Garmin out of warranty negative experience

Well this is interesting, I had my vivoactive 4 around 3 years, it developed a fault and they replaced with a recon unit free of charge.

My partner however got a 4S, it’s now failed and is out of warranty around 3 years and they won’t replace, this is really disappointing as poor lass has alot on her plate and this just adds to it.

Only 3 years old, fails out the blue and they won’t replace just seems unfair. I think it’s because her model is discontinued, our option was £140 for another of the same or 30% off a new watch.

I am trying with support but they aren’t budging, I mean to spend £250 and have it fail 3 years in is bad luck but also is now really putting me off getting another. Seen lots of positive out of warranty stories and this is just the opposite…anyone had similar experience?

I’ve had two Garmin watches replaced under warranty. The experience was seamless. If the warranty had expired I wouldn’t expect anything. Any goodwill offer made out of warranty previously is generous on their part and doesn’t obligate them to do it again. We all know what the warranty period is when we buy an expensive item and we know we are on our own when it expires. That’s just how it works. Most watches will be fine for well beyond the warranty, a few won’t. Which kind you get is down to luck.

Wahoo gave me 20% off anything when my Bolt screen started to “bleed” after it was out of warranty. They didn’t have to do it so I was happy with that.

our option was £140 for another of the same or 30% off a new watch.

Seems like a fair offer that they were under no obligation to make

Whether you think a 3 year lifespan is reasonable or not for a smart watch the warranty is two years.  After that it’s whatever goodwill they will offer.

Having had two failures you have to weigh up the cost and risk of another brand at market price or using the goodwill discount and hoping lightning doesn’t strike a third time.  Of course if you buy another brand you could still have a problem just out of warranty and get no help and you already know how Garmin stuff works for setup etc.  Personally I’d probably get the Garmin and use the discount (if I thought I wanted a smart watch at all).

It’s not helpful to compare warranty tales with goodwill requests.  They are different.

Regrettably op this topic is likely to get messy on here, it shouldn’t but it likely will. Don’t take it to heart it’s the STW way on occasion.

(Not aimed at commenters above!)

More importantly, I hope your partner fairs well with what she is working through mate.

My bil got a partial refund on a faulty TV week out of warranty recently after contacting Citizens Advice, it all hinges upon what was considered reasonable life of the product from what he said. Might we worth asking their advice, you never know.

Good luck either way.

Thanks folks, yeah probably optimistic on my part. Was more the fact they replaced mine, and won’t hers! Likely due to new model out I reckon… £140 and you only get a years warranty with refurbs and if it does it again after that year it’s been an expensive watch!
just frustrating really when one minute it can be fine and the next it stops tracking heartrate.

I’d go as far to say I’d appreciate it if it was being used as an activity watch! She takes it off to shower and is a new mum so does sod all physical tracked activity anyway aside from chasing around after him and the odd swimming class!

How tight is the wristband? If it is loose then heart rate is going to be random anyway…sensors needs darkness to be as effective as it can be.

Likely due to new model out I reckon… £140 and you only get a years warranty with refurbs and if it does it again after that year it’s been an expensive watch!

FWIW (many years ago), a similar thing happened to an Edge cycle computer that was outside warranty and they offered the same – half price on a refurb model with a 1yr warranty or a new one (with full warranty) at a discount.

I think modern consumer electronics of that sort of nature, you’re doing well to get much over 5 years from them anyway. White goods, TVs etc still last but watches, GPS devices, tablets really start to show their age.

As above, half price refurb or discount on a new model is pretty good for an out of warranty model. My hunch is that they are more generous than that when dealing with a product that has failed with a known (maybe to just them, or to the pitch fork wielding forum mobs too) issue.

I had a Vivoactive 4 and before that a Fenix 5, great watches while they last. Which isn’t as long as you’d like IMVHO. The Vivoactive line are great fitness watches, but they aren’t robust. Mine was replaced during warranty and then failed completely at just over three and a bit years, but I did use it every day.

after my experience with the Fenix 5 I didn’t bother contacting Garmin support on the Vivoactive 4, as with the Fenix 5 (2.5 years and failed) all I got was the offer of a recon unit for £170 or so I can’t quite recall now, and at the time I could go get a new watch for only a wee bit more, so that’s what I did.

to add to the comments above, I find garmin warranty disappointing only in so much as I do expect a 300+ watch to last a bit longer than 2 years, they feel a bit of a disposable commodity, which I’m not a fan of. As neither of my garmin watches that failed could be repaired – something I asked garmin about and a few third party watch repair services.
But before someone points out to me to the “it’s only a 2 year warranty mate” I do know that, it can still be disappointing that the watches don’t last longer and aren’t repairable.

but they are the best fitness watches out there with great battery life, so until that changes I’m still using a garmin watch, currently the Epix.

My partners Forerunner 55 occasionally stops tracking heartrate, switch off and restart and it’s fine (maybe once every 6 months?). It needed a complete reset/software “cleanse” (and a watch cleanse at the same time!) in the summer.

It’s around 3 years old, is worn continually except for about 15 minutes every afternoon, 7 days a week. It looks about 10 years old.

My Vivoactive must be about 9 yrs old and other than the battery life being poorer than it had been, it’s still fine – in spite of all the trees/rocks etc it’s hit over the years.