TM warthog warranty, what a joke!

Hi Guys,

I have just got my Thrustmaster Warthog 2 weeks ago from PC Case Gear, Australia.

I asked my nephew who is studying there to order one for me.

He is the one who bring it home to me. (I am in Indonesia)

After trying it for a few hours suddenly I notice Z and Rz axis are not working (not detected).

The other axis: slider and mini mouse (X&Y) and the buttons are detected.

Since now my nephew is home for summer vacation,

and won't get back to school until next february,

I decided to ask TM for assistance..

I have emailed them on Dec 3, 2014

and I told them since the beginning that I am from Indonesia

and I ordered it from PC Case Gear Australia.

And on my reply dated Dec 10, 2014

I have sent them the invoice and my Indonesian address.

and they replied:

Dec 9, 2014

Please provide us with a copy of the invoice for the device and a picture with the sticker placed at end of the USB cable

 

, so that we may know if we may assist you under warranty.

Dec 10, 2014

In this situation, the potentiometers for the axes appear to be defective.

 

Please provide us with a copy of the invoice for the device and a picture with the sticker placed at end of the USB cable

 

, so that we may know if we may assist you under warranty.

Dec 11, 2014

Thank you very much for providing us with these details.

 

Please provide us with a video recording with the device while testing it, under game control panel.

 

Attached to this email you will find a document with the instructions on how to send us the video, once is done.

then:

Dec 12, 2014

Thank you for providing me with these details.

 

In this situation , we will send you new potentiometers for the X and Z axes of the device, so tyhat you may replace

 

them and fix this issue.

 

In order for us to do this please provide us with the following details:

 

- Your full name and postal address;

 

- A phone number where we may contact you.

then after I replied, today I get this:

Kindly be informed that since you are located in Indonesia and the invoice is issue by a shop in Australia, the

 

manufacture warranty is not applied.

 

Also the potentiometer for the this device are not available as a spare part.

 

In this situation, you will need to contact the store and ask for a replacement.

What a joke,

they should say from the beginning that they do not have the spare parts to spare

and WTF is "manufacture warranty is not applied"?

if I am not under warranty they also should say so from the beginning.

That is it.

I never buy anything with Thrustmaster brand anymore.

TM should know that in the 1990s I bought CH Flightstick Pro in USA,

while I was studying there, then I brought it home to Indonesia.

After 3-4 years, the pots spiked, then I contacted CH Products,

then they send me the pots right away,

no questions asked and no charge.

That is what I called "good warranty and service".

Not like them,

after they asked for almost everything:

the invoice, pictures of this and that, and please make video etc

and in the end, they do not want to be held responsible,

hiding behind legal technicalities.

what a waste of time.

I wonder how they'd respond to me buying mine 2nd hand then, if I need to...

I think the Internet is rife with complaints about Thrustmaster. Seems they could care less about service "after the sale". And as so often happens in the flight sim genre, they discovered that they have a very small customer base for their products and tend to quit making them or providing warranty service beyond a certain point in time. When their supply of spare parts have totally disappeared from their shelves, they simply do not replace them in spite of the numbers of their products out there who will most likely end up needing just those pieces. I suppose our only hope is that some skilled individual/s will use some of the technology available today ( 3D printers, etc) and fill the vacancy. Time will tell, but I gave up on Thrustmaster being there for their flight sim product owners long ago. Fortunately, I haven't had a show stopper breakdown as yet, but it is only a matter of time.