I'm not sure how this thread ended up being in a diatribe regarding unlimited warranty and parts support for firearms, however, since we are on the subject of product support, let me tell you a story.
Twenty or so years ago I replaced both of the aging, repair prone 1966 vintage Genie screw drive garage door openers in our garage with the brand new 'Lifetime Maintenance Free' Tape Drive Genie openers. They were around $300 a piece however Genie insisted the tape was, quiet, secure and maintenance free for life. The full warranty was two years.
The openers worked great for two years and two months. First the right door opener began to strain and make odd noises. A couple weeks later the left door opener started to do the same. Then within a week, they both failed while raising their door. A quick look revealed the problem, that wonderful tape had de-laminated and split, wrapping itself in a double layer around the drive sprocket, splitting the drive housing open.
I called the local Genie dealer from which I'd purchased the openers. He was very evasive, only stating he didn't sell that model any more and had no parts in stock and gave me the Genie Corporate number. I called corporate and Genie asked for the serial numbers of the units, they looked up my warranty and said it had expired two months ago for both units. Nice, great well, I'd like to buy the tape and drive sprocket. Sorry, those models are discontinued and no parts support is available. I asked for a supervisor, and got the same pat answer. I ask how a company like Genie can introduce a product, sell it for about two years then have no product support at all for that product! No answer, and not even an offer of a discount on new openers to replace the junk.
I wrote several letters to Genie regarding those openers and their complete abandonment of the customer who'd purchased them, none were ever answered. $600 plus worth of equipment, junk with no factory support less than 30 months after new purchase. Now that is bad customer service and product support!
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Virtue,Liberty & Independence
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