Best customer service for Garmin, etc.?

[daker13]

My barebones VDO computer has officially died and I'm thinking about picking up a Garmin Edge 500.

I'm wondering who's going to have the best customer service if this thing dies in a year or two. If I'm an REI member, does it make sense to pay full price and buy it from them? How's Competitive Cyclist when it comes to this kind of thing? It's a bit more of a hassle to get it from REI but I may just do it if it means they're going to hand me a new one in the case of an unforeseen failure.

Any input is appreciated.

[MattTuck]

I've yet to test the unconditional return policy at competitive cyclist.

I bought my Garmin at REI for the reason you noted. If something happens, I knew they'd stand behind it without much hassle. Buying on the cheap, or used, you have more risk if something happens.

Another thing to consider is that you buy it with a credit card that has a good return policy.

[downtube]

My wife and I have had our 500's for almost 3 years,no death,no sickness not even a cough. Easy to install and use, i would highly recommend. i bought at a LBS. Oh, I did lose the little blue plug cover on the back (my fault) and I sent Garmin a note and they sent me 2 replacements. All is good in my Garmin world.

[sjbraun]

I'd go with either vendor. I just tried the no questions asked return policy at CC. It works as advertised. They received a light I returned on Weds and contacted me that same day about my refund. Someone had tried to use the credit card I used to purchase the light. My bank had closed that account, so CC had no way to send me a refund. I suppose they could have waited a bit for me to contact them, but the fact that they didn't speaks to their commitment to customer service.

REI has a sale going on this weekend and I suspect the Garmin 500 will be discounted soon due to updated models arriving.

[kramnnim]

800s have been discounted recently, and there's an additional $100 rebate, dropping the price for the basic model down to $230 or less...I've been using a 500, but have a 800 arriving today. Figured the maps would be useful.

[LJohnny]

I think it would be wise to purchase from a vendor that will take care of a replacement unit directly. I had a garmin 800 completely fail after a short period. Garmin offered a refurbished unit as warranty replacement. I was not very happy with this offer. I contacted the vendor directly and they replaces the defective unit with a new one. Which at 3 months of ownership, not much use, IMO was the appropriate thing.

[bobswire]

I have gone through 4 Garmin 305's all refurbished and all honored by Garmin. I'm still using the last one they sent me 2 years ago. The deal going on now for a 800 with $100 rebate is very tempting.

> http://garmin.blogs.com/promotions/2013/03/purchase-a-garmin-edge-800-and-receive-100usd-via-mail-in-rebate.html

[pdmtong]

I have returned two thngs to cc per the lifetime policy. Both were legitimate issues (honest) and not things I just used for some time and then decided I no longer wanted (dishonest). No issues at all

Last year I bought my 500 at cc using the giro d Italia 21% off code making the unit $195ish.

I am less worried about unit failure than I am about breaking off the little tabs that hold the unit on the mount as I transfer it across various bikes. In that regard I'm led to favor the rubber band mount or the barfly both over the k-edge simply because of plastic to plastic interface Perhaps hat fear is unfounded but reports of those wings snapping off are out there

[daker13]

Thanks all, very helpful... I'm not the type to take advantage of generous return policies, but at the same time, if I'm going to drop two hundred dollars on a cycling computer, I expect it to perform for several years.

[Ken Robb]

Remember: REI members get a 10% credit on their full-price purchases each year.

[jh_on_the_cape]

I just bought a Garmin at the local EMS. They are having %15 off garmin units right now. I got the forerunner 10 for a buddy.
They also have a rewards program now.

Remember: REI members get a 10% credit on their full-price purchases each year.

[TheEnglish]

I just had my HRM fail on me and went through Garmin for service and they treated me quite well. They simply replaced the HRM, I didn't even need to send it in to them. Even if your dealer doesn't play nice, my experience is that Garmin will stand by their product.