Disappointed in this Metabo Corded Drill

PureLeaf · Mar 31, 2016

So I've got probably 6 different cordless metabo power tools. They're fantastic quality. Was looking for a corded drill just as a backup and picked up this 9.6 AMP BE 1100 1/2 drill from them. Well when it came, it had an obvious defect in the metal gear casing housing that butts up to the plastic housing of the tool. The drill seems to perform completely fine, and I've poked at the metal defect with a pick to see if it was friable and ready to fall out, but it seems to be fairly in place, just poor manufacturing/casting. Just expected a bit more after all my other tools from them have been immaculate precision power monsters.

Anyone have thoughts on whether this is worth attempting to contact Metabo about? I purchased it through Amazon, who I know is fantastic about returns. I guess I'm seeing this as more a problem that the manufacturer should not be shipping in a 200+ dollar drill. Its also one of their made in germany products, so I really expected top notch quality. Maybe I should've bought a FEIN?

Pictures below:

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Ign · Mar 31, 2016

At over $200 I might be extra critical too. WTH are you gonna do with nearly 10 amps in a hand drill?? The 8A Milwaukee is more than enough to hurt me if it really wants to.

TigerDude · Apr 1, 2016

Hulk drill!!

PureLeaf · Apr 13, 2016

Incase anyone is interested in an update:

I contacted Metabo, explaining the situation and attached the photos that you can see above. I received this response, "Hello,
Sorry for the inconvenience, please box-up the tool with proof of purchase and contact information and send to:
Metabo
Warranty Department
1231 Wilson Drive
West Chester, PA 19380"

So I boxed it up, mailed it off and it was delivered Apr 4th. On April 13th, I received the drill back with a note saying

"No Problem found. The imperfection at the base of the gearbox is a casting mark from the molding tree. It will not interfere with the integrity of the tool."

I don't disagree with this comment. Being a premium tool from a premium brand, I do think the finish is unacceptable. I'm also now out 30 bucks that it cost to mail the tool back to Metabo, the 11 days they kept the tool to review it, and am now outside of my return window. I wonder why their customer service even bothered to ask me to return the tool. I thought my picture were pretty clear.

Got to say I'm not particularly pleased with the experience of being told to send it in, and then just having it returned. Probably point more of my money in Fein or Hilti's direction after this experience.

I've written back to the original customer service rep who asked me to send it in, and explained my displeasure about being told to ship it off, only to have it returned unchanged. Will update when he responds.

Superbec · Apr 13, 2016

can't see any pictures...

Git · Apr 13, 2016

I can't see any pics either

My first rule of thumb - within the first 30 days if there is a problem or I am unhappy with something about the way it was made/assembled/etc - It is going back (especially with Amazon) I may or may not buy it again

PureLeaf · Apr 13, 2016

Alright guys, hosted from a site outside of garage journal.

rallenc · Apr 13, 2016

In my mind that's BS. Obvious lack of attention to detail; what else is "good enough" on a $200 drill?

Thanks for the 'heads up". Sorry for your inconvenience.

jd_1138 · Apr 13, 2016

That should've been sold as a defect/2nd for like 50-60% of retail. I don't think a DeWalt, Makita, or Milwaukee at half the price would ever leave the factory like that.

thegroundpounder99 · Apr 13, 2016

A top dollar price tag demands a top quality product, and that wouldn't fly with me either. It may not affect it, but there's a lot of choices out there for drills at far less so shame on them. The least they could've done is send you a new one.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

bob15 · Apr 13, 2016

PureLeaf said:
I don't disagree with this comment. Being a premium tool from a premium brand, I do think the finish is unacceptable. I'm also now out 30 bucks that it cost to mail the tool back to Metabo, the 11 days they kept the tool to review it, and am now outside of my return window. I wonder why their customer service even bothered to ask me to return the tool. I thought my picture were pretty clear.

Got to say I'm not particularly pleased with the experience of being told to send it in, and then just having it returned. Probably point more of my money in Fein or Hilti's direction after this experience.

I've written back to the original customer service rep who asked me to send it in, and explained my displeasure about being told to ship it off, only to have it returned unchanged. Will update when he responds.

I would e-mail several people, and try and make sure they are of different departments. Include the pictures if possible.

That being said, i would have probably just used the drill and not bother to send it back (or even e-mail them to begin with). I look at it as a tool that will get dragged, scratched, dropped and beat-up, using it. And I'm not talking about abusing it, just using it.

Also....in case you care, hilti is china now.....

PureLeaf · Apr 13, 2016

I made a phone call to the service rep who I'd emailed with. He told me he was going to find the service person who did the evaluation, and the manager, and if that didn't work, that he'd escalate things to his own service rep manager as well. He's got all of my documentation, photos, my personal cell etc.

But after this first experience, I'll believe it when I see it in terms of fixing this. So hopefully I'll hear back soon.

I'm a little miffed if I have to mail it back in again, as they'll put me around 60 dollars mark (30 dollars each time) in mailing fees.. close to 1/3rd the price of the drill.

Git · Apr 13, 2016

I have to laugh - but not at you PureLeaf

Personally, when you buy a premium tool it should reflect premium quality and craftsmanship. I would have sent it back and taken my chances on another one

The reason why I am laughing is there are a number of what I call "Festool Fools" that actually try to justify similar workmanship on a $1,500 miter saw!

I am talking about the Kapex. It costs about 3X what a 'normal' miter saw costs
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002MYMVWM/?tag=atomicindus08-20

And here is a picture from the Festool Owners Group Forum where they basically ripped this guy apart for asking a question about the poor quality of casting along the edge

T45 · Apr 13, 2016

Gonna have to disagree on these comments...that stuff is all cosmetic casting and has nothing to do with the tool's performance...just its looks...

"it had an obvious defect in the metal gear casing housing"

That's a huge overstatement, it is casting slag not a "defect" in metallurgy

although I get it you want to be pampered at a premium pricepoint, but what does it matter? I can understand being ticked off....if was a precision tool or something...but seems like a waste in a highly complicated drill to complain about some slag on a casting.

Like if it was a milwaukee I can't see getting to bent out of shap, hey at least its built like a brick ********* and its real metal casting (and hopefully not cheap pot metal).

Sorry OP nothing against the post or the frustration, just another perspective that the world is not coming to an end, the drill is not going to fail or break or be out of spec.

What ***** is the money and time you are out, the the dissapointment of them leading you down the road with customer service. But this really seems like something best handled at another level.

dnschmidt · Apr 13, 2016

If you think Festool is bad, and they are, say something not flattering to the FELDER owners group. You would think that you just told them that their wife is UGLY. I have a lot of Metabo and these casting marks are fairly common. When they bother me I just take some needle files and take them off. I think this is just the way Metabo does things. The stuff I have from them is made in Germany where workers make $25 an hour so hand work, removing the casting flash, is expensive. Other than that their stuff is great but they typically do have what I consider to be cosmetic defects.

jd_1138 · Apr 13, 2016

PureLeaf said:
I made a phone call to the service rep who I'd emailed with. He told me he was going to find the service person who did the evaluation, and the manager, and if that didn't work, that he'd escalate things to his own service rep manager as well. He's got all the documentation, photos, my personal cell etc.

I'll believe it when I see it though. So hopefully I'll hear back soon.

I'm a little miffed if I have to mail it back in again, as they'll put me around 60 dollars mark (30 dollars each time) in mailing fees.. close to 1/3rd the price of the drill.

This is where customer service is important. Had they had great customer service, they would've simply mailed you a new drill from the get-go and told you to keep the other one or send it back to them on their dime. This takes empowering their employees with the power to do such things instead of running it through the chains of command.

And then this thread wouldn't have occurred. I wonder how many sales they will lose when people read this thread?

PureLeaf · Apr 13, 2016

dnschmidt said:
If you think Festool is bad, and they are, say something not flattering to the FELDER owners group. You would think that you just told them that their wife is UGLY. I have a lot of Metabo and these casting marks are fairly common. When they bother me I just take some needle files and take them off. I think this is just the way Metabo does things. The stuff I have from them is made in Germany where workers make $25 an hour so hand work, removing the casting flash, is expensive. Other than that their stuff is great but they typically do have what I consider to be cosmetic defects.

I was laughing pretty hard at the "told them their wife is ugly" comment.

I've got a Metabo grinder, Metabo Brushless quick release 18v drill, Metabo Circular saw, metabo sawzall, 2 metabo jigsaws, and a metabo impact driver and they're all immaculate looking when they were delivered. No screw ups in the casting, or plastic etc. Thats why this surprised me.

I can see what you're saying about filing off imperfections, but when I looked at this, I just thought longterm, it could crack, then I've lost one of only 3 screw supports for the gear box. Concerned me a bit, Plus right now its brand new and in warranty. 5 or 10 years from now, I could be just out of luck and unable to even find parts. So I'd rather it be ready for the longhaul.

isr2kba · Apr 13, 2016

jd_1138 said:
This is where customer service is important. Had they had great customer service, they would've simply mailed you a new drill from the get-go and told you to keep the other one or send it back to them on their dime. This takes empowering their employees with the power to do such things instead of running it through the chains of command.

And then this thread wouldn't have occurred. I wonder how many sales they will lose when people read this thread?

I've always had great satisfaction w metabo products. That said, I haven't tried entering any of them in beauty contests.

You'll have to spend a lot more than 2 bills for metabo level of performance AND external perfection.

LXCam · Apr 13, 2016

I can't blame you for inquiring about the issue and wanting them to take care of your perception of a defect. But I have to ask why on gods green earth would you spend one additional dime covering shipping costs on this. Oh I'm sure you'll more then likely get them to send you a new drill after a **** load of effort and bitching. But you'll be into a new tool for how much? and for what, a cosmetic issue.

Git · Apr 13, 2016

This is why I like to use Amazon

Here is there web page for that drill
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005G10PGM/?tag=atomicindus08-20

As you can see - they do make them without the casting "defect" and I will agree that it does not effect the performance, but why would you buy one that looks 'less than desirable' when you can buy one that looks perfect for the same price?

NO way would I have spent money to send it in for warranty work. I would told Amazon it was defective and had them send me another one. If that one looked the same, I would either make the decision at that point to keep it or move on to something else

And Shame on Metabo for just sending it back to you saying there was nothing wrong with it

For those of you saying it is just a cosmetic issue - where do you draw the line, new car scratched up, what?

bob15 · Apr 13, 2016

Git said:
For those of you saying it is just a cosmetic issue - where do you draw the line, new car scratched up, what?

It is a two hundred dollar drill, not a 50k truck. The last Metabo drill I bought, i took it out of the box and started using it, without looking it over. It is a tool that will get beaten up over time. Then again, I also don't buy wrenches, sockets and ratchets like many on this site do, just to look at them under a microscope to find imperfections. I use them.

To the OP, I would e-mail people instead of calling.....better paper-trail that way

Superbec · Apr 14, 2016

I can understand the frustration, I recently got some Wiha drivers and the finish is comparable to your drill, got flustered a bit, got over it, the drivers work very good , I bet your drill works too.

Now I'm not gonna buy Wiha anymore, already ordered about 200euros of pb-swiss witch is amazing !

I think a bit of anticipation would have saved you 30 bucks, if the drill works I bet no company would warranty it, refund maybe but from the store not Metabo.

finn · Apr 14, 2016

It's a drill. Like for making holes in things.

It may be an expensive drill, but it's still a drill.

It's not eye candy.

BikerDad · Apr 14, 2016

This is one of those situations where the expectations of the customer and the expectations of the manufacturer don't line up. I'm leaning toward the OP's side on this, but purely due to the perceived and potential risk down the line. Yes, it's a casting flaw. The question I would be asking is how do they KNOW it's merely cosmetic? Without X-raying it or some such, they can't. Did they take the drill apart and inspect it from the inside? If so, that would certainly indicate a reduction in the risk, but there still could be trouble lurking under the paint. Now, unlike the Festool flaw pictured, this one does threaten the functional integrity of the tool.

On the other side, you've got the manufacturer and their factory service people. They know their product a lot better than most of us do. They've likely seen enough to categorize this as almost 100% positively a cosmetic flaw. :evil:

Most tool companies, especially non-collectible tools, focus far more on the function than the flash. From the repair/service perspective, if it works properly, it fails to meet the "needs to be warrantied" standard. If it MIGHT fail down the road, well, send it in for warranty when it does.

So those are the expectations. From a customer service perspective, it's obvious that this is, in fact, a new, non-abused tool. Once the OP put that tool in the mail, the smart thing for Metabo would have been to simply send him a new, pre-inspected tool, zip a Dremel/file across the flaw, notify the marketing and QA people as to the flaw so they can run the numbers of whether it's worth addressing in production or eating the rare occasional warranty, and sell the offending tool as reconditioned. Throw a hat and some beer coozies in with the new tool as a goodwill spiff and call it a day. :beer:

Sadly, Metabo itself seems to be a little bit confused about exactly which expectations to which they are adhering.

Here is what they say on their Service/Support page:

SERVICES/SUPPORT

METABO
This promise applies not only to new tools but also to our older models. "Minimum downtime" - that is the objective to which we are committed. It means that our customers receive a power tool that is in good electrical and mechanical condition within the shortest possible time - with a full 90 day warrenty.

From their "About Metabo" page:

ABOUT METABO

METABO - THE FUTURE IS AT HAND
We invite you to look around and learn more about the company group and the Metabo brand name.
You will discover that our machines are being used worldwide under some of the most extreme conditions imaginable. In addition, you will find out more about the people who work at Metabo and their unconditional love of perfection and their vision for the future.

So, is it "perfection", or "good electrical and mechanical condition"? :dunno:

finn · Apr 14, 2016

How do you know that it's a casting flaw? The component engineering drawings would have a note (specification) identifying where and how many "deviations" are allowed on a casting.

I doubt the manufacturer's design specifications would identify the riser flash that you see in the photos as a casting flaw making the casting unacceptable for a saleable and functional tool.

A lot of keyboard manufacturing, quality control, and design engineers on this thread.

PureLeaf · Apr 14, 2016

finn said:
How do you know that it's a casting flaw? The component engineering drawings would have a note (specification) identifying where and how many "deviations" are allowed on a casting.

I doubt the manufacturer's design specifications would identify the riser flash that you see in the photos as a casting flaw making the casting unacceptable for a saleable and functional tool.

A lot of keyboard manufacturing, quality control, and design engineers on this thread.

Heres my return paper with notes. As someone else said, you wouldn't expect to see this on a Makita or a Milwaukee tool. Hell not even Ryobi junk has that sort of casting marks.

nh_yota · Apr 14, 2016

I don't think it's defective from a functional standpoint, but you would think a company that sells a premium product and emphasizes "attention to detail" wouldn't let that slip past QC.

southalabama · Apr 14, 2016

If I pay a premium price I'd want it to look good too. If I were giving it to a construction crew I'd be pissed but wouldn't worry about it. I'd returned it to the place I bought it.

Fcvapor05 · Apr 14, 2016

T45 said:
That's a huge overstatement, it is casting slag not a "defect" in metallurgy

I've designed and sold a LOT of castings in my life. Casting slag IS a defect.

Not to say I would've sent this drill back.

finn said:
How do you know that it's a casting flaw? The component engineering drawings would have a note (specification) identifying where and how many "deviations" are allowed on a casting.

I doubt the manufacturer's design specifications would identify the riser flash that you see in the photos as a casting flaw making the casting unacceptable for a saleable and functional tool.

A lot of keyboard manufacturing, quality control, and design engineers on this thread.

You make a reasonable point. The easiest way to tell what's allowed would be to line up a couple hundred of the same drill bought at retail and see how much of an outlier this is. Obviously that's not possible.

At the end of the day, OP, it's your money. Do what you want.

Strouty · Apr 14, 2016

I can totally understand the OP's concern, the last time I took a drill like that with me to the bar, not one chick even talked to me.

Of course, I would have returned it and I would be pissed as well.

MWEric · Apr 14, 2016

jd_1138 said:
That should've been sold as a defect/2nd for like 50-60% of retail. I don't think a DeWalt, Makita, or Milwaukee at half the price would ever leave the factory like that.

Mine did.

PureLeaf · Apr 14, 2016

See yours doesn't really bother me MWEric, just seems like a bit of external metal on the base. I feel like mine has a crumply/cracked look that eventually its just gonna crack a portion off and lose the screw mount.

MWEric · Apr 14, 2016

Wanna trade. Lol

bsaint · Apr 15, 2016

Fcvapor05 said:
I've designed and sold a LOT of castings in my life. Casting slag IS a defect.

Not to say I would've sent this drill back.

You make a reasonable point. The easiest way to tell what's allowed would be to line up a couple hundred of the same drill bought at retail and see how much of an outlier this is. Obviously that's not possible.

At the end of the day, OP, it's your money. Do what you want.

It wasn't casting slag. It was part of the riser. That's pretty normal. I actually do my own design and casting.

bsaint · Apr 15, 2016

Strouty said:
I can totally understand the OP's concern, the last time I took a drill like that with me to the bar, not one chick even talked to me.

Of course, I would have returned it and I would be pissed as well.

Exactly

crab · Apr 15, 2016

It looks like 10 minutes with a file would solve the problem.

gasman23 · Apr 15, 2016

Git said:
The reason why I am laughing is there are a number of what I call "Festool Fools" that actually try to justify similar workmanship on a $1,500 miter saw!

And here is a picture from the Festool Owners Group Forum where they basically ripped this guy apart for asking a question about the poor quality of casting along the edge

I recently made a remark about Festool on an woodworking forum, I also got ripped apart.
On that forum there were some DIY/hobbyist guys with Festool tools who were very enthusiastic about their tools, one guy worked with Festool on a professional level and was not so impressed with their quality.
So I remarked that I rather heard the opinion of a professional who has to earn a living with his tools than the opinion of a hobbyist.
:eyecrazy:

Boy, that was the wrong answer

bob15 said:
It is a two hundred dollar drill, not a 50k truck. The last Metabo drill I bought, i took it out of the box and started using it, without looking it over. It is a tool that will get beaten up over time.

I agree, it`s a tool, not a precious watch.

ilovevocs · Apr 15, 2016

Is returning it an option at this juncture. I would find a local
Metabo retailer that is privately owned and buy from them.

Guy I buy from would have thrown it in the box and handed me a new one. They are however a family owned store.

We also have a Metabo rep that covers our territory. I don't know if you could locate yours but you may have more success face to face if he could be found.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

PureLeaf · Apr 15, 2016

Appreciate everyone weighing in on this.

The last message I received was yesterday. It said,

"I am forwarding you information on to our product manager to get his input on the whole situation and I will contact you and let you know ASAP."

Haven't heard anything since. To answer Ilovevoc's question, I'm outside of the return window now. I do agree with what everyone's said that it doesn't effect the functionality of the tool. Though I'm still fearful of a break down the line. Only way that flaw could be verified or disproven would be via X-ray which obviously isn't going to happen.

Still feel like Metabo should've stepped up to the plate on their warranty of a brand new tool especially when they'd told me to send it in after seeing the photos of it.

PureLeaf · Apr 20, 2016

Final follow up. So it looks like Metabo will be doing nothing on this, their reply is:

"Inventory was checked and the mold marks are present on all our stock. While this is not ‘Metabo’ quality, and, the images have been sent to the Quality Dept. in Germany, this is strictly a blemish and in no way affects the performance of the tool, now, nor in the years to come."

I read that as this product is not up to our standards, but we're selling it anyways.

Disappointed in this Metabo Corded Drill

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