overefined
Active member
I was wondering if anyone had experience with buying used higher end fly rods without the warranty cards and tried to send the rod back for repair. What companies have the most friendly return/repair policy
Loomis too!I've had absolutely no problem returning Orvis and TFO rods. Neither had warranty cards.
Ditto's on what the Jackster says... I purchased 5 Scotts, 1 Z and 1 ZeroG last year on Ebay and tried them all selling back all but the G2. I only lost 50 bucks but man did I have fun and found the high end rod for me. And on ebay if you watch you can pick up lawn cast / close out rods with blank warranty.Loomis too!
Going used, you can get state-of-the-art fly rods at commodity rod prices.
On a Scale of 1-10, 1 being you will pay almost what you paid for the rod to get it repaired, and 10 being the company wont ask any questions nor care, I give Winston a 1 and TFO a 10. If you have a used winston YOU WILL PAY between $150- $250 to get it repaired. TFO: I dont even send in my warranty cards because I know they dont care (and I have sent a lot of TFO's back!). Sage: not sure? Have never heard of someone being treated like winston and from all accounts I have heard (only a few) they dont seem to care. Given how well the other big guys treat you, I would advise you to STAY THE FUDGE AWAY FROM A USED WINSTON unless it is worth a extra $200 more than a high end Sage or Scott!!I broke the tip of my Scott g 955 last year,they changed it although it's an old model,I only paid the shipping...so...
I agree, don't buy a used Winston.If you want one of the green rods, but it newSTAY THE FUDGE AWAY FROM A USED WINSTON unless it is worth a extra $200 more than a high end Sage or Scott!!
What are you doing to break so many rods? Shouldn't that be a pretty darn uncommon occurence?On a Scale of 1-10, 1 being you will pay almost what you paid for the rod to get it repaired, and 10 being the company wont ask any questions nor care, I give Winston a 1 and TFO a 10. If you have a used winston YOU WILL PAY between $150- $250 to get it repaired. TFO: I dont even send in my warranty cards because I know they dont care (and I have sent a lot of TFO's back!). Sage: not sure? Have never heard of someone being treated like winston and from all accounts I have heard (only a few) they dont seem to care. Given how well the other big guys treat you, I would advise you to STAY THE FUDGE AWAY FROM A USED WINSTON unless it is worth a extra $200 more than a high end Sage or Scott!!
NO! I am not saying companies are obligated to fix your second hand rod for just the warranty fee, but given how the others dont care, STAY THE FUDGE AWAY FROM WINSTON (only on 2nd hand rods that is)
I sat back down in the rower's seat I ended up breaking the new Winston rod. When Lambster returned home it cost him $45 to have the rod repaired so I split the cost with him as it was partly my fault. Anyway, I wasn't impressed with Winston's warranty progam.
Larry
They shouldn't... but the competition does.A warranty is a usually written guarantee of the integrity of a product and of the maker's responsibility for the repair or replacement of defective parts. You sat on a rod and broke it. Why should Winston pay for this?? If I crash my car into a brick wall because I wasn't looking, should Acura have to fix my car because of my negligence?
Winstons are made in America and are the benchmark for fly rods. This is Winston's 80th year in business. They must have the warranty thing figured out by now. :thumbsupuThey shouldn't... but the competition does.
That is the point that is trying to be made here. I've returned 2 TFO rods, one was caught in the tailgate of my truck and it was obviously not a fishing accident or a deffect in manufacturing. TFO replaced the section without a single question.