Wow, thats good service!

[Random guy]

I had a stack of Abu Garcia Baitcaster reels that I had burnt up through the years. Some the drags didn't work, a couple that the releases wouldn't pop back out so on and so forth.

I was going to toss the whole works out or see if I could heal a couple of those reels myself. After reading a post about the Abu factory service department in Iowa I figured what the heck send them in and see what happens.

Well twelve days later I have three reels that were replaced with new ones and two more that they fixed up and made just like new. For very little cost, and they sent back the old spools with my old line on them with the new reels!

The Abu logo says "World Class Quality" under it. I guess they are serious about it.

If you have a Abu Warranty Issue or need repairs just call the number on the box and they will instruct you on how to ship them or just look Abu on the web.

[EatSleepFish]

Wow, sure glad i bought an ambassadeur.

[Random guy]

The way I look at it is my reels get many many yards of line run through them and sometimes by a client that isn't used to using a baitcaster. So they fail out of pure use and abuse. Abu will stand behind them or fix them for a reasonable price, they just proved that to me.

[Lals]

Sounds very similar to Shimano. I sent in 6 reels this year and they replaced 4 (3 spinning and 1 TE) and cleaned and repaired the other 2.

[Scoot]

Jon, I figure if you buy me a couple beers, we'll call it an even!

Yeah, I can't say enough good things about their customer service.

[Random guy]

Quote:

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Jon, I figure if you buy me a couple beers, we'll call it an even!

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Beer? If I have to.

[CommonSense Guy]

Jon, What the best way to get that done? I would like to send in a few as well.

[Scoot]

Send your stuff to the address below with a note on each product clearly stating what the concern is. They'll take care of you.

Rods: Nationwide

Abu Garcia Factory Service

1900 18th Street

Spirit Lake, IA 51360

(800) 228-4272

Jon, the more I think about this the more I think the price of helping would be fair at about one beer per reel. How many did you have fixed- a couple dozen? With me being the tea toddler I am these days that should take care of me for several weeks. Seriously, I'm glad the info helped out other people too- that's the beauty of this great HSOforum.

[Steve Foss]

Yes, the mark of a phenomenal company is not that they stand behind their warranty as long as the warranty period lasts. That HAS to happen or they'll eventually be bad-mouthed until they're dead. The true assessment is what a company does when the warranty is up and you have a piece of their product that doesn't work anymore. Abu doesn't replace stuff for free after warranty, in general, but they're DARN good about taking care of their people. Any company in an ultracompetitive market like fishing reels that doesn't consider its customers "their people," better get an attitude adjustment.

I've been an Abu baitcaster man since buying my first 5500c in 1979. I'll be one for a long time coming, too. I still own that 5500c, and it is as solid now as it was then, although it has a lot of boat rash.

[Random guy]

True when the warranty is done its done, although they will make repairs for a reasonable amount of money. I am a die hard Shimano Calcutta TE fan but Abu just showed me they can keep up with the rest of them.

[Steve Foss]

Jon, I love those Calcuttas, but they are out of my budget. I can get a 6500C series reel on sale from a big retailer for under $75, so that's golden for me. If I had the budget I'd go with Calcuttas, too, but it's just a little too much.

[MedicDan]

I have to agree with Jon Petrowske, the Shimano calcutta is an extremely nice reel. i have only 2 of them, and I have'nt had probelems with mine.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I just got an invoice for my repairs to a 6500C3. It's a little more expensive that I was expecting( ), but I guess it's still cheaper than a new reel and will be worth it to have a fully functioning reel.

I must not rank as highly in the eyes of Abu Garcia as JP

[Random guy]

Guess they have met you Ralphy.

Wnat was the repair?

[Ralph Wiggum]

Quote:

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Guess they have met you Ralphy.

Wnat was the repair?

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Ouch

The handle was bent and something was up with the worm gear (levelwind would stick on one side, but I couldn't see anything wrong with the pawl or worm gear). Aside from that, they just gave it a general going over and replaced anything that was worn and put new drag washers in.

All in all, for the price I paid for the reel, the cost of shipping it to Abu, and their repair charges, I came up $9 short of a brand new reel Oh well, lesson learned

[Steve Foss]

Ralph, when the pawl sticks on one side it's almost always the pawl, and not the worm gear. Pawls are cheap and easy to replace. I've got a 5500C3 I picked up for $5 at a garage sale that's perfect every other way but has the pawl issue. Just haven't gotten around to replacing it yet. For some reason, all my hunting and fishing equipment repairs always seem to get bumped down below the honey-do list items. And no matter how much I complete, that honey-do list never shrinks.