Wilton Lifetime Warranty

[redmed]

I have a 20+ year old Wilton vise that will not hold at the swivel. It may have held tight when I first got it, otherwise I'm sure I would have returned it. But for a long as I can remember this vise has been useless except for squeezing things or light filing. I have been avoiding the use of this vise for years. Whenever I needed the services of strong vice I use a vise I have in my garage.

I'm reorganizing my workshop and decided that the only thing this vise has been doing for many years is taking up space. I started looking for a replacement vise, and on this forum discovered that Wilton has a "Lifetime Warranty" on their products. I took the vice to a local store that is a "Wilton Service Center" and asked if he could do anything for me. He told me that the "Lifetime Warranty" is not for the life of the owner but is for the "Lifetime" of the tool. The "lifetime" of a vice is ten years and he could not do anything.

Is this guy just blowing smoke at me? Should I take the vice to another Wilton Service Center? Or is the Wilton Lifetime Warranty really just ten years?

 

[PureLeaf]

We just had another thread going on Wilton Hammers where they were denying a warranty without proof of purchase. After reading that, I actually returned the Wilton BASH sledge I'd purchased a day prior by coincidence.

Interested to see what happens here.

 

[G_P]

Ask to see that policy in writing. "lifetime" should mean exactly that. Otherwise whats to stop Snap-On or any other company from deciding that their tools have a "lifetime" of say 90 days and then the warranty is void.

 

[PureLeaf]

Just pulled this off the Millerweld's community

"I hate to get OT but I want everyone to know. I was going to get a Wilton vise and was planning to spend about $600 on one. Before I did I called them and talked to the customer service (which there customer service needs improvement). I asked about the "Lifetime" Warranty. They told me it is only for the "Lifetime" of the vise. So I asked them whats that and they were hesitant to answer. They told me "average Lifetime" of a vise is 6 (six) years, so It has a "lifetime" warranty of the vise. I asked if I buy a new vise and break it 8 years from now, Wilton will not fix it, or replace it then? The man said correct because the life of the vise was over at 6 years. I argued then that the "Lifetime" warranty was misleading, and advertising fraud, and told him that wilton doesnt offer a lifetime warranty, only a 6 year warranty. But before I got to arguing with him, I asked what was covered under there crappy 6 year warranty. He said it was the spindle (including the threads) and the nut. And the jaws were not included in the warranty if they broke."

http://www.millerwelds.com/resource...ad.php?17709-broken-Vice-!!-need-help!!/page2

 

[drivesitfar]

RedMed: as far as i know Wilton has never had a lifetime warranty on their vises. at most I've heard is 5 years on their higher end ones and the one you have isn't one of those.

sorry i don't own that particular Wilton, but if you want to post your vise on the vise repair 101 thread with lots of pictures and good detail i'm sure somebody here on GJ has one that might be able to help. That Wilton was never made for heavy duty and only light to medium duty at best, but it does have a lot of angles you can use if you get it working again.

the link to the vise repair 101 thread is in my signature if you want to post there.

 

[franzdom]

drivesitfar: apparently their vises do have a "Lifetime Warranty":

http://www.wiltontools.com/us/en/service-and-support/warranty/

LIFETIME WARRANTY
Wilton warrants every product they sell against manufacturers’ defects. If one of our tools needs service or repair, please contact Technical Service by calling 1-800-274-6846, 8AM to 5PM CST, Monday through Friday.

 

[drivesitfar]

thanks and that's news to me. i guess I haven't bought a new one, but i hadn't heard of that from anybody else. we all talk about the old 5 year warranty that Wilton used to have that they stamped on their slides.

i'll be watching to see what develops and keep my thoughts to myself unless i hear something from Wilton.

 

[methomas70]

I have that same exact vise.
I bought it at an estate sale in exceptionally nice condition for just $5.00.

And I overpaid by five bucks.
That vise is a TURD.
I believe it was made overseas, but it doesn't matter, it's cheap junk regardless.
It's not at all a good all-purpose vise for a homeowner and certainly wouldn't hold up to even mild everyday use.
I have a Parker 434 1/2 in the garage, the "Tiltin' Wilton" can't hold 95% of the stuff I need held.

Even if Wilton can/does fix it under warranty, it's a basement vise, for soldering or glueing smaller pieces.

I would invest $25-$100 in a good used American-made vise, and get something that holds up.

 

[redmed]

Seems like I should save myself a trip to another Wilton center and keep their "Lifetime Warranty" in mind when shopping for a new vice.

I had a idea and took the vise to my workbench and found a bolt that fit the threads of the swivel clamp. Now I can take a long handled wrench and really torque on that bolt, maybe it will hold the vise solidly. If so, it will give some time to find a older more solid vice in a garage sale.

 

[scw1991]

Manufacturer's use the verbiage "warranty against material defects and workmanship". Unfortunately, this does not cover "wear", "abuse", or "use of product as not intended". They give themselves plenty of outs to deny a warranty claim.

 

[finn]

Why is it such a difficult concept to distinguish normal wear from a manufacturing defect?

 

[johninct]

My friend had a Snap-On (Wilton) vise and broke it and Snap-On had to give him another vise.

 

[mtwaterguy]

My friend had a Snap-On (Wilton) vise and broke it and Snap-On had to give him another vise.

Interesting. Why did Snap on "have " to give him another vise?

 

[sleepy127]

I have a wilton. I will post a picture of it when I get home but it is similar to this one; http://www.wiltontools.com/us/en/p/shop-vise-4-with-swivel-base/63300

With that being said mine is a older made in the usa vice and it saw some industrial abuse prior to me getting it. When I got it the thing worked perfect and served me well for a while. Prior to reading about vices here and what not to use vices for and what would be considered abuse I was using it as a press and used a cheater pipe and a whole lot of force breaking it in the process. I broke the weld where the movable jaw meets the shaft and bent it backwards. Without realizing that and continuing to use force to get what I needed done I then proceeded to mushroom the end of the shaft where it was pressing against the inside of its travel limit. Bottom line; good vice, bad operator.

 

[redmed]

Manufacturer's use the verbiage "warranty against material defects and workmanship". Unfortunately, this does not cover "wear", "abuse", or "use of product as not intended". They give themselves plenty of outs to deny a warranty claim.

A warranty is just a promise to the customer. Sadly some use verbiage to welch on a promise. Others take it even farther and state a "Lifetime Warranty" when if they were forthright would state "Six Year Warranty with numerous restrictions". Some can sell tools made in China and still sell a great volume because customers can rely on their promise.

 

[Kirbot]

I'd have laughed in his face at "10 years"....

A good American vise should last a life time. Mine is probably 70 years old.

 

[johninct]

Interesting. Why did Snap on "have " to give him another vise?

The warranty .

 

[123Go]

Well' this ***** & also news too me but not shocked with todays business attitudes.
I just went through the same bs with a recliner from Best Chair company & Craftsman tools.

Ramble, ramble here on down
Best chair so called lifetime warranty mech broke and it was only about 4 yrs old. Told me kiss off due to them not having parts/mech for repairs. Whats bs is they still sell the same chair today on their site and with same mech in it. I called them to verify its same after they lied.

My last Lane recliners lasted 19yrs with same usage and I gave them away due to being blue in color, sick of seeing them. Lane started importing everything so I bought a USA made set from Best..Go figure!!
Went and bought Flexsteel set now, night/day difference in quality. Warranty? We'll have to see later?
Sorry off vice topic, but it piss's me off being lied too for sales. I filed BBB fwiw...lol

However' I did get another USA Craftsman ratchet back after filing a BBB on Sears last yr. They mailed me a China ratchet 10 days after me returning my old faulty 3/8 USA ratchet to a store. Had same China tool on shelf even, never offered to me, Id have kept mine sparing whole deal.
I filed false advertisement on Crapsman, Sears,Amazon,Menards and everyone else google hit that posted Craftsmans bs lifetime "walk in replacement" warranty also made in USA on their sites for Crapsman tools.
Neither statements are true now since Kmart bought them out.

Sears district manager called me, then went through about 8 big sets to locate 1 USA 3/8 ratchet to make me go away after 2 months fighting. It was the principal of it, I bought a USA tool 34yrs ago not China, so I hung in tuff..lol I even offered to take my old one back ...Parts are online,I can fix gear..

Amazon was the first to change Made in USA to China on crapsman over it, but reviews saying China tools went back a couple yrs, so they surely knew. I got my hand slapped by them for rule violation after writing 32 neg reviews over it all. They removed all but 4 & sent a terrifying email too me...lol
That is when I included Amazon in BBB filing, the liars new its China, I broke a rule?...Please!!
Sorry hijacking here...But fight back like hell when they lie is my point, its buyer beware now days folks, we're all on our own!! Your PC is a fantastic weapon in every case.

 

[Maui]

As far as I know, when Wilton vises were first manufactured they carried a 5 year warranty to the original purchaser. They were never guaranteed for life.

Maui

 

[bigredmf]

Please don't take this wrong but your vice is a cheap exposed screw vise wether it was made in the US or overseas.

Thank you

Red


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