical issue with the loco. Since my dealer does not do repairs, I assume my only recourse is to send it back to my dealer for a refund. So I wait over a year for this loco (while my dealer has a 10% deposit for that year ) and now I have nothing. By the way......It is at my expense to send it back to the dealer. HUGE DISSAPOINTMENT! How is this good for anyone? Dealer loses a sale and has to refund my original deposit (which he has already spent). I am mad as _ _ LL. MTH has to refund the dealer. MTH gets stuck with an expensive Big boy and uses for parts.
HOWEVER..........................On the flip side...... If someone doesn't like their purchase, I am guessing you will see people purposely burning up boards to get a refund. Dishonest as it may be, I can see this may be a problem for MTH.
Assuming I get my Big boy in perfect cosmetic and mechanical condition and I am happy with it. After my warranty ends at 12 months, and I have an issue that needs a repair, Where would I turn to have the loco fixed? Yes there are members of this forum who do repairs, but the ones I have recently emailed for other issues are backed way way up with repairs.
Everyday I see MTH offering more and more preorders. What have they delivered lately? Who will repair this stuff in 13 months after you receive it
Don't know about you guys, but all this makes me rethink and 3think my future purchases.
Gary - a black hole indeed. Good luck with this Greg. I have beaten the bushes trying to get warranty service on nib z1000 trannie, bought from an auth. MTH dealer, who doesn’t do repairs, and won’t accept returns after 30 days.
@jini5 posted:Everyday I see MTH offering more and more preorders. What have they delivered lately? Who will repair this stuff in 13 months after you receive it
The $64,000 question, or is it the $128,000 question. 
My concern is also if MTH is doing no repairs of any kind at the home office, what happens when we need parts? I have to wonder long term about that issue as well.
Buy from an authorized MTH Dealer. If you need service send back to them. If they can't fix it they have to send back to MTH for refund/replace I believe. If your buying from an open market I imagine your on your own with no warranty. All new product is special runs from dealers right? So back to them. G
GGG wrote: Buy from an authorized MTH Dealer. If you need service send back to them. If they can't fix it they have to send back to MTH for refund/replace I believe.
Do you have a reference for this? I’d certainly like to see it. Thanks.
@Mark V. Spadaro posted:GGG wrote: Buy from an authorized MTH Dealer. If you need service send back to them. If they can't fix it they have to send back to MTH for refund/replace I believe.
Do you have a reference for this? I’d certainly like to see it. Thanks.
Did you read my previous post?
@GGG posted:Buy from an authorized MTH Dealer. If you need service send back to them. If they can't fix it they have to send back to MTH for refund/replace I believe. If your buying from an open market I imagine your on your own with no warranty. All new product is special runs from dealers right? So back to them. G
I agree with buying from authorized dealers, but the dealer I buy from does not do repairs. I might not like to do business with a big dealer that does repair. Not saying that is the case, but I tend to go with the little guys that have free shipping and are competitive pricing wise. Yes, the dealer will send back to MTH. What if MTH has no replacements? Then my year long preorder will have been for nothing. Whatever happened to customer service. I think MTH should open a small shop for repairs. Think of it as a few techs sitting around with their feet on the desk. Just like the Maytag repair man that never had anything to fix because Maytag appliances never broke. Wishful thinking I know, but wouldn't it be nice if these trains never needed repair because they were built so good.
@jini5 posted:Just like the Maytag repair man that never had anything to fix because Maytag appliances never broke. Wishful thinking I know, but wouldn't it be nice if these trains never needed repair because they were built so good.
Maytag went on the auction block for three months in 2005. Whirlpool won the bid. Fortunately they are fairly reliable as well, but that was not a given in the modern world of mergers and acquisitions. Usually the opposite happens.
John
@jini5 posted:Yes, the dealer will send back to MTH. What if MTH has no replacements? Then my year long preorder will have been for nothing.
In my experience with several engines, to anyone who expects to get a replacement from MTH, good luck. It doesn't seem MTH is set up for keeping any spares around now.
If a company has a customer-unfriendly business model, and everything they offer continues to sell out months in advance of its expected delivery date, why should they change?
I also feel sorry for the dealers who get caught in the middle of this.
@Mallard4468 posted:If a company has a customer-unfriendly business model, and everything they offer continues to sell out months in advance of its expected delivery date, why should they change?
Well, I suspect that if warranty issues really start to be problematic, then you'll see something, either a change or a going out of business for real sale.
The fact that there is no answer to the OP's question is a big, hairy issue. As much as I have liked MTH over the years, until the fog clears. I will only consider rolling stock or deeply discounted locos.
I’m a little PO’d now. Briefly, when my in-warranty Z1000 started getting squirrely, back in May, I contacted the auth. MTH dealer I bought it from, and was told no returns after 30 days, take it up with MTH. Now, after 4 months of running into a brick wall, and after rereading MTH’s new (?) warranty policy, and apprising this dealer by phone thereof, he will “try” to get an RMA for me from MTH. Thx GGG, and GRJ, for the posting, as I skimmed it the first read, and was confused by the before/after June 1st delineation. Hopefully, this will go forward. So Greg, I think this is the way to go. Be assertive on the phone to the dealer from which it was purchased, and, insist they take up the slack.
I have a feeling that the dealers are going to end up taking it in the ear with this new policy. It seems they're the ones that are on the hook when things go south.
GRJ - while I understand your thinking, they chose to carry MTH as part of their product line. In for a penny, in for a pound.
I can't help but wonder what MTH will do with product returned from dealers that do not offer repair services. MTH won't repair them for the customer. Will they repair them and resell them or reassign them as door stops or boat anchors? 
Makes no sense.
Part of the new warranty policy says to send the item to an NSC or ASC for repair. The MTH website has a listing of NSC's and ASC's. Is this list current? Which repair centers take in repairs under warranty? Why would a repair center take in a warranty repair if they didn't originally sell it?
There are a number of dealers advertising on the Forum. Do these advertising dealers service what they sell? For the individuals on the Forum that do repairs, do you do warranty work?
Seems to me if MTH no longer does in house repairs, they need to set up certain repair centers that will do warranty repairs no matter where the item was purchased. If that means MTH has to reimburse the repair center for both parts and labor, that's just a cost of doing business that MTH has to absorb.
Ken
When MTH announced this policy months ago, one dealer, stepped up and said they would warranty any MTH item bought from them. A few others might have said the same but if they did I missed it. I would suggest anyone buying an MTH item first asked the seller if they will warranty the item and if not look elsewhere.
It seems to me other options include finding a authorized repair shop and pay them for the repair. Learning how to repair trains yourself. Don’t buy new MTH if none of these apply.
In any event thats the current policy. Who knows, it may change back when the new owner takes over, but in the meantime all this needless hand wringing is tiresome.
Pete
I'd love to be a fly on the wall in some of the discussions of this topic at the new MTH!
I don’t want to say there is no issue here, so tell me what I am missing:
Option 1: buy from MTH dealer who doesn’t do repairs. Paid with credit card. Item craps out and dealer can’t fix. Return item to dealer. If dealer won’t refund, almost any reputable card will side with the customer - you cannot make people pay for defective merchandise.
Option 2: buy from MTH dealer who does repairs. Item craps out. Paid with credit card. Dealer fixes item - all set. Dealer cannot fix item. Return item for refund. Dealer refuses refund? Pick ip the flow from item 1.
Unless I am missing something, and I could because I am not in the business as some are here, the real risk with buying MTH is when you buy “fleabay queens” as the late and great Marty F used to call them, or buying otherwise second-hand at shows or first-hand from a non-dealer, but on the latter you are covered if you didn’t pay cash.
I understand the concern about parts availability and I think it is a real issue for all these electronic locos at some point, but other than that I am not seeing huge risk here, if you take certain steps to protect yourself.
There's always a way to handle most any situation, some less desirable than others. Obviously, this situation is no exception. I'm a big second-hand buyer, that solves the problem for me, all the risk is on me, but so is all the rewards. 
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Well, I suspect that if warranty issues really start to be problematic, then you'll see something, either a change or a going out of business for real sale.
What will it take for this situation to "really start to be problematic"? Sounds like that line was crossed awhile ago.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:... I'm a big second-hand buyer, that solves the problem for me, all the risk is on me, but so is all the rewards.
That's a good strategy, if one has the knowledge to do the repairs or put in different electronics. I see a lot of bargains in your future.
Oman - Perhaps in the scenario you've described MTH will refer the non-working merchandise to one of their NSC's or ASC's? 
As Norton says, only time will tell.
When train shows where still in fashion ( aka pre COVID days ) , some dealers would have tables full of MTH stuff. Sign would say estate purchase, untested, no returns and the prices were ridiculously cheap. I always said at that price I can repair with correct parts, aftermarket parts or put it on a shelf and say isn’t that a beauty. I Always got lucky.
If I am paying close to retail I don’t want to have to chase down a repair shop or resort to repairing myself with out of pocket expenses. I am a big MTH fan but they need to get this warranty thing worked out.
Further to GGG's comment "All new product is special runs from dealers right?" - or train groups such as TCA Divisions.
MTH has solved the warranty issue for me. No more new MTH as their new prices now rival Lionel’s. I will stick with the occasional bargains that show up even though they are few and far between these days.
Pete
For the past 12 years, I have been sending everyone to this gentlemen.
Robert Bart
THE TRAIN RACK
(location and phone number removed by request)
Some of this discussion is amazing to me. Regardless. MTH does not have a service center. So what they want to do with product that doesn't work is up to them. Plenty of dealers buy leftover and such from the warehouse.
Call the dealer you want to buy from, ask them what they do if it does not work.
Walmart is not fixing a defective DVD player, they take it back, give you another and send it back to manufacturer for a refund of their cost. Sounds like MTH is going down this route. Sure if it is something simple like a broken wire or defective drawbar, dealer could replace it if they have a tech. If not back to MTH.
So chose who you want to deal with. Bottom line all those semi unauthorized dealers reselling products can no longer sell it with a MTH backed warranty. But both MTH and Lionel started to get away from that years ago with a limitation based on date product made. We all know that right?
You are buying a toy. Expensive yes, but a toy meant to be opened and used. Not stored for collector market. That is the business model. G
