Does anyone know what kind of warranty Porter-Cable reconditioned air
compressors have? (the little "pancake" compressor) I'm looking at them
at Amazon.com, and it doesn't say anything at all about the warranty. I
bought a PC reconditioned nail gun a few years ago and have been really
happy with it, but I don't remember the details.

This is for a gift for my dad, and I'll be having it shipped direct to
him, so I won't have any opportunity to inspect it.

Thanks,
Bob

on 11/30/2008 8:19 PM zxcvbob said the following:
Does anyone know what kind of warranty Porter-Cable reconditioned air
compressors have? (the little "pancake" compressor) I'm looking at
them at Amazon.com, and it doesn't say anything at all about the
warranty. I bought a PC reconditioned nail gun a few years ago and
have been really happy with it, but I don't remember the details.

This is for a gift for my dad, and I'll be having it shipped direct to
him, so I won't have any opportunity to inspect it.

Thanks,
Bob

Factory reconditioned tools usually have the same warranty as new tools.
Sometimes, the reconditioned tools are better than new tools, since weak
spots, or recall items, have been corrected.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On Nov 30, 7:19*pm, zxcvbob wrote:
Does anyone know what kind of warranty Porter-Cable reconditioned air
compressors have? *(the little "pancake" compressor) I'm looking at them
at Amazon.com, and it doesn't say anything at all about the warranty. *I
bought a PC reconditioned nail gun a few years ago and have been really
happy with it, but I don't remember the details.

This is for a gift for my dad, and I'll be having it shipped direct to
him, so I won't have any opportunity to inspect it.

Thanks,
Bob

PC used to be US made and tops, repairs are done here and im sure are
right. I have 14 or so PC tools, I would buy a factory fixed unit. 25
years ago my new PC drill went bad they fixed it and its fine today.

zxcvbob wrote:
Does anyone know what kind of warranty Porter-Cable reconditioned air
compressors have? (the little "pancake" compressor) I'm looking at them
at Amazon.com, and it doesn't say anything at all about the warranty. ...

Who's the vendor? It's hard to tell at Amazon any more which is a prime
reason I've about given them up.

Anyway, figure that out and e-mail/call if it isn't stated and ask.

The factory reconditioned things I've bought have had same conditions as
originals but have always been careful to make sure were from OEM, not a
liquidation outfit.

--

On Dec 1, 7:54*am, ransley wrote:
On Nov 30, 7:19*pm, zxcvbob wrote:

Does anyone know what kind of warranty Porter-Cable reconditioned air
compressors have? *(the little "pancake" compressor) I'm looking at them
at Amazon.com, and it doesn't say anything at all about the warranty. *I
bought a PC reconditioned nail gun a few years ago and have been really
happy with it, but I don't remember the details.

This is for a gift for my dad, and I'll be having it shipped direct to
him, so I won't have any opportunity to inspect it.

Thanks,
Bob

PC used to be US made and tops, repairs are done here and im sure are
right. I have 14 or so PC tools, I would buy a factory fixed unit. 25
years ago my new PC drill went bad they fixed it and its fine today.

For warranty contact PC for info. I would think if PC fixed it and you
just buy it it will have some sort of warranty.

ransley wrote:
....
... I would think if PC fixed it and you
just buy it it will have some sort of warranty.

That's the key...one has to be sure it's actually OEM-factory
reconditioned or at least OEM-sanctioned distributor.

As noted upthread, it's become so difficult to tell who the actual
vendor on Amazon is any more one has to be particularly careful.
I, consequently, have changed from first to "last resort" for Amazon.com


--

On Dec 1, 8:33*am, dpb wrote:
ransley wrote:

...

... I would think if PC fixed it and you
just buy it it will have some sort of warranty.

That's the key...one has to be sure it's actually OEM-factory
reconditioned or at least OEM-sanctioned distributor.

As noted upthread, it's become so difficult to tell who the actual
vendor on Amazon is any more one has to be particularly careful.
I, consequently, have changed from first to "last resort" for Amazon.com

--

I buy local, I like to compare in person and have that 30 day no
question, walk in return policy, since most everything is chinas crap
quality control. I often have need to exchange or return a junk I
bought. I wonder what broke on the PC compressor, and was the
defective part fixed with the same cheap chinese part. Things are not
like they used to be. Now if there is an issue with the compressor is
there a PC shop nearby, do they offer and honor any warranty?

ransley wrote:
....
... I wonder what broke on the PC compressor, and was the
defective part fixed with the same cheap chinese part. Things are not
like they used to be. Now if there is an issue with the compressor is
there a PC shop nearby, do they offer and honor any warranty?

There may have been nothing really wrong with it -- a lot of
reconditioned tools are the old or obsolete models, some are stock from
failed distributorships, etc., there are the returns from the "buy, do
the weekend project, return didn't satisfy/work" crowd and then there
are the actual defective or early-death returns. It's not necessarily
possible to know which any given unit is other than sometimes one can
figure out the discontinued.

As for the repair/refurbishment, it certainly will have the same pieces
parts as the original unless there has been a general engineering change
for the model. You'd certainly not expect a warranty repair on your
Toyota to have a Honda part, would you? For manufacturers, "parts is
parts" -- whoever/wherever the suppliers are, they're interchangeable
and vendors may and often do change while the specifications are the
constant. What the quality level is is dependent mostly on the target
price range of the end product.

The location of local service is dependent wholly on where one is and
size of town/city and doesn't really make any difference other than the
point raised previously -- if they're OEM-sponsored remanufactured, they
generally have the same warranty/service conditions as the originals--if
not, they'll say. It's the non-OEM-sponsored liquidation outlets that
are questionable as to whether there will be any support/warranty that
I'd caution against.

--

dpb wrote:
zxcvbob wrote:
Does anyone know what kind of warranty Porter-Cable reconditioned air
compressors have? (the little "pancake" compressor) I'm looking at
them at Amazon.com, and it doesn't say anything at all about the
warranty. ...

Who's the vendor? It's hard to tell at Amazon any more which is a prime
reason I've about given them up.

Anyway, figure that out and e-mail/call if it isn't stated and ask.

The factory reconditioned things I've bought have had same conditions as
originals but have always been careful to make sure were from OEM, not a
liquidation outfit.

--


Oddly enough, Amazon itself is the vendor. (Was gonna buy from vendor
"CPO", but they raised their price and Amazon lowered theirs since I
started watching this.) I get free shipping that way.

I'll call PC's main office in Tennessee (if I can find the number) and
ask them about the warranty. But Amazon has lowered the price on the
same model compressor (C2002), new bundled with a hose and a few cheap
tools -- blowgun, tire chuck, etc -- to where it might make more sense
now to go for the new one.

Prices change fast this time of year! *:-)

Bob

"dpb" wrote in message ...
ransley wrote:
...
... I wonder what broke on the PC compressor, and was the
defective part fixed with the same cheap chinese part. Things are not
like they used to be. Now if there is an issue with the compressor is
there a PC shop nearby, do they offer and honor any warranty?

There may have been nothing really wrong with it -- a lot of reconditioned
tools are the old or obsolete models, some are stock from failed
distributorships, etc., there are the returns from the "buy, do the
weekend project, return didn't satisfy/work" crowd and then there are the
actual defective or early-death returns. It's not necessarily possible to
know which any given unit is other than sometimes one can figure out the
discontinued.

Or it is brand new from the factory, never been opened. To keep the regular
full price distributors happy, some tool and appliance makers sell brand new
items marked "reconditioned" at a discount and sometimes a little shorter
warranty. Just take a look around at the stock of "reconditioned" tools in
some outlet stores, times the number of outlet stores in the US. Do you
think they really get that many units sent back?

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
"dpb" wrote in message ...
ransley wrote:
...
... I wonder what broke on the PC compressor, and was the
defective part fixed with the same cheap chinese part. Things are not
like they used to be. Now if there is an issue with the compressor is
there a PC shop nearby, do they offer and honor any warranty?
There may have been nothing really wrong with it -- a lot of reconditioned
tools are the old or obsolete models, some are stock from failed
distributorships, etc., there are the returns from the "buy, do the
weekend project, return didn't satisfy/work" crowd and then there are the
actual defective or early-death returns. It's not necessarily possible to
know which any given unit is other than sometimes one can figure out the
discontinued.

Or it is brand new from the factory, never been opened. To keep the regular
full price distributors happy, some tool and appliance makers sell brand new
items marked "reconditioned" at a discount and sometimes a little shorter
warranty. Just take a look around at the stock of "reconditioned" tools in
some outlet stores, times the number of outlet stores in the US. Do you
think they really get that many units sent back?




I called PC today. The refurbished compressors have a 1-year warranty
(same duration as the new ones) but a little more restrictive. I think
she said they "repair" the refurbished ones, and "repair or replace" the
new ones.

I just ordered the new one; the price has gone up a little on the
refurbished compressors since this morning, and the new one was only
$139, including a 25' hose and some fittings, with free shipping.
(Without the hose and tire chuck and stuff, the same thing would have
been $163.) The only down-side is that gift wrapping was not available
on the combo package and it was on the refurb unit. But I might can get
my brother to intercept the package and stick a bow on it. ;-)

If the price dips to $95 or less again on the refurbs, I may order one
for myself, even though I have a big compressor already.

Bob

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
"dpb" wrote in message ...
ransley wrote:
...
... I wonder what broke on the PC compressor, and was the
defective part fixed with the same cheap chinese part. Things are not
like they used to be. Now if there is an issue with the compressor is
there a PC shop nearby, do they offer and honor any warranty?
There may have been nothing really wrong with it -- a lot of reconditioned
tools are the old or obsolete models, some are stock from failed
distributorships, etc., there are the returns from the "buy, do the
weekend project, return didn't satisfy/work" crowd and then there are the
actual defective or early-death returns. It's not necessarily possible to
know which any given unit is other than sometimes one can figure out the
discontinued.

Or it is brand new from the factory, never been opened. To keep the regular
full price distributors happy, some tool and appliance makers sell brand new
items marked "reconditioned" at a discount and sometimes a little shorter
warranty. Just take a look around at the stock of "reconditioned" tools in
some outlet stores, times the number of outlet stores in the US. Do you
think they really get that many units sent back?

I have no way to compute how many get into the chain via what route. I
think as noted before that a great many get there via liquidation
route--I suppose that could include something such as you suggest. As I
noted before, it's impossible to determine other than occasionally old
models are identifiable that way. I do know a couple of refurb'ed
nailers (Bostitch) had cosmetic scratches that the new paint didn't take
out but had all new bumper kits, handle cushions, etc. They had clearly
been returned/refurb'ed.

--

On Nov 30, 5:19*pm, zxcvbob wrote:
Does anyone know what kind of warranty Porter-Cable reconditioned air
compressors have? *(the little "pancake" compressor) I'm looking at them
at Amazon.com, and it doesn't say anything at all about the warranty. *I
bought a PC reconditioned nail gun a few years ago and have been really
happy with it, but I don't remember the details.

This is for a gift for my dad, and I'll be having it shipped direct to
him, so I won't have any opportunity to inspect it.

Thanks,
Bob

I'd be skeptical about buying any new air compressor. I had to loan
my 30-year-old compressor to two different contractors who were
working on my house. Both had new compressors that failed.

I don't think I would buy one that is "Oilless" or has any plastic
parts on it other than maybe a cover for the pressure switch and
such. My old Sears compressor is direct drive, needs oil in the
compressor head, and it made of aluminum. It must have a steel or
iron sleeve to have lasted this long (nearly daily use). The plastic
fittings (air connector, pressure relief valve etc) broke many years
ago and I replaced them with steel pipe fittings. I've only changed
the oil in it three times and I drain the tank about once a year.