# MES Broke Yesterday*******Sam's Club 3 Year Warranty?



## xxlt250rxx (Mar 17, 2011)

My MES quit yesterday so I drove 45 miles to the nearest Sam's today.  I purchased the 3 year extended warranty when I bought it two years ago so I expected to simply exchange it.  I was told no can do, you will have to call the number on the warranty pamphlet and file a claim.  The lady behind the counter said if it was over a year old I could not exchange it at the store.  So I called before i left the store.  The lady on the phone took all my info an said that a service person would contact me withing three days.  What will happen next?  Will someone actually come out and fix it?  Will I have to take it somewhere to be fixed?  Anybody here took one back to Sam's after the one year period was up?


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## boykjo (Mar 18, 2011)

I have used warranties before that I paid for and these extended  warrantees are not covered by the store but a second party. Most warranties I have delt with is ensurion. They do things that dont make sense but they will repair or replace your unit. You will call the insurance co (information supplied by sams) and they will have you on file for insurance and you will file a claim. They will mail you a sticker for ups and you will bring your unit to the ups and drop it off for shipment to  their repair facility. If they cannot repair it they will ship it back to you and you will then get another slip and ship it to the manufacturer repair shop. If it cannot be repaired there they will ship it back to you and you will ship it back to them (insurance co) and they will order you a new one and have it delivered. its alot of hassle but they do warranty the unit for repair or replacement. I did this with a playstation 3. I dont know if they will just replace your unit because of the size and weight for shipping. You might get lucky and just ship your unit to them and they will send you a new one...........

hope this helps and happy smokin


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## SmokinAl (Mar 18, 2011)

Good to know.


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## tjohnson (Mar 18, 2011)

If I remember correctly, RonP took his back to SAMS, and they exchanged it for him under the warranty.

A few years back, was looking at a Sony TV at SAMS, and also the extended warranty.  They used the terms "Wear and Tear parts Are Not Covered By This Warranty.  On rear projection TV's, they have a high intensity lamp that's good for about 400-600 hours and they burn out.  The cost to replace was $400 and NOT COVERED by the extended warranty at SAMS Club.  The lamp was specifically covered by the extended warranty at Best Buy, and that's where we purchased it.  Also, the warranty at Best Buy covered a technician to come out to the house for repair, but the warranty from SAMS stated that we had to package it up and ship it to an "Authorized Repair Center".  Can you imagine packing up a 42" tv and shipping it?

Remember, "The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Grease"!!!!!

Keep bugging people until you get what you want!!

What's happening with your MES?

Element not heating up?

Controller not working?

Todd


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## xxlt250rxx (Mar 18, 2011)

TJohnson said:


> If I remember correctly, RonP took his back to SAMS, and they exchanged it for him under the warranty.
> 
> A few years back, was looking at a Sony TV at SAMS, and also the extended warranty.  They used the terms "Wear and Tear parts Are Not Covered By This Warranty.  On rear projection TV's, they have a high intensity lamp that's good for about 400-600 hours and they burn out.  The cost to replace was $400 and NOT COVERED by the extended warranty at SAMS Club.  The lamp was specifically covered by the extended warranty at Best Buy, and that's where we purchased it.  Also, the warranty at Best Buy covered a technician to come out to the house for repair, but the warranty from SAMS stated that we had to package it up and ship it to an "Authorized Repair Center".  Can you imagine packing up a 42" tv and shipping it?
> 
> ...


I think you are right about RonP, that's why I headed to the store to exchange it.  Something has changed or they just didn't like my looks.  Anyway, the element is not heating up.  When I went to empty the chip pan from my last smoke I found about a half cup of unburned chips.  I though this was strange.  Then about 30 minutes into the smoke and the temp did not change I knew I had problems. 

If this warranty business turns out to be as big a headache as boykjo describes I keep my money next time and fix it my self or look for a better smoker.


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## eman (Mar 18, 2011)

The fix is not hard to do . I purchased the first mes 40" sold here by sams and didn't know about the extended warrenty.

 Mine went about the same as yours(over 2 years) before the heating element connector burned off the wire.

 Went to an appliance repair shop and got 12 guage high temp wire and stainless steel connectors.

 about 1 hr to drill out the rivets ,repair and reinstall the back panel w/ 1/2 " pan head screws.


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## tjohnson (Mar 18, 2011)

XxLT250RxX said:


> I think you are right about RonP, that's why I headed to the store to exchange it.  Something has changed or they just didn't like my looks.  Anyway, the element is not heating up.  When I went to empty the chip pan from my last smoke I found about a half cup of unburned chips.  I though this was strange.  Then about 30 minutes into the smoke and the temp did not change I knew I had problems.
> 
> If this warranty business turns out to be as big a headache as boykjo describes I keep my money next time and fix it my self or look for a better smoker.


The issues with the wiring have been fixed on the new models, and there's an access panel for repairs, if necessary.  I haven't heard of any of the new models having issues with the wiring

eman is right, that the fix is simple and will be much cheaper than buying a new smoker.  The end of one or both of the connections is bad.

There manufacturer does not have a fix for the old units, so push the warranty company for a new unit.  Masterbuilt will not sell you any parts to fix it yourself.  If this happened within the warranty period, they would have sent you a new box, less the door, racks, pans and controller.

I rarely buy extended warranties, as they are usually inflated in price.  i politely tell the salesman that if this thing dies after the warranty runs out, I'll never buy another one!  That said, i did buy a service plan for $5/mo for my new DROID phone.  One drop of water, and a $300 phone is junk!!

Keep us posted!!

Todd


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## eman (Mar 18, 2011)

TJohnson said:


> The issues with the wiring have been fixed on the new models, and there's an access panel for repairs, if necessary.  I haven't heard of any of the new models having issues with the wiring
> 
> eman is right, that the fix is simple and will be much cheaper than buying a new smoker.  The end of one or both of the connections is bad.
> 
> ...


The fix cost about $10  + an hour or so of your time. If you decide to do the fix MAKE SURE and replace both wires that go to the heating element not just the one that is burned. They usually burn  at the spade connector at the element.


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## slodave (Mar 18, 2011)

Keep us updated on the status of this.. I just purchased a new MES from Sam's and got the 3 year warranty for $39. I never buy warranties but with this smokers past history and the assurance that Sam's will just swap it out..it seemed like a no brainer. Now... hmm might have to try to get my money back on the warranty (just bought a week ago)


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## xxlt250rxx (Mar 22, 2011)

UPDATE:     When I got home today I found a message from the "Service Solution Team".  The lady said they were unable to locate a service center or anyone to come out and service my unit.  She said within 7 to 10 days I would receive a check for the amount I paid plus any sales tax.  Even though I couldn't exchange it at the store it looks like the warranty may have been worth the money.  I don't usually buy extended warranties but after reading on this site I decided to spend the money.  Glad I did.  Now, since the new models are said to not have the problems the old models did I have to decide whether to purchase the warranty again or not.  Or try a different brand smoker altogether?


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## boykjo (Mar 22, 2011)

Cool smoked beans........................


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## mossymo (Mar 22, 2011)

Over the last 12 years I have purchased 4 home pc packages from Sam's Club, each purchase also included the extended warranty. All 4 pc's have had major problems within the warranty period and each time the extended warranty company has not been able to repair them within 3 visits and Sam's Club has reimbursed me the product price, tax and the cost of the extended warranty. Currently I have a 8 month old laptop with a 5 year extended warranty through Sam's Club. The extended warranty Sam's Club sells, they will stand behind 100% if extended warranty is not providing the service. I'm not big on extended warranties, but I rarely pass on not purchasing one through Sam's Club; it may entail some inconvenience, but  the 100% cash back warranty that gets stood behind earns my business.


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