MACK warranty, using one!

[Jeff Sayre]

Originally Posted by Bryan Mitchell

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Wow! Soon I will find out if they are the greatest company ever... or if something has gone terribly horribly wrong.

(Sent it in on June 8, They received it on the 10th, Got email saying it was repaired on the 17th)

Bryan:

This is an interesting thread on equipment warranties, marketing, and client service.

I just purchased a new Sony HVR-Z1U from BHPhoto. With shipping and taxes, it cost over $5k. You bet I spent an additional $199 to get the Mack 4-Year Extended Warranty for Professional Digital Camcorders! It was 4% of the purchase cost.

Up until this recent purchase, I had never purchased an extended warranty for anything. I too did not trust them and thought the likelihood of ever needing it was very small. But two things happened that have changed my perspective--at least when it comes to extended warranties for my business equipment.

First, my Sony VX1000, a fantastic little camera in its heyday, finally went bad when its firewire card stopped working. Of course, this was not a total disaster since it still worked very well recording. I simply used a deck to capture. However, when I sent it to Sony repair, they told me it would cost over $700 to fix the Firewire card. I send no thanks. Had I purchased the warranty, it would have more than paid for itself on the first use.

Second, I recently sold my PD170 (through Dvinfo.net!) to help fund the purchase of my new Sony Z1. I could have received more money had I had a Mack Warranty on the camera. In fact, I would have made more than the $199 that the warranty cost me.

Those two small, but meaningful examples, made me realize the value of the warranty. Even if you never have to use it (which should truly be your hope), it can make a difference in the resale value of your equipment since the warranties are transferrable (for a small $15 fee) up until they expire.

You probably have heard the expression, "Under promise and over deliver." This is what Mack seems to have done. As someone else suggested in this thread, they appear to be cautious at first so that they do not build false expectations--in other words, they do not over promise but under deliver. Sometimes it could very well take longer than 6 weeks to receive the proper parts. In your case, things went the way they probably do with 90% of their repairs.

Please note, according to the Mack Warranty website (http://www.mackcam.com/warranty.html), you must purchase your Mack Extended Warranty within the first 30 days of the purchase of your equipment. So if you have not done so already, get to it!

I hope it all turns out well.

[Bryan Mitchell]

Received my Canon XL1s in the mail today (06/21/05).
A total of 8 workdays or 13 total days without my camera.

It took me like 10 minutes to cut it out of the bubble wrap and packaging tape. It was packed about as nicely as it was when I sent it. Maybe it wasn't insured. The only thing I was afraid of, was that when I took it out, my camera surface was almost too hot to touch. Damn Las Vegas weather!

Inside was a little piece of paper that says "Replaced PCB ASsy Main." It doesn't mention whether or not they cleaned the heads like I requested, but it would be nice if they had done so.

Firewire worked. I had to set all the settings again.

Total costs: $70 in shipping total. I guess that beats the costs to have it repaired by a normal shop. ($300+ from what I hear).

Time to either decide on keeping this fine tuned camera, or selling it and grabbing a XL2 or similar camera.