Tesoro Warranty Service

[GeoW]

For years it's been said that if you have a problem with Tesoro just send it in, lifetime warranty will cover it.

Am I just finding out that is not the case or has this happened in the past couple years?

Returned a Tesoro Cutlass that I have had for years... Little if any use, just won't power up.
Upon receipt, Tesoro Service Department called (was not Rusty) and said they had no registration proof that I was the orginal owner. I said I was and that the dealer had supposedly filled out and submitted my warranty card when it was purchased several years ago.

Long story short, Tesoro rep did not take my word but charged me $50 for the repair.

Just wanted to let those of you know that if not original owner and cannot prove it, there will be a $50 repair charge.

Now if I'm the only one having to pay $50 for service, I'm pissed. 😁

Geo

 

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[kcm]

I've been told the same thing fairly recently by others here on Tnet, as our little Silver was bought used. Sure works great, though!

 

[223Larry]

Yep that's the way it it's now ,still a good deal

 

[steve1357]

For years it's been said that if you have a problem with Tesoro just send it in, lifetime warranty will cover it.

Am I just finding out that is not the case or has this happened in the past couple years?

Returned a Tesoro Cutlass that I have had for years... Little if any use, just won't power up.
Upon receipt, Tesoro Service Department called (was not Rusty) and said they had no registration proof that I was the orginal owner. I said I was and that the dealer had supposedly filled out and submitted my warranty card when it was purchased several years ago.

Long story short, Tesoro rep did not take my word but charged me $50 for the repair.

Just wanted to let those of you know that if not original owner and cannot prove it, there will be a $50 repair charge.

Now if I'm the only one having to pay $50 for service, I'm pissed. ��

Geo

Keep your receipt next time I guess.

Never heard of the dealer sending in your warranty card before.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Keep your receipt next time I guess.

Never heard of the dealer sending in your warranty card before.

Have you ever kept a receipt for decades? Have you seen what happens to modern reciepts? Most of them are heat printed on special paper and after a few months they fade and become blank. I have heard of many dealers who send in the warranty info. You open the box in the store, make sure everything is there and works, put your info on the card and the dealer puts his info on it and mails it in so you know its done properly.

This is becoming a more common complaint I have heard against Tesoro. I guess it's just a sign of the times. They can't afford to keep fixing everything for free that they ever sold.

 

[steve1357]

I scan all my receipts because I lose them long before they fade. I also have copies of the warranty cards I've mailed in also.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I found my circa '84 Royal Sabre in my closet at the farm. Put in new batteries and it did not work. Contacted Tesoro and they said it would be $75 just to look at it. I was the original owner, I save all my receipts dating back to the 70's.

I remember not liking it at the time I used it, so it went in the trash - though I do admit I should have kept it. Guess I was just PO'd at that "lifetime" warranty.

 

[Sandman]

The Lifetime Warranty is for defects in manufacturing. Tesoro does fix things for free usually but they can't keep adding parts for free. Somebody has to replace them.

 

[Terry Soloman]

I challenge everyone on this forum to find ONE American metal detector manufacturer with a BETTER lifetime warranty than Tesoro. Dubious claims aside, I don't ever remember a single ORIGINAL OWNER ever posting that their Tesoro machine's manufacturing defect was not fixed promptly and FREE.

Whites? Garrett? Fisher? Anybody? For almost 20-years people bought second hand Tesoro machines at yard sales, even fished them out of dumpsters and sent them in for FREE repairs. Two-years ago Vince Gifford said no more. You MUST be the ORIGINAL owner with your registration card (always sent in by YOU) on file to have your MANUFACTURERS DEFECT fixed for free.

Tesoro Customer Service is better than 99.9-percent of ALL American companies - Period.

 

[CaptEsteban]

I agree with Terry. BEST warranty out there !

 

[luvsdux]

My thinking is the $50 + parts, if needed is reasonable, but hard for many to swallow after all the years of free repairs. No matter what business is involved, they have to keep their bottom line in the black.
luvsdux

 

[Terry Soloman]

My thinking is the $50 + parts, if needed is reasonable, but hard for many to swallow after all the years of free repairs.... luvsdux

Reminds me of a Manhattan story.

A wealthy businessman was dropped off by his chauffer every morning in front of his Madison Ave. business. One morning he saw a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk leaning up against his building. He walked over and gave the homeless man a $5.00 bill, then walked inside.

The next morning the man was there again, and once more the wealthy businessman walked over and gave him a $5.00 bill. This went on for about a week. On the next Monday morning, The businessman was a little late and walked by the homeless man and started to go into the lobby when he heard the homeless man yell, “Hey! Where’s My $5.00!?”

 

[digger27]

I challenge everyone on this forum to find ONE American metal detector manufacturer with a BETTER lifetime warranty than Tesoro. Dubious claims aside, I don't ever remember a single ORIGINAL OWNER ever posting that their Tesoro machine's manufacturing defect was not fixed promptly and FREE.

Whites? Garrett? Fisher? Anybody? For almost 20-years people bought second hand Tesoro machines at yard sales, even fished them out of dumpsters and sent them in for FREE repairs. Two-years ago Vince Gifford said no more. You MUST be the ORIGINAL owner with your registration card (always sent in by YOU) on file to have your MANUFACTURERS DEFECT fixed for free.

Tesoro Customer Service is better than 99.9-percent of ALL American companies - Period.

"...always sent in by YOU"



Got this straight off the Tesoro website...


"This instrument is warranted to be free of defects in material and workmanship as long as it is owned by the original consumer purchaser. This warranty is not transferable and is valid only if the warranty registration card has been completed and mailed within 10 days of purchase."


I bought a brand new Vaq in 2010.
Purchased from a very reputable authorized dealer who also filled out the warranty card for me and sent it in after my payment cleared or said he did, anyway.
I thought this was just good service from my dealer as I assume many others have thought also because I am sure there were more than two of us that experienced this.
I read the warranty info on their site previously and did not notice any specific wording about the actual owner sending in the card and nobody else to register the unit so that would have thrown up a red flag with me at the time when my dealer told me he was going to do that.

Now there is always the possibility that some dealers might have said they filled out and sent in the card but didn't so that is not Tesoro's fault and the and that would be on the customer for picking the wrong lackadaisical and lazy dealer to do business with.
Things do get lost in the mail from time to time too, rare but it happens.
However are you stating that all cards sent in by any dealer on behalf of their customers were somehow recognized and removed from the "legal owners" pile and just disposed of even though there didn't seem to be any warning of this on their site or the actual warranty card or anywhere else?

I have never had a reason to send in my Vaq for service but I might one day and this is just disheartening if it is true.
I have talked up the free Tesoro warranty and service for years, even applauded when they finally got smart and quit bleeding money by fixing absolutely every unit they have ever put out for free because this is just good business and often times wondered why it took them so long to do the math and smarten up.
I played by their stated rules and let's assume my card was filled out and sent in and they received it within the 10 day period.
Now you tell me I have to worry about a $50 surprise, minimum, waiting for me if I do ever send it my unit in because I was not the one to fill it out, put a stamp on it and drop it in the mailbox personally?

Where exactly are you getting your information about this, have you checked with your friends at Tesoro to make sure this is actually true and has always been a company policy before posting this stuff on a public forum as gospel or is this a guess?

Inquiring minds with empty pockets want to know.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Maybe your dealer sold you a used machine without your knowledge. I have NEVER heard of a dealer filling out registration cards and sending them in for a buyer. You trust, you lose! If I were you, I would call Tesoro and ask them to check your serial number. If they don't have it on record, I would tell your dealer that you're pissed! If they have it on record, then kiss your dealer.

 

[digger27]

I have heard of many dealers filling them out and sending them in for the buyer, and they actually did just that.
I worked in retail for almost 30 years and I remember doing that for a few customers from time to time on some products I sold, somewhere north of $15,000,000 dollars worth in my career.
Just something some consider extra service after the sale and my customers seemed to appreciate it.
As far as trust issues everyone is different where some trust nobody, some trust everybody and some take all kinds of behavior, track records and indicators into account and sometimes trust some people.


You never answered the question...
If anyone else besides the owner sent the card in, actually sent them in too and filled out correctly, does Tesoro have an actual policy of somehow recognizing and culling these out and declaring these void as you seemed to indicate.
Don't see how because the thing is basically a postcard but maybe you know something we don't.
If you misspoke and just assumed there is some sort of process in place to recognize and then void certain cards as they received them that were not filled out by the actual owner that is fine, we all make little mistakes and I am somewhere near the top of the list on that too.

I might suggest amending your post above to something like this if this is the case...

"You MUST be the ORIGINAL owner with your registration card (always sent in IN A TIMELY MANNOR) on file to have your MANUFACTURERS DEFECT fixed for free."

Only if you want to of course.

 

[Terry Soloman]

...You never answered the question...
If anyone else besides the owner sent the card in, actually sent them in too and filled out correctly, does Tesoro have an actual policy of somehow recognizing and culling these out and declaring these void as you seemed to indicate....

Why are you typing like I am trying to deceive you? You are a smart person, you said so yourself in your last post. You already know the answer -ANYONE can fill out the postcard and send it in. I am beginning to think you just want to insult me, Tesoro, or both. Tesoro machines are sold in SEALED BOXES from the factory. The Warranty postcard is in a bag with the owners manual and other items. Why would a dealer remove it unless you asked them to? If I was at the shop and the dealer said "fill this out and I'll drop it in the mail for you," then great!

What's REALLY eating you friend? If you don't like me that's OK. I have children that don't like me, so you are waaay down on the list!

 

[digger27]

Why are you typing like I am trying to deceive you? You are a smart person, you said so yourself in your last post. You already know the answer -ANYONE can fill out the postcard and send it in. I am beginning to think you just want to insult me, Tesoro, or both. Tesoro machines are sold in SEALED BOXES from the factory. The Warranty postcard is in a bag with the owners manual and other items. Why would a dealer remove it unless you asked them to? If I was at the shop and the dealer said "fill this out and I'll drop it in the mail for you," then great!

What's REALLY eating you friend? If you don't like me that's OK. I have children that don't like me, so you are waaay down on the list!

My dealer opened up the box to check and make sure everything was there and in good condition before he taped it up and sent it to me.
I received my share of product over the years with perfect boxes but with contents in not such great shape and sometimes even missing some small bags of parts because the people that pack these things in factories are human and not perfect.
I always did the same thing before I sent out products with UPS out of state which I did a lot...saved me a little hassle on the few times something was wrong which was rare but did happen.
My dealer told me he was going to do this and asked if I would like him to send in the warranty card for me and I said ok.
Not trying to insult you Terry by any means, sorry you took it that way...I apologize.

So the answer is actually anyone can fill out that card and send it in...but it needs to be sent in on time and filled out correctly.
Thanks for clearing that up!

 

[TheHunterGT]

How is he making it personal when you are clearly typing two different things? You may not be trying to deceive anybody...but your words do no favors to reader comprehension.

You typed in post #9 that is must be (sent in by YOU). You even went so far as to capitalize YOU. Leading a reader to believe that Tesoro may not honor a warranty card filled out by a dealer. When pressed if you have any insider knowledge of this you go immediately on the defensive.

Now in post #16 you are saying that of course ANYONE can fill it out...again in capital letters.

So which is it...YOU or ANYONE? Clear difference in the meaning to a reader.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Gentleman please end the arguing and implied insults.... With that said I would never allow someone else to send in a warranty card for me, I would send it my self signature required, if something happens I have proof...

 

[pinenut]

Scan your filled-out warranty card before you mail it. That should help if Tesoro records don't show you as the original owner, as you could email the scanned image to them. Seems a bit old-fashoned, their need to store warranty cards in file drawers (or however they keep record). We should be able to enter a serial # and our info, online.

For those of us picking up used Tesoros, $50 is still a great deal to get those sorted out. If a service tech spends an hour to inspect, test, replace a pot or two, then repack & ship it back to you... Seems quite reasonable, to me.