New out of box MarCum LX5 problem

[calli4120]

I just purchased a MarCum LX5 on the way home from work. I took it out of the box to get it ready for a trip I am taking tomorrow and it is not working.

When I turned it on all I get is a never ending beep and no lights. I thought that maybe the battery was dead but in the instruction manual it says that it comes charged and ready to fish. Just to make sure I hooked up another battery I had that should be good and I am getting the same problem. Its on the charger now just in case but either way I am not happy.

Has anyone else ever experienced this?

Anyone have a FL22 or FL20 they want to trade

[BartmanMN]

Sounds like you'll be making a trip back to the store.

[harvey lee]

I would charge a know good battery and then try it. From what you say, it sure sounds like a dead battery.

Just because the manual says it comes with a charged battery does not mean they could have missed it or you got a bad one.

I purchased a new battery for our car the other day and it lasted 2 days and was trashed. new batteries can be or go bad.

I would also make sure the battery leads are plugged into the head tight.

[calli4120]

Sounds like you'll be making a trip back to the store.

[pushbutton]

Always seems to be one thing or another when leaving on a trip Bummer for this to be the kick off, at least it should all be uphill from here, and no doubt you will leave Marcum with a great working unit…as you would a Vex or Bird service center. Since stuff like this is just part of life, don't know if it is more prevalent or that we just hear about it more, but sure looks like a real good reason to "buy local"

[BoxMN]

I also did have an issue when I bought my LX5 new - it was noisy, real noisy. I sent it in, they fixed brushes and it has humming silently and reliably since. It was back on my door in two days, though now I would probably just drive it over like you are. Good luck, the frustration will pass and you will love it

[Surface Tension]

What was the readout on the DCS display?

[calli4120]

What was the readout on the DCS display?

Not sure what DCS is.

I stopped in at MarCum this morning and they took care of me. Completely swapped the unit with another new one. Their service has always been great, but it would be better if I never had trouble to begin with. An out of box failure is pretty disappointing.

For those wondering it was a bad motor from what they said.

[Down Deep]

I'm glad you got your unit fixed and Marcum took good care of you. Is it the policy of Marcum or a store policy that they won't take an out-of-the-box dead unit back? If I was told that I would have left it on the counter or made them open it up and prove to me that the unit worked.

[Surface Tension]

I see that they did away with the DCS display. LED readout of battery charge.

Deep Down that would be store policy.

[Down Deep]

I once bought a dead Marcum at Marine General (Duluth) and returned it the next day. The General had no problem exchanging the unit, opened it up and tested it for me before I left the shop. Probably why his small local store is thriving and able to compete against the giants and netshops.

[CJH]

I can understand not accepting normal returns, but every retailer should do an exchange for defective product. Never heard of a flat out refusal before.

[aanderud]

I can understand not accepting normal returns, but every retailer should do an exchange for defective product. Never heard of a flat out refusal before.

This is why I shop with a credit card. You have protections from such incidents via what the credit card companies call a "chargeback". Chargeback code 53 is used for merchandise that is defective or not as described. The merchant account that the store has with the credit card companies will be negatively impacted (perhaps with higher rates) if they get too many chargebacks, so most stores will simply take the merchandise back without going through the chargeback process. If they don't, you always have the chargeback as a fallback option.

This is also why I shop at big box stores when making large purchases like this, whenever possible. They almost always have the most liberal return policies, as they can more easily handle the overhead of dealing with the defective stuff (sending it back to the company, getting properly reimbursed for it, etc).

[calli4120]

I guess I should clarify....

The store offered me an extended 2 year warranty on the LX5 (not an additional 2 years) for $59. Since Marcum's warranty is already 2 years I would have been paying them $59 to do what I can easily do myself. I refused the warranty and proceeded to check out.

After paying for the item the gentlemen said that I can return it unopened within 30 days but after it has been opened they cant take it back and since I didnt buy their warranty any defects had to be handled by the manufacturer even within the return policy. Hearing this kind of surprised me, but bad out of the box items are pretty rare and Marcum has a good reputation of quality items so I didnt even hesitate to walk out the door with out testing it.

Im sure had I raised a stink upon returning to the store I could have gotten it swapped for a working unit, but Im not really into yelling at a 18 year old college kid behind a counter just because his company has crappy policies. I elected to take it directly to MarCum because I knew they would take care of it and I would have the opportunity to voice my displeasure directly with them.

In the end I got what I paid for minus a few gallons of gas driving to MarCum and some lost time on the water. I used the flasher last night for the first time and while it did everything as described I was rather underwhelmed with it. I thought these things were supposed to catch you more fish?

Too bad the store didnt offer a fish guaranty becuase I would have paid top dollar for that!

Calli

[MikeG3Boat]

I'm interested in what store wouldn't take it back?

[calli4120]

I'm interested in what store wouldn't take it back?

Goose Summit

That was probably my first mistake but I had a gift card for there and got them to price match a store near Mille Lacs

[CaptainMusky]

First the removal of mounts and now this.