Warranty? Broken tip Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0

[mperrine]

Hi, 

 

i have a veritas 2.0 7'3" med heavy bait casting rod that's about 3-4 years old. 

 

I let let my nephew use it this year for his high school fishing team and low and behold he accidentally broke about 3"-4" clean snap off the tip. I'm still not exactly sure how it happened, I never got a straight answer because he thought he was going to never in trouble, which he isn't. I totally expected him to lose my lures and break something, cause I know I probably would have at his age of 16.

 

Anyway, I think he stepped on it, because his friend kind of ratted him out to me.. lol.

 

So anyway, in no way was the rod defective to my knowledge, it was just a simple accident that any of us could have done and I have done in the past. 

 

My question is, Can I still send it in to Abu Garcia to have it fixed, if it can be fixed with them knowing what happened and it probably being out of warranty being that it's probably 4 years old? 

 

Anyone have any experience with this type of issue?

 

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions you can provide. 

 

Matt Perrine 

[Scott F]

The only one who can answer this is Abu Garcia. If your nephew was my son, I'd expect him to take responsibility for your rod.

[Yudo1]

I don't think it would be covered because abu has a 3 year warranty and also the warranty covers manufacturing defects which is probably not the case. You can always try to call Abu and see if they'll make an exception.

[mperrine]

Thanks for the replies. 

 

My title wasn't  thought out very well in retrospect. Just to be clear I don't expect them to cover it by warranty if if it was under warranty. It wasn't defective, it was an accident. I was really inquiring if anyone knew if they will still fix it at my expense if I send it or do they only do warranty work? 

 

Also, would it still be a serviceable rod if I have to just put and end eyelet on where it snapped off at about the 6'11" mark. It is a veritas 2.0 bait caster 7'3" med heavy fast tip rod. How much would that affect the rod to lose 4" off the tip? 

 

Thanks again

[.ghoti.]

If you just replace the tip, you're going to find you can't cast as light a bait as you could before. The action will be slower. I'd try it. What do you have to lose? You might just find it good for something. Like larger paddle tails, slow rolling big spinnerbaits, c-rig, etc....

[Yudo1]

What ghoti said. It's worth a shot. I'd try to put it to use as a reaction bait rod like a spinner bait.

[mperrine]

Thanks for the replies everyone. 

[CTBassin860]

The tip kit is about 6.00.It only takes a couple minutes.If you can light a lighter,you can re tip a rod.

[mperrine]

7 hours ago, MassBassin508 said:

The tip kit is about 6.00.It only takes a couple minutes.If you can light a lighter,you can re tip a rod.

 

That was my initial thought as well, to just put a new tip on it. But, I'm just a novice really and I didn't know if that would significantly change the rods action. I have 2 of these veritas rods and they are the only what I would call quality rods I've ever owned. I just got into bass fishing a few years ago and until then I didn't even know how detailed and lure specific bass rods were.. like how mine are medium heavy fast, I didn't even know what that meant until I started shopping for a couple bass rods. I'm used to using Walmart zebco combos my whole life for bluegill fishing. 

 

However,  Since I originally posted I did get some great information about how Abu Garcias warranty/service Dept works from the service guy at the sporting goods store where I bought the rods.  

 

I called the store just to see if they could fix it for me and the guy said that if I brought it in that they would ship it to the factory and their engineers would determine if they could fix it or give me a knew one. Even after I explained the whole situation about how old it was and how it got broke,  he said that Abu Garcia has a great customer service and he said that they advise everyone to send it in first. So, I reiterated the circumstances in which it happened and that I didn't think it would still be covered under the warranty and that I'm not trying to get something for nothing, that I just want it fixed and I'm fine with paying them to do it if they can.

He then basically just laughed at me at that point and said that I was over thinking it. He said that they send multiple rods in daily for customers and this is just standard procedure. He said it's as simple as the factory looking at the serial # to determine the age and thus knowing if it's still under warranty. Then if it is under warranty they don't really care how it got broke, they will just send me a new rod.  Then he said that even if it's out of warranty and they determine the break was caused by a defect they will still send me a new rod.

 

 He said that he would attach a note if I insisted detailing the circumstances, but that it's not necessary and they never do it. He said Abu's engineers can tell just by looking at the break if it was somehow defective or just mistreated by the owner. Its pretty cut and dry according to him. 

 

The sevice guy that I dealt with at the sporting goods store was great. He said bring it in and they will box it up and ship it off.

 

He then said 1 of 4 things will happen...They fix it for free, They fix it but you pay a small amount, They send you a new rod, or They do nothing and send it back to the store.

 

He said that if they do just send it back to the store urepaired, that they would put a new tip on it free of charge since I bought it there. 

 

So I guess I'm going to drop it off today and have them ship it off and see what happens.  

 

[Yudo1]

Sounds good. Abu may just send you a new rod.

[DogBone_384]

I snapped the tip of one of my Veritas rods in my truck's tail gate.  I called Abu Garcia to ask about their coverage.  

 

Abu's customer service asked me to email them pictures of the broken section and the rod's model number.  They couldn't cover it under warranty, but sold me the same model for a fair/discounted price.  

 

A+ customer service, give them a call.

[mperrine]

4 minutes ago, DogBone_384 said:

I snapped the tip of one of my Veritas rods in my truck's tail gate.  I called Abu Garcia to ask about their coverage.  

 

Abu's customer service asked me to email them pictures of the broken section and the rod's model number.  They couldn't cover it under warranty, but sold me the same model for a fair/discounted price.  

 

A+ customer service, give them a call.

If you don't mind saying. How much was the discount vs retail? 

 

Thanks 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Bigger companies look at certain number of replacements as a cost of doing business and chalk up the expense to customer relations. 90% of the rods replaced were not defective when delivered. I'd be shocked if they didn't do something for you. If you end up with possession of the broken rod look for a local builder to splice it for you or put it aside for parts. With that much tip off it the action is ruined. 

[DogBone_384]

14 hours ago, mperrine said:

If you don't mind saying. How much was the discount vs retail? 

 

Thanks 

 

It was $50 - 60 if I remember right.  It was reasonable vs. a $99 retail.

[OperationEagle]

I have received two warranty rods back due to defective rod tips. Gen 1 Vendettas. 

 

I just had had to send copies of my receipts and pics of the rod, serial number, and where the rod broke. I had to cover each at $10-$12 and they sent new gen 2 rods back. 

 

new rods were what I wanted anyway but there were no other warranty options available to my knowledge. 

 

No no questions as to how they broke. 

[primetime]

I find Okuma is awesome when it comes to replacing or fixing a broken reel or Rod even if it snaps in a door, or you drop the reel. I Broke an EVX rod that broke in the bed of a truck last year, I told them it was my fault, they told me to send them $25 and even though I admitted it was my fault, they honored the lifetime warranty. The best part is since the Rod was Discontinued, they sent me a newer Casting rod in a better model.

 

I have heard Abu Garcia is good with warranties as well, but I always try to buy Okuma tackle since they have literally sent me a replacement baitcasting reel and a Free Side plate and spool when  I only needed a side plate. I Think it helps to simply be honest when something breaks, all these big companies have the option of being "nice", and I am sure they get tired of people sending rods that were clearly broken when not fishing, but hearing wild stories of fish breaking them.

 

I have had another company who I won't mention charge me 50% for what I paid for a reel, simply to get a few parts since it was an older model. I would have thought that they would have cut me a break since I paid good money for the reel, and it was discontinued only 1 year after I purchased it. Plus I sent pics showing that it was barely used. So much for  the 3 year limited warranty as it was only 2 years old. 3 years should be 3 years.

[drewp6023]

I went through 3 of these rods in the last 6 months.  All of them had the tips break off.  The first one came broken during shipping via Amazon.  The other two happened in the last week with both having the tip snap off in mid cast.

[riverbasser]

wife bought me a veritas 2.0 micro guide for Christmas and last week one of the inserts fell out of the guide. I still have the insert, waiting for a reply on warranty now so we will see.