I recently bought an MTH Premier VO 1000 engine from Trainworld. The smoke unit was programmed incorrectly and the shell melted. The engine was out of what is the new warranty policy as I understand it ( one year from the date the unit was shipped). Trainworld handled the problem perfectly. They tried to get me a new shell as I wanted to keep the engine. No shells were available. They then offered to help me reprogram the chain file, give me a store credit, or a refund with no restocking fee because this was a defective item. I chose the refund route and I was sent a prepaid return shipping label. The only cost to me was the original shipping charge. I thought that was very fair as none of this was Trainworld's fault. I would hope most stores would follow this type of model.
I have bought many MTH products from most of the O Gauge sponsors and many of our members. The experiences have been overwhelmingly positive. In the past I had no fear buying an MTH product from an MTH dealer because the old warranty policy protected you for one year from date of purchase. Now you are really on your own buying anything more than a year old. I suppose MTH had to put some limit on the time offering of the warranty, but the old policy was a nice safety net. Now you are really dependent on how the dealer wants to treat you. Hopefully the dealers and MTH will adjust to the inconvenience of selling a defective item as we have had to do in receiving it. I'm very glad that Gary started this thread because I'm interested in hearing of Forum members' experiences and opinions under the new MTH warranty policy.
Ed
