Hi,
I'm new to the forum but I have been a Warranty Service Center for Maglite for several years, so here is some information just to clear up the new MagLite policy changes
In March of this year (2013) some new policy changes affected both the customer and the warranty service centers.
The 'Lifetime Warranty' that covered just about everything on your flashlight has changed. In the past, battery corrosion damage was covered if the batteries were from one of the big three, Duracell, Eveready or Rayovac. Actually, they did not offer the coverage; it was a courtesy extension of the battery manufacturer's warranty for the MagLite customer.
Under the present policy, this battery damage coverage is limited to Rayovac batteries, if the battery can be determined to be still within it's expiration date. In effect, that is still not much coverage since getting the batteries out unscathed so the date can be determined is usually impossible. Along with this change was the deletion of the glass lens and reflector from warranty coverage for the rechargeable units.
Next, according to this new policy, if a corrosion damaged unit was to be repaired, the cost of repair parts was borne by the owner.
Unfortunately, coupled with all this was a drastic parts price increase for repair parts, not only at the retail level, but also at the Service Center level. So much in fact that a barrel and tail cap now costs a Service Center as much as a replacement flashlight at Wal-mart, but the retail pricing went up just a moderate amount!
Why and what was the logic behind all this? Only Mag Industries knows....
So, if you send a leaker in for repairs, it will not be repaired free. Their web site mentions that but we still get rotted units in for service every day. Our non-Mag approved personal policy is if it can be repaired with minimal effort and made serviceable we do it, but if metal parts are required the customer must pay, and they usually decline due to cost.
The good side is that under current policies, every unit that is received gets a switch change, working or not. If the service center does not change the switch, we don't get paid (little that it is!).
The old mechanical recharger switches are now obsolete and not in production, but they are being upgraded with a replacement electronic switch and tail cap spring. This new switch offers several programmable modes like, flash, dim, SOS, momentary. The switches in the other product line are unchanged.
About the Warranty Service Center...
We operate under MagLite guidelines for the most part. Most service centers have other business interests since you cannot live on MagLite repair money. If you go to the MagLite web site there is a WSC finder that will locate the nearest service centers to you. We are located on the East Coast and currently have the MD, PA, DE, DC, VA, and parts of surrounding areas, but, we will service units shipped in from anyplace. We carry extensive parts for the Mini's, incandescent and LED C/D's and the 6 volt recharger.
In accordance with the Maglite Warranty Service Center policies, no service center only stocks parts for the incandescent mini Mags, the incandescent C & D in all cell counts, the D 2 and 3 cell LED and the 6 volt recharger and it's accessories. Only black exterior parts are stocked. Anything else gets shipped to the service center at the factory in CA.
If you send a unit to any service center please include your return address and contact info INSIDE the package. We must ship all but the Mini-Mags back via UPS, and they will not deliver to a P.O. box, so give a physical address. You would be surprised how many units we get that the only customer information is that it was shipped from Staples, Office depot or a shipping store. Guess they live there!
MagLite still pays the return shipping and all parts, with the exceptions noted, are free. We must turn in a part to receive credit or else we are charged for it. We cannot ship free parts, like the factory might, but we can sell most parts. With the new policies, there will likely be no flashlight replacements as in the past.
If there are any future changes in the MagLite warranty policy. I'll make an effort to post them as well.
Thanks,
Any questions, comments...Fire them off!
I'm new to the forum but I have been a Warranty Service Center for Maglite for several years, so here is some information just to clear up the new MagLite policy changes
In March of this year (2013) some new policy changes affected both the customer and the warranty service centers.
The 'Lifetime Warranty' that covered just about everything on your flashlight has changed. In the past, battery corrosion damage was covered if the batteries were from one of the big three, Duracell, Eveready or Rayovac. Actually, they did not offer the coverage; it was a courtesy extension of the battery manufacturer's warranty for the MagLite customer.
Under the present policy, this battery damage coverage is limited to Rayovac batteries, if the battery can be determined to be still within it's expiration date. In effect, that is still not much coverage since getting the batteries out unscathed so the date can be determined is usually impossible. Along with this change was the deletion of the glass lens and reflector from warranty coverage for the rechargeable units.
Next, according to this new policy, if a corrosion damaged unit was to be repaired, the cost of repair parts was borne by the owner.
Unfortunately, coupled with all this was a drastic parts price increase for repair parts, not only at the retail level, but also at the Service Center level. So much in fact that a barrel and tail cap now costs a Service Center as much as a replacement flashlight at Wal-mart, but the retail pricing went up just a moderate amount!
Why and what was the logic behind all this? Only Mag Industries knows....
So, if you send a leaker in for repairs, it will not be repaired free. Their web site mentions that but we still get rotted units in for service every day. Our non-Mag approved personal policy is if it can be repaired with minimal effort and made serviceable we do it, but if metal parts are required the customer must pay, and they usually decline due to cost.
The good side is that under current policies, every unit that is received gets a switch change, working or not. If the service center does not change the switch, we don't get paid (little that it is!).
The old mechanical recharger switches are now obsolete and not in production, but they are being upgraded with a replacement electronic switch and tail cap spring. This new switch offers several programmable modes like, flash, dim, SOS, momentary. The switches in the other product line are unchanged.
About the Warranty Service Center...
We operate under MagLite guidelines for the most part. Most service centers have other business interests since you cannot live on MagLite repair money. If you go to the MagLite web site there is a WSC finder that will locate the nearest service centers to you. We are located on the East Coast and currently have the MD, PA, DE, DC, VA, and parts of surrounding areas, but, we will service units shipped in from anyplace. We carry extensive parts for the Mini's, incandescent and LED C/D's and the 6 volt recharger.
In accordance with the Maglite Warranty Service Center policies, no service center only stocks parts for the incandescent mini Mags, the incandescent C & D in all cell counts, the D 2 and 3 cell LED and the 6 volt recharger and it's accessories. Only black exterior parts are stocked. Anything else gets shipped to the service center at the factory in CA.
If you send a unit to any service center please include your return address and contact info INSIDE the package. We must ship all but the Mini-Mags back via UPS, and they will not deliver to a P.O. box, so give a physical address. You would be surprised how many units we get that the only customer information is that it was shipped from Staples, Office depot or a shipping store. Guess they live there!
MagLite still pays the return shipping and all parts, with the exceptions noted, are free. We must turn in a part to receive credit or else we are charged for it. We cannot ship free parts, like the factory might, but we can sell most parts. With the new policies, there will likely be no flashlight replacements as in the past.
If there are any future changes in the MagLite warranty policy. I'll make an effort to post them as well.
Thanks,
Any questions, comments...Fire them off!
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