Sightron warranty warning!

[crkckr]

I don't shoot benchrest or anything but I do have some pretty accurate rifles and they all wear Leupold scopes, all of which track and repeat just fine, have excellent clarity and are usually pretty much bullet proof, especially when it comes to cheaper scopes. The fact they take care of their customers is just icing on the cake. Besides, they're about the best I can afford! I have zero complaints, in fact I just got my 6.5 - 20 back, fixed for free. There are probably other companies that are just as good at customer service (even Simmons replaced a scope I got in a trade for free when it got bashed against a tree) but I tjink Leupold sets a pretty high bar for the industry.
Cheers,
crkckr

 

[Dean2]

My view, if I broke the scope through accident or abuse, no matter who made it, I would just go buy another one. I would not expect Leupold or anyone else to replace it. (I will no longer buy Vortex after having 3 of their top end scopes all fail. Fixed and sold as soon as they came back. Others like them, I don't trust them.)

If I was convinced, like the OP is, that it was defective when received and got worse, I would expect the company to stand behind their product and give me as the client the benefit of the doubt. Even with a Lifetime Warranty it seems Sightron is more interested in blaming the customer for this one and apparently quite a few other issues. If you want to, you can always find a way to blame it on the user. Based on this and other reports Sightron will never be a scope I buy.

 

[crkckr]

I have sent 4 scopes back to Leupold for repair over the last 35 or so years, all of which we're clearly my fault. In each case I have inquired about repair charges but they have always ignored that part. Three were repaired for free and one was replaced with a similar scope at no charge. When they say a lifetime warranty, they are not kidding! I might still be a Redfield lover but they screwed me royally on a hunt after they said they'd have it back in time. Ha! I should have asked them what year, not which month!
Cheers,
crkckr

 

[Mike 338]

I have a hard time with the concept that no matter how I take care of my "stuff" that the manufacturer is responsible at their cost to fix or replace my accidents or abuse.

I do to. Two things however... the OP said he claims he did take care of the equipment and two, Sightron didn't claim abuse, they claimed the scope was out of spec.

 

[Mike 338]

Absolutely incorrect. What separates good companies from great ones is never needing a warranty. I do not think companies are going to miss guys who expect free stuff because you broke your stuff.

There's some truth to that. A lifetime warranty is always a marketing ploy however there will be a tipping point whereby a bad company will be unable to honor such a warranty.

 

[calling4life]

I've owned several SIII's, they became popular on the fclass line.

Had one with debris kick up on the lens, called sightron, told them I had a match this upcoming weekend, they told me to overnight it and they would reimburse me, then they'd fix it, and have it overnighted back to get it to me immediately.

I brought it to UPS, had them box and ship it, put a copy of the receipt in with the scope, received the scope back a couple days later fixed with a check for the total cost to ship.

That was stellar customer service. But I'm in the U.S.

 

[dan1953]

Tried to post a popcorn picture, this is getting exciting!

 

[DENWA]

Absolutely incorrect. What separates good companies from great ones is never needing a warranty. I do not think companies are going to miss guys who expect free stuff because you broke your stuff.

Was on a trip in Texas, My uncles Schmidt and Bender stopped tracking after it fell out of the rack and he ran it over with the jeep. We called them and told them the truth.

They Overnight shipped him a 4-16x and a set of rings, Nice lady told him keep it until his gets fixed and she'd send a return slip and box to his house so when he got back It can get returned. ---That's service.

BTW--I too have had awesome no questions asked service with Zeiss

 

[ar10ar15man]

you too are ignoring the facts,
it is not worn out or defective..
it is BENT.
abuse somewhere..not covered by warranty.

'So off it goes back to sightron through my supplier, Just for me to receive that the scope is bent 1/4 inch out of spec and it cannot be repaired and as the scope is no longer made cannot be replaced.'

They made the scope and have published their warranty. They should either fix the scope or give him a new one of equal value. Experiences like this are why 99% of my scopes are Leupold! What I can't understand is how companies like this stay in business. Are there really enough people out there who don't do a lick of research on things before they buy? Sheesh!
Cheers,
crkckr

 

[ar10ar15man]

bent is the word..not covered pretty simple.

I do to. Two things however... the OP said he claims he did take care of the equipment and two, Sightron didn't claim abuse, they claimed the scope was out of spec.

 

[FIGJAM]

bent is the word..not covered pretty simple.

Based on the OPs description is looks like it could have been out of spec from the factory on day 1.

 

[yorke-1]

Here's Sightron's warranty. Copied and pasted from their web site.
Sightron USA Limited Lifetime Warranty


Sightron is certain our riflescopes, binoculars and spotting scopes will line up to your high
expectations and never let you down.



The Sightron "Limited Lifetime USA Warranty" covers all Sightron Products sold and shipped within the 50 states of the United States. Should your Sightron product ever fail due to workmanship or materials simply return it to Sightron and we will repair or replace it at our option. "See Exclusions Below"

This warranty does not cover damage that occurs in shipment or failures that result from accidents, misuse, abuse, unauthorized alterations, theft, modifications and acts of God.

Note: Products shipped from the USA out of the country are considered Gray Market Products and are not covered by this warranty.

This is the most important post in this whole thread. I'd like to know whether the OP obtained the scope through a licensed Sightron vendor or not. That would make a big difference in how Sightron would/should respond.

FWIW, I have 3 Sightron SIII scopes and I did send one of them back for repairs a few years ago. My 8-32x56 which had done very well on a 6mm BR didn't fair quite so well on my 13# 375 BME shooting 350gr bullets at 3000 fps. After about 50 rounds and a lot of dialing up and down from 100 yards to 2000 yards, the turrets stopped tracking. I reached out to Sightron about sending it in for repairs and explained that I had essentially torture tested a previously proven scope. They gave me an RA# and I sent it on it's way back. 2 weeks later I got the scope back as good as new at no charge.

There's nothing more frustrating than when somebody expects a company to go above and beyond their published warranty. The OPs thread on accurate shooter has some good information regarding Sightron's warranty outside of the USA.
http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/sightron-warranty-warning.3973336/

 

[Toddxusmc]

I have owned a myriad of optics over the years based on my income. My first legit decent optic was a used Sightron S2 4-16x42AO I purchased in the very early 1990s. It's been on everything from 10/22, to 25WSSM and a few rifles in calibers in between. I've never had any issues with it and when I left a turret cap at the range(circa 2004), I called to order and pay for 2 because it was my fault. Phillip wouldn't bill me and sent two out, great service, but not expected nor demanded . Over the years I have gone to Leupold, never a problem. Now that I am well into 10yes of bifocals I seem to see better with NIGHTFORCE and Vortex. I guess if there's a lesson from the OP situation it would to be to purchase an optic from a company who's warrenty policies meet your expectations. I think it's wrong to blame a company for something not covered by the written warrenty on an optic. Cont—-

 

[Toddxusmc]

Cont.. smaller mfg cannot stay in business long doing unlimited forever warrenties. There was a catalog corp Gander Mountain, when they went retail they losed their asses and eventually went under . Why? A big part of the reason They had their own series of fishing rods made by St Croix and they had lifetime warrenties. Everything they sold they gave a one year warranty with as long as someone had a reciept. You have no idea how many hundreds of rods came through in a year that they replaced; many abused or just worn past the average product life. I had people that came in every spring for a new rod, because the old one somehow broke. That other one year warrenty was also very costly, I would see high end Rocky(and other great brand) boots returned, caked full of cement, worn completely through(obviously abused) but guess what? They kept the reciept so they got a new pair and when those wore out, they would bring them in for a new pair as long as it was within a year of the return; with the reciept from the return.
Unlimited warrenties are a good thing especially on high end items where they can build in a 10% buffer to cover the warrenties. Small companies, lower end lower quality items it just doesn't make sense, and we shouldn't expect so much.