G220 Faulty – What to do?

[downesy]

Hey guys, so I purchased a Meguiars G220 approximately 1.5 years ago from #####active (the exclusive Australian importer/distributor for meguiars). Great customer service, quick to get in contact with me, and helpful.

I was really keen to get my hands on one, so I left a deposit before they landed in the country, and picked it up as soon as it arrived.

I have now used this roughly 5 or 6 times with fantastic results, I couldn't have been happier, that is until the last time using it. The last time I used the G220 I felt it was running slower than usual. Half way through polishing the car it wouldnt start after a quick breather.

Disappointed I searched the forum detailingworld.co.uk and came across pages upon pages of complaints about faulty G220's.

So I rang #####active, understanding the product was over its 12 month warranty, to see what they could do, as this was cleary a faulty product with less than 15hrs use. The customer service was poor to say the least. They claimed it was the first they had heard of. So I tried explaining that I am not the only one that has a faulty G220 and there are numerous complaints on various forums, to which they replied “give me one example”. I told them detailingworld uk, and they replied “well I dont look there, thats the uk, I only look on meguiarsonline”.

They hesitantly took my details and said someone will call me back tomorrow. Which they never did.

I then searched the meguiarsonline forums and found plenty of faulty G110's too.

I have since taken this G220 to an independent power tool specialist who unscrewed the one screw at the back, to have a quick look at the brushes. To his surprise one brush was as new, the other, worn down to the wire. Very strange, that they didn't wear evenly.

I then purchased replacement brushes and it now starts but lacks quite some power, certainly no where near what it was like new, and definitely not enough power to perform any kind of paint correction.

So what is a normal consumer supposed to do now?

I can fully understand the terms of a 12 month warranty, but this isnt an isolated case, nor is it something that gets used frequently (like a washing machine or dishwasher) this is something that gets used for only a few hours every 3 or 4 months. If this item was being used full time in a professional detailing shop the fault would have occurred within the first week, but if your like most enthusiasts that purchase a G220 (just to keep their own pride and joy clean), it will probably be out of warranty by the time you discover its faulty.

I have been a fan, and regular user of meguiars products for a long time, and the lack of support/customer service from their distributor in this case is quite poor, considering the failure rate of these units.

Downesy

[Michael Stoops]

Re: G220 Faulty – What to do?

Hi Downsey,

First off, we do apologize for the issues involving both the tool and the support you've received from the distributor in Australia. With the time difference between here and there this might take a bit of time to sort out but please give us a bit to get in contact with some folks and see what we can do to help you out.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, and sit tight...... we WILL get back to you on this.

[downesy]

Re: G220 Faulty – What to do?

Thank you very much Michael.

I appreciate you getting back to me on this matter. I have no doubt Meguiars aim to please their customers, and you taking the time to respond to me only proves this.

Thanks again.

[andrews]

Re: G220 Faulty – What to do?

Hi Downsey,
I'm the G.M. at MotorActive. Obviously disappointed to read your thread. Please contact me toll free on 1800 347 570 so we can rectify this issue ASAP.
Many thanks
Andrew

[iceburgh]

Re: G220 Faulty – What to do?

The problem is in the switch. There is linkage from the switch at the top of the buffer that runs down the buffer turn 90 degrees to the actual switch on the back of the buffer.
I am sure MotorActive and/or Meguiars will make it right.
But if you need to use it now if you push on the back of the buffer near the speed adjuster it will run again...or remove the screws and tighten up the linkage.

[downesy]

Re: G220 Faulty – What to do?

A big thank you to MotorActive, who after reading my thread the G.M. from MotorActive got in contact with me, apologised profusely and offered to replace my faulty G220 with a new unit, regardless of being out of warranty.

Its not too often the G.M. of a company takes the time to respond to an unhappy customer, but in this instance Andrew was more than helpful both over the phone and when I visited.

So thanks again MotorActive, another satisfied customer, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend their services to anyone looking for Meguiars products.