So, back on 4/21 I posted a problem that I had with a Lionel Lionchief Plus engine I bought at the York Train Show. I bought the GP7 from the LCCA. The guy gave me a deal, because my little two year old is building with daddy a UP train layout. When we got home, we were all excited to run our new toy. We ran the engine for 10-20minutes. In that time the smoke unit went out. That is when I made a post asking for help. After a couple calls to Lionel, they said they would fix the engine.
So, here is how I made out. After paying $22 dollars to ship the engine back, I received the engine back today. My wife signed for it, wondering what she just received in the mail, because it came in a big Mary Kay box. When I got home from work, my little guy was all excited, because we could now pull his fixed engine out of the box. We pulled the engine out of the box to find two surprises. First, the engine was shipped back with none of the original styrofoam that was placed around the handrails. One of the handrails, now had to be bent back into position. Second, when I pulled the engine back out of the box, one of the hood screws fell right out. It had never been threaded back into the engine. These should have been my warning signs already.
Now, we place it on the track, and add a few drops of smoke fluid. Knowing that the smoke unit had been replaced, we were excited to see it smoke again. The engine does smoke again, so I am very happy. HOWEVER, now I have only one speed when I use the remote, FAST. When it is not FAST, it hops around the track and loses connection with the remote. THE ENGINE IS ALL SCREWED UP!! Before the engine worked great, just no smoke. Now I have smoke, just can't use the engine. I even took the engine to a neighbor, who has a bigger layout then me, and SAME THING!
Is this the kind of quality service I should expect from LIONEL?
Besides chewing them out tomorrow on the phone, any other suggestions?
I am going to soon call LCCA, and ask for my money back!
SO MAD AND FRUSTRATED!!
