I bought a rigid vacuum cleaner a few years back in part because it had "Lifetime Warranty!" emblazoned on the front of the box, and it died after about six months of light use. When I checked the terms of the warranty, it said that it was only covered if it failed on the first or second use out of the box.
> It is our experience that a product that fails prematurely due to a manufacturing defect in materials or workmanship, will generally do so very early in the products life cycle, often the first or second time the product is used. When returned for inspection, these products are generally found to still be in like new condition and show very little signs of use. It is uncommon for a product that was manufactured with a defect, to survive under normal use for any extended period of time. Products that are returned for warranty inspection after months or years of continuous reliable service are rarely found to be defective. The most common demand for service is the result of normal wear and tear issues, which may not be considered a defect in materials or workmanship.
No warranty is fine, but I don't understand how they can put that badge on the box in good conscience. It wasn't that big a deal, but it rubbed me the wrong way and I'll never buy Rigid again.
> Ridgid is owned by Emerson Electric and has licensed the Ridgid brand name to TTI for the manufacture of woodworking stationary and portable power tools. Ridgid (the Ridge Tool company, a subsidiary of Emerson Electric) also makes plumbing and electrical tools that have nothing to do with TTI. These are generally made here in the U.S. Same is true of the Ridgid shop vacs, which I believe are made by Emerson Electric. These are not manufactured or warranted by TTI either.
> Also noted in a post somewhere else on the site recently was a statement that Ridgid was owned by Home Depot. Again, this is NOT true. The fact that both Home Depot and Ridgid use the color "orange" is strictly a coincidence. Home Depot does have an exclusive retail agreement for the Ridgid-brand and Ryobi-brand tools made by TTI. But Ridgid plumbing and electrical tools are not part of this agreement. Also, TTI-owned Milwaukee tools are not part of Home Depot's exclusive retail agreement either.
I'm not sure; there may be. But I'll gladly give up a hundred bucks to not have to wait on hold to argue with some poor customer service rep.
What I'd really rather do is have a conversation with the person who wrote the "Lifetime Warranty" copy. What "lifetime" are they referring to? I can't think of a defense for it. I can only imagine two ways the warranty could be activated: Either you buy it and it never works to begin with, or you buy it, leave it unopened for your entire lifetime, and then open it on your deathbed to discover it doesn't work.
> The Lifetime warranty lasts for the manufacturer’s defined lifetime of your vac. The vacs are designed to have a run life of 500-700 hours. The warranty coverage ends the shorter of: after such run life or the product becomes unusable for reasons other than defects in workmanship or material.
Sorry – I’m not grokking the point you’re making – but my reading of the above is that the warranty ends when the product becomes unusable. Which, as I mentioned, is fine, but then don’t put “full lifetime warranty” on the box.
The shorter of (500-700 hours) or (when the product becomes unusable) for me was (when the product became unusable), or about 6 months.
> When I checked the terms of the warranty, it said that it was only covered if it failed on the first or second use out of the box.
According to the warranty page you linked, "first or second use" is not a limitation. The language you quoted, however, does discourage warranty claims on products that have been used for a while. I agree that does not inspire confidence in the longevity of their products.
https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/wet-dry-vac-warranty
> It is our experience that a product that fails prematurely due to a manufacturing defect in materials or workmanship, will generally do so very early in the products life cycle, often the first or second time the product is used. When returned for inspection, these products are generally found to still be in like new condition and show very little signs of use. It is uncommon for a product that was manufactured with a defect, to survive under normal use for any extended period of time. Products that are returned for warranty inspection after months or years of continuous reliable service are rarely found to be defective. The most common demand for service is the result of normal wear and tear issues, which may not be considered a defect in materials or workmanship.
No warranty is fine, but I don't understand how they can put that badge on the box in good conscience. It wasn't that big a deal, but it rubbed me the wrong way and I'll never buy Rigid again.