After my issues with both MTH and Lionel, if I do buy locomotives again, it'll be in RTR sets, either through Amazon or MTS due to their exchange policy. Too many issues with new locomotives needing repairs out of the box. The 2016 MTS Christmas Diesel Locomotive as example, the first one needed a board replacement, the second replacement has a bent frame, and so far has costed my $35 in shipping back and forth...and now again, shipping back to MTH for the bent frame on the most recent replacement with a 6-10 week repair time. I got into this hobby as a way to relax, it's been nothing but stress with moments of fun tempered with anxiety that every time I think everything is going smoothly, bang, another problem pops up. On my other MTH Locomotive, with every 4-6 times of operation, I have to reset the unit (SND+DIR+VOL Down) otherwise it just sits there not responding to DCS commands.
With that said, I think I'm cutting my losses and exiting this hobby with what I have now; too expensive and too time consuming on things that just should work out-of-the-box with reasonable amount of maintenance.
