PC failures / warranty?

I

imported_perry

New member
Since the PC is so popular around here, I figure this will give me a good representation of its durability. Anyone had one break / fail due to normal wear and tear? Saw at least one report of a failure, but that may have been due to improper use.



The thread about repackaged stuff has me wondering if a Meguiar's or Griot's unit with a lifetime warranty is necessary.



The price difference between a Lowes unit and a Meguiar's from here isn't all that bad. But if these things are lasting a good long time, then I may take my chances. How much is peace of mind worth? (rhetorical..)
 
It really depends on how long you intend to keep it. I have a Meguiars G100 that I bought a bit over 2 years ago and I have not had any problems whatsoever. Failures reported here are few and far between. It is nice to know though that if mine failed tomorrow that I don't have to pay for a replacement.
 
Mine fell down a set of stairs, hitting the concrete floor then wall of our basement. And NOTHING happened to the darn machine. It is very well built.
 
rjstaaf said:
Actually you are pretty much paying for the first replacement up front but, after that they are free :D
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That's what I was thinking, but how long until the first failure? How long until the second? :nixweiss Just kinda thinking "out loud"...



$160 w/ the W6000, so ~$50 for the first replacement (using $110 cost at Lowes). Almost seems like it makes sense.



For right now, I'd just be using on it two cars, mine and my mom's. Maybe grandma's car every now and then. Definitely not daily use.
 
perry said:
Since the PC is so popular around here, I figure this will give me a good representation of its durability. Anyone had one break / fail due to normal wear and tear? Saw at least one report of a failure, but that may have been due to improper use.



The thread about repackaged stuff has me wondering if a Meguiar's or Griot's unit with a lifetime warranty is necessary.



The price difference between a Lowes unit and a Meguiar's from here isn't all that bad. But if these things are lasting a good long time, then I may take my chances. How much is peace of mind worth? (rhetorical..)
Click to expand...



If I could do it all again I would purchuse the Meguiars(G100). Yeah you pay more but you get a lifetime warrenty AND you get a complete kit. I used the G100 at a Meguiars sponsered Car Crazy event and it completly blew my PC out of the water.



If you don't go with the G100 make sure you get the 5inch backing plate. IMHO the 6inch one causes way too much vibration and that shortens the life of the bearings on the DA.
 
I think the only people who need to worry about long term reliability are pro detailers who depend on the machine to earn a living and cannot afford downtime due to a failure. Us enthusiasts who detail our own cars, and maybe a couple other cars, have little to worry about the long term reliability of the PC.



I've dropped mine several times, got it wet, got it coated in polish, and its never missed a beat.



If you're the type of person who regularly buys extended warranties and finds value in them, you might consider a PC with a supplemented warranty. To me, the PC is a commodity; easily replaced and/or repaired, so I buy on price.
 
perry said:
That's what I was thinking, but how long until the first failure? How long until the second? :nixweiss Just kinda thinking "out loud"...



$160 w/ the W6000, so ~$50 for the first replacement (using $110 cost at Lowes). Almost seems like it makes sense.



For right now, I'd just be using on it two cars, mine and my mom's. Maybe grandma's car every now and then. Definitely not daily use.
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No telling, as I said I have had mine for 2 years with no problems. I think of it as an insurance policy as there is no way to know when it is going to fail.
 
bretfraz said:
I think the only people who need to worry about long term reliability are pro detailers who depend on the machine to earn a living and cannot afford downtime due to a failure. Us enthusiasts who detail our own cars, and maybe a couple other cars, have little to worry about the long term reliability of the PC.



I've dropped mine several times, got it wet, got it coated in polish, and its never missed a beat.



If you're the type of person who regularly buys extended warranties and finds value in them, you might consider a PC with a supplemented warranty. To me, the PC is a commodity; easily replaced and/or repaired, so I buy on price.
Click to expand...



Well put :xyxthumbs
 
bretfraz said:
I think the only people who need to worry about long term reliability are pro detailers who depend on the machine to earn a living and cannot afford downtime due to a failure. Us enthusiasts who detail our own cars, and maybe a couple other cars, have little to worry about the long term reliability of the PC.



I've dropped mine several times, got it wet, got it coated in polish, and its never missed a beat.



If you're the type of person who regularly buys extended warranties and finds value in them, you might consider a PC with a supplemented warranty. To me, the PC is a commodity; easily replaced and/or repaired, so I buy on price.
Click to expand...



I agree 100%. I've had my PC for around 2 years now, and I've never had any type of issue with it. It sees quite a bit of detailing use. I've even used my PC for some home projects around the house. I put the sanding plate on it and sanded down some interior walls. It was in use everyday for 2 weeks, about 2 hours a day.
 
It seems like power tools, in general, are pretty stout items. I'm not old enough to have my own collection of old tools, but I see plenty of stuff that is a couple decads old in my Uncle's garage. We used a 30 year old jig saw while installing some cabinets in my mom's laundry room a couple weeks ago. Of course, he got that jig saw back then because he lent his old one to a friend that burned it up. Soo..



I guess I have to decide how much peace of mind is worth to me. I'll probably end up with a Lowes / CT unit, and live for the now, and worry about a failure if/when it happens. :nixweiss
 
I had to have one of my PCs rebuilt after about five years of non-commercial use. Can't remember what it cost or what they did, though. That tells me that it wasn't too expensive.



Now it's starting to make louder-than-normal rattling/knocking sounds again, so I guess I'll take it to the local PC repair place one of these days (this time I'll take note of what gets done and how much it costs). When it started making these noises I was concerned enough to have Lynn return my other one, which I've been using since then. When it needs work (bearings, by the sound of it), you know it.



But still, for *most* non-pro applications it oughta hold up just fine.
 
I bought my PC, a Meguiar's G100, back in March of 1995. No one was selling these back then. I have done several hundred cars since and it still runs like new. They are very well constructed.
 
the g100 has a lifetime warranty, the regular doesnt. Pretty sure the g100 comes with a backing plate too.
 
Acuracl98 said:
the g100 has a lifetime warranty, the regular doesnt. Pretty sure the g100 comes with a backing plate too.
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I mean besides the warranty , anything physically different ?.. Ever heard of the bathtub effect regarding warranty?
 
The G100 actually has the Porter Cable part number 7335 on it which I believe is the base model for all of the machines in question.
 
I've returned one because it basically shook apart. (It did see a lot of use). I have another one in my office that shocked me a couple of weeks ago when I was demonstrating with it, so it's going back. And I have yet another one that has quit working unless you hold the cord to one side.



Over in the old warehouse are a pile of Porter Cable polishers that have been returned to Meguiar's. I kind of thought that at least a couple of them probably worked and the customer returned it for unknown reasons. I started plugging them in one by one and after 6 or 7 PC's, I quit because none of them were working.



So they do malfunction and wear out especially if you use them a lot.



FWIW





Mike
 
I've been using my 7336 with a homemade backing plate for two years now, and I've never had any problems with it. Personally, I'd get two 7336's from Lowe's instead of one G100 from Meguiar's. If it does break down, you'll have another one to use the same day.
 
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