My Bushnell repair experience

[dlee360]

So my Bushnell 1600 Tournament stopped working a couple months ago. At first, it would give inaccurate distances if it was under 100 yards and then it would give inaccurate distances under 200 yards. Finally, it just stopped working all together. Anyway, I bought the unit 2 1/2 years ago. I know Bushnell has a 2 year warranty, but I figured they would be "kind" with the repair. Anyway, I got a letter back saying there was an issue with the meniscus lens and it is beyond repair. They recommended the Pro 1M for replacement at a discounted price of $348.00. Since I paid $400 a couple years ago, I was a bit annoyed. They did say that I could pick any other model for 30%-40% off suggested retail and one of my cheapest options was the Tour V2. Most places sell it for $299 retail, I could purchase it from them for $220. I guess their 30%-40% off is based off the MSRP that is higher then retail.

 

Ultimately, the person was nice and understand and recommended that I call the Bushnell Outlet store in Kansas. I did and I was able to purchase a brand new Tour V2 patriot pack for $215.

 

I have very mixed feelings right now..not angry..but not very happy.

 

Dave

[InspiredTP]

I think a couple other guys on here have posted about poor customer service experiences with Bushnell. It's very u fortunate to hear. The batterie case door piece broke on mine and I was thinking about sending it back to them, but it's about 2 years old so I'm sure the warranty would have expired, plus a little tape does the trick thankfully. I actually talked to another guy about insuring my last event and he said when his broke, they sent him a brand new one so I'm not sure how they decide what to cover and what not to...

[JimmyKJ]

So, it was out of warranty, beyond repair, and they still offered you a discount on a new unit? Is it just me, or does this make anyone else want to use Bushnell products more?

I don't expect a product with a 2 year warranty to be repaired or replaced for free outside of 2 years from purchase. I rarely even expect them to continue working outside of their warranty period. Although, I'm kind of a wasteful person who likes buying new stuff.

[DLiver]

[quote name='JimmyKJ' timestamp='1330427492' post='4394063']
So, it was out of warranty, beyond repair, and they still offered you a discount on a new unit? Is it just me, or does this make anyone else want to use Bushnell products more?

I don't expect a product with a 2 year warranty to be repaired or replaced for free outside of 2 years from purchase. I rarely even expect them to continue working outside of their warranty period. Although, I'm kind of a wasteful person who likes buying new stuff.
[/quote]

True, but I think everyone expects a product like this to last more than 2-1/2 years. To pay $400 for a rangefinder, than have to spend another $215 2-1/2 years later really stinks, and would have me looking at other manufacturers.

[gken74]

[quote name='JimmyKJ' timestamp='1330427492' post='4394063']

I don't expect a product with a 2 year warranty to be repaired or replaced for free outside of 2 years from purchase.[b] I rarely even expect them to continue working outside of their warranty period[/b]. Although, I'm kind of a wasteful person who likes buying new stuff.
[/quote]


I'm sorry but that's just a plain stupid thing to say!

You don't expect an item to continue working outwith their warranty period

If you applied that logic to any consumer products you'd be very skint!

I've got a Bushnell 1500 and thankfully nothing has gone wrong with it in the 4 years I've owned it so I'll hopefully not have to deal with Bushnells customer service for a while yet.

[dlee360]

[quote name='JimmyKJ' timestamp='1330427492' post='4394063']
So, it was out of warranty, beyond repair, and they still offered you a discount on a new unit? Is it just me, or does this make anyone else want to use Bushnell products more?

I don't expect a product with a 2 year warranty to be repaired or replaced for free outside of 2 years from purchase. I rarely even expect them to continue working outside of their warranty period. Although, I'm kind of a wasteful person who likes buying new stuff.
[/quote]

As others agreed, I expect a $400 unit to last more then 3-6 months outside of the warranty period. Also, their discount, wasn't anything to be happy about. They offered 30-40% of a new unit not against the regular retail price, but the MSRP which put the unit right at the same price as units online. The rep actually gave me another site to buy from (opticplanets or some sort) because their pricing wasn't great. So yes, it's great they offer a discount, but if the discount is from a price that NOBODY pays, I don't see it being that great.

Dave

[Solutions Etcetera]

I am surprised the OP bought another Bushnell. When companies won't repair out of warranty units I generally run away as fast as I can. I just ran into this with a LaCie RAID array and it will be the last product I buy from them.

Just a guess here, but doubt you would have this experience with Nikon or Leupold.

[dlee360]

Yea, it was a rushed decision..I was on the phone with the outlet store and they had one left...wasn't thinking clearly. I know I was looking at the Leupolds and the cheapest I saw was around $300 so I was thinking $215 was the cheapest I was going to find a rangefinder for.

[mjmihal]

4 years ago I purchased a 1600 slope version and after having it 6 months, dropped it on a cart path. The unit powered up, but no yardages came up at all when focusing on a target. I sent it back to Bushnell and they told me my options were to have it repaired for $300 or get a new model at 20-30% off retail price. If I chose the latter, the catch was that Bushnell would keep my old unit. Why? Ever see refurbished Bushnell Raingefinders on E-bay? This is how this greedy company operates, basically Bushnell can go Fuk themselves if you ask me; I will never purchase anything ever from Bushnell again.

I went the GPS route for a couple of years but wasn't happy with the annual $30 fees from Sky Caddie, so I purchased another laser. This time I went the Callaway route and bought a Diablo Octane laser and it works awesome!! I highly recommend this unit, bought it off E-bay for $200 and I'm sure Calloway or Cannon's customer service can't be any worse then Bushnell's was.