"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 21:48:08 -0700, the inscrutable "SteveB"
spake:


"Gene T" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks for the input Leo. I feel a little better that I won't be buying
a
POS!!!!!
Gene

Trouble is, you won't know if it is a POS for a while. Like the first
time
you try to get replacement parts ....................

This is where it finally becomes obvious that the usual scam, an
extended warranty, is the way out. Buy that and you get instant
replacement of the item (at the store you bought it) for LIFE!
Replacement parts aren't necessary because they give you a an
entire new unit. I did this warranty purchase for my arc welder
and auto-darkening welding helmet. Murphy's Corollary demands that
once you -purchase- an extended warranty, it will never be needed.
I'm covered!

---

I have welded for 31 years now, and here is my take on extended warranties,
warranties, and how they apply to welding machines.

YOU NEED A WELDING MACHINE WHEN YOU NEED IT!

You need to fire it up and have it weld, just like you need your car to
start first time every time just when you need it. Having to take things to
a repair center, take it back and exchange it, leave it at a repair station,
search for obsolete plasic Chinese replacement parts is unacceptable.

How many times do you expect to replace a welding machine? What if it craps
out in the middle of a job?

Ask the guys who fix the machines at the factory service centers. The
question they get asked the most isn't "How much will it cost?", but "When
will it be done?"

I disdain anything but machines from top manufacturers if you need to depend
on them. If you just need something that will work now and again, and have
time to dick with the downtime, any old thing will do. I just don't like
the aggravation. I own a Lincoln 175SP+, and really like it. Had it two
years now, and it works first time every time. And when I need replacement
consumables, I just go to the welding store. I bought a NexGen, and love
it.

When I get ready to weld or build something, the last thing I want to do is
fool with equipment that won't start/run. No matter IF there is a free
replacement. (at extra cost when you buy it, that is)

Steve