# Milwaukee Warranty Service Sucks



## joebanana (Dec 21, 2010)

My kid bought a bunch of Ryobe impacts, and drills for his crew because they were throwaway tools for roofwork. He didn't want to invest in top shelf stuff because he knows the abuse they take. Those dern things take a beating and survive most of it. And they're cheap(er).


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

My m18 droll was starting to act up yesterday, so I got out the hammer drill and got back to work, whether I’ll immediately replace it or not or send it in for service, I’m not sure. I’m still using the m18/12 batteries so I don’t see myself swapping anytime soon. I


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## Kevin (Feb 14, 2017)

I just had a drill replaced by a local Milwaukee approved repair center. Had issues with the trigger, drill is a few years old. They said leave it with us, we will see if it can get fixed under warranty. Well a week later, they call and tell me my new drill is ready for pickup!

Sent from my new phone. Autocorrect may have changed stuff.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

A bad customer service experience can change your mind too. The last thing you need is more of your time wasted.


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## tmessner (Apr 1, 2013)

Kevin_Essiambre said:


> I just had a drill replaced by a local Milwaukee approved repair center. Had issues with the trigger, drill is a few years old. They said leave it with us, we will see if it can get fixed under warranty. Well a week later, they call and tell me my new drill is ready for pickup!
> 
> Sent from my new phone. Autocorrect may have changed stuff.


This has been my experience. When repairs are out of warranty I feel like the cost has been reasonable or they recommend to not repair.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

I dumped Milwaukee two years ago. No regrets.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

99cents said:


> I dumped Milwaukee two years ago. No regrets.


Really? I don’t think anyone here had any idea.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

HackWork said:


> Really? I don’t think anyone here had any idea.


I’m educating the Milwaukee fanboys one at a time. It’s a tough job but somebody’s gotta do it.


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

Years ago had a problem with Millwaukee warranty center, old Ni-cad 18V would heat up the chuck so hot you couldn't touch it. Receipt was 900 miles away in a filing cabinet. Said I needed proof of when it was bought. Left it with them overnight while I tried to get someone to send me the receipt. Next day they tried to tell me there was nothing wrong with it.

Like Keven, I went to a smaller authorized repair center the same day. They punched in the serial number and said come back in an hour. Drill was repaired, no charge.


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## TheLivingBubba (Jul 23, 2015)

99cents said:


> I dumped Milwaukee two years ago. No regrets.


I see.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

99cents said:


> I’m educating the Milwaukee fanboys one at a time. It’s a tough job but somebody’s gotta do it.


I don’t really know of any fanboy of any tool brand here. You are pretty much the closest thing to it. Most everyone else just uses what they use and admit that they’re all the same with slightly different tool choices.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

Wow, are you ever a slow learner, Hack. Am I really going to have to kick your sorry ass again?


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

99cents said:


> Wow, are you ever a slow learner, Hack. Am I really going to have to kick your sorry ass again?


I don’t know what you’re talking about, on either account. Have you decided to start another troll campaign?


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

You're going to lick WHAT?



Oh....wait...


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

I found a new avatar for you, Hack.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

99cents said:


> I found a new avatar for you, Hack.


Do you wake up re-tarded, or do you have to work at it?


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

HackWork said:


> Do you wake up re-tarded, or do you have to work at it?


I was trying to do something nice for you. I found an avatar that looks just like you and this is the thanks I get??


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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

99cents said:


> I’m educating the Milwaukee fanboys one at a time. It’s a tough job but somebody’s gotta do it.


I bought my Bosch gear in December of 2010. I still have all of the tools, except for a multi-tool that bit the dust last year.

I went with Milwaukee for the company because they are at the SH and HD, so getting replacements, and extra battery, etc. is a simple quick run to the store, whereas Bosch I have to order.

Thing is, I keep having to get my Bosch gear back out and work with the ten year old tools because my Milwaukee stuff breaks often enough. The drills don't seem to last long at all and I haven't been impressed with the battery longevity. 

But... The product catalog and ease of getting tools with Milwaukee is a strong selling point. I don't think they are that great of tools, just mediocre at best.


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## 912resi (Mar 22, 2012)

I have Milwaukee 12 & 18, Makita and Ridgid. I gotta tell you nothing beats a free lifetime supply of Ridgid batteries or free repair or replacement. You've got to fill out your paperwork though. I bought that first Ridgid 4pack in 2006. They have replaced all except the circular saw, and battery after battery. Milwaukee once cheated me on the mail in warranty. Those Makita are awesome. I had a Dewalt 4 pack 20 years ago. Never Dewalt again, never.


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

I had a decent experience with Milwaukee's service, they repaired everything that I sent to them which was under warranty and replaced my M18 multi tool for free even though it was out of warranty. My only complaint was that the process was slow and they sent everything back in piecemeal fashion.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

It sounds like the positive stories are from taking the tool in person to a service center. I looked on the web site at the nearest service center, if it was anywhere near where I was going I might have dropped it there, but I don't have time to break away during the workday to chauffeur a tool to a service center.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

MTW said:


> I had a decent experience with Milwaukee's service, they repaired everything that I sent to them which was under warranty and replaced my M18 multi tool for free even though it was out of warranty. My only complaint was that the process was slow and they sent everything back in piecemeal fashion.


I thought you said that they charged you like $90 for the oscillating tool, almost the cost to buy it new?


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

The supply house takes them, tags them and sends them out for service for us when we need to.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

nrp3 said:


> The supply house takes them, tags them and sends them out for service for us when we need to.


I thought the supply house would do that too, that was my first attempt. I asked and they told me that they only handled the warranty for 30 days (or 90 days? I forget...) after that I had to go to Milwaukee. I don't know if that is due to Sonepar's policy or Milwaukee's.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

I think mine will do both paid and warranty repair and come back with an estimate if it's on you to pay. I know I sent my first m12 impact back and it didn't make sense to fix so I bought another one. It may be their choice to operate that way. I don't know that they send them to Milwaukee either, I think it's an authorized service center.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

I always buy from Home Depot. The sales at the supply houses have never been good, even with the Milwaukee reps having a big show there. They might have a tool/package cheap, but it will be an older model or have the older batteries.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

HD pi$$ed me off. I found a Milwaukee promo kit with the price on the package from the factory. Cash said the price was no good. The store manager said the price was no good. They wanted to charge me $100 more. I said screw you and bought blue. No more Milwaukee for me.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

99cents said:


> HD pi$$ed me off. I found a Milwaukee promo kit with the price on the package from the factory. Cash said the price was no good. The store manager said the price was no good. They wanted to charge me $100 more. I said screw you and bought blue. No more Milwaukee for me.


Wait a second... You use Bosch?????



Jesus dude, this is like the 15th different time that Milwaukee let you down and you immediately switched to Bosch because of it.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

HackWork said:


> Jesus dude, this is like the 15th different time that Milwaukee let you down and you immediately switched to Bosch because of it.



No that was HD dropping the ball, I am surprised the manager wouldn't honor a promo printed on the package. 



HD is a mixed bag for me, most of their employees are pretty bad with anything involving effort on their part. 



Surprisingly a couple people at the Pro desk have been pretty helpful, slid some free / cheap deliveries my way and tracked down inventory to transfer in from other stores. I never bothered with it since there was no discount involved but I let one of them talk me into a Pro account, which basically means nothing more than giving your company name and an email address.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

HackWork said:


> Wait a second... You use Bosch?????
> 
> 
> 
> Jesus dude, this is like the 15th different time that Milwaukee let you down and you immediately switched to Bosch because of it.


Nope, I only made the switch once.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

99cents said:


> Nope, I only made the switch once.


So which one of the 15 stories is true? 

This one about switching after Home Depot didn’t honor the price is not your best work.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

HackWork said:


> So which one of the 15 stories is true?
> 
> This one about switching after Home Depot didn’t honor the price is not your best work.


Why am I always explaining things to you? You don’t listen too good.

I was going to replace my old Milwaukee with new Milwaukee. Then I had the incident at HD. Since I was starting fresh I decided to change brands and I’m happy.

There aren’t fifteen stories, there’s one. Even somebody with weak comprehension skills like you should understand that.


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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

splatz said:


> No that was HD dropping the ball, I am surprised the manager wouldn't honor a promo printed on the package.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I went in to HD two weeks ago and saw they had a sign for a free M18 5.0 battery when you bought X tool. So I bought X tool for $99 and got my battery. 

Turns out when it rang up the deal had expired and no one took the sign down. Not only did they honor the deal as they should, but the manager asks "Any other stuff you want to get on that list?".

Of course my answer was yeah, so I got three new 5.0 batteries. 

The HD next to my house has had the same basic crew working for about as long as I have been in business, 10 years. The manager has been there a bit longer, and she is pretty awesome. I know many of them by name and always get great service. 

When I go to a different store it is a crap shoot. So I tend to spend my money at my store, because of their great service.


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## tmessner (Apr 1, 2013)

nrp3 said:


> The supply house takes them, tags them and sends them out for service for us when we need to.


same here. They disappear, get fixed, show back up.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

99cents said:


> Why am I always explaining things to you? You don’t listen too good.
> 
> I was going to replace my old Milwaukee with new Milwaukee. Then I had the incident at HD. Since I was starting fresh I decided to change brands and I’m happy.
> 
> There aren’t fifteen stories, there’s one. Even somebody with weak comprehension skills like you should understand that.


You can’t get out of every single conversation that you’re wrong in by telling the other person they don’t understand or are slow. 

You have told at least a dozen stories about how something horrible happened with your Milwaukee tool and at that point you decided to switch to Bosch. I must admit, today’s story about your switch being because Home Depot messed up is not one of the better ones.


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

HackWork said:


> I thought you said that they charged you like $90 for the oscillating tool, almost the cost to buy it new?


That's what they told me, but when I received the tool back I saw that it was new so I checked my credit card statement - they never charged my credit card for the quoted repair price and included a note saying they had replaced the tool as a "one time good will" measure.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

MTW said:


> That's what they told me, but when I received the tool back I saw that it was new so I checked my credit card statement - they never charged my credit card for the quoted repair price and included a note saying they had replaced the tool as a "one time good will" measure.


Wow, that’s horrible customer service. Did you switch to Bosch right after?


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

HackWork said:


> Wow, that’s horrible customer service. Did you switch to Bosch right after?


No, I packaged it back up and sent it to them with a note saying that I don't want their inferior tools and I don't appreciate them replacing a tool for free that wasn't under warranty. I think they got the message.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

I see. That was the fourth time you switched to Bosch.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

Why are you whining so much today, Hack? Menopause?


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

99cents said:


> Why are you whining so much today, Hack? Menopause?


In both threads I pointed out exactly where you started your lame trolling. As usual you failed. Are you ready to go back to acting normal or do you still have some tard juice left in you?


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## 460 Delta (May 9, 2018)

MTW said:


> That's what they told me, but when I received the tool back I saw that it was new so I checked my credit card statement - they never charged my credit card for the quoted repair price and included a note from Mao saying thank you for your support.


FIFY


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

The supply house i deal with most frequently will match or get close on any milwaukee price, and when I need warranty work done I drop it off and they ship it to milwaukee for free, and call me when it's back. I'll still impulse buy at big box, but when I plan ahead on a tool i buy it from the supply house.


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## Kirk Strandberg (Mar 5, 2020)

My brother lives by Milwaukee Tools. I have had problems with M18 tools in the past on several occasions. Their warranty is fantastic though. After much hmmmming and hawwwwing I bought the transfer pump, the m18 miter two 9.0s and a an impact wrench. Special tools for specific reasons.


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## Thirty-eight (Mar 2, 2020)

Their warranty is great for me, I drive to the main Milwaukee store (fortunate to have one in driving distance) then hand them broken tools without a receipt and they usually just give me a brand new one just going off serial numbers I guess. 

I have easily $30k in red tools and they would probably be yellow if dewalt did the same thing Milwaukee did on warranty. Both brands have stores a few miles a part and dewalt left me high and dry when my less than 6 month old 36v drill took a dump back in 05’ or so when those first came out. My receipt wasn’t legible because it faded.


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## That_Dude (Feb 13, 2012)

splatz said:


> So 12 days ago my Milwaukee M18 hammer drill driver dies, almost no power. It's been lightly used since I bought it six months ago at the supply house on one of the days when the reps are there with demos etc.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I made the same mistake with Milwaukee. Bought a Dewalt 20v Made in USA system while the Milwaukee was out for service for the same issue twice in a row. Now the Milwaukee still sits in the unused tools bin after it came back from "service". :vs_laugh:


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

I don't deal with anyone's repair people directly, had issues with all of em, our broken power tools go to our local fastener/tool supplier's repair shop. If it's gonna cost more to fix then it's worth we just get a new one, cost of doing business.


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