Quad servicing costs?

I have read more than a few times that servicing costs from Quad are very reasonable.

Has anything changed in in this regard in the last year or two (after all, the world is now upside-down)?

Wondering about a service for a 606, I have also read it's fairly easy to upgrade to 909 spec whilst at Huntingdon.

 

Ring them up (01480 452561), my recollection is that the service is a fixed price + parts + VAT.

IIRC, the shipping back felt like the expensive bit with the VAT, but then I had a lot of items to be serviced.

 

I had a 33 done back in 2015.
The labour costs then were £48
They charged an additional £15 for carriage + admin
They also charged for an 'official' return box (about £12) as they refused to send it back in the sturdy box and stuffing I had sent it to them in
Parts came to £1.46 for a new suppressor
On top of all this was VAT

It cost more to have the suppressor replaced than I had paid for the 33

It took months - when I called them they said that the man who repairs the very old units was on extended leave....

 

Ok, so c £75 for a Factory repair on a fixed labour charge? If you had no idea what was wrong, and couldn't change it yourself, how is that not very good value for something out of production over 35years..? Just because it was a £2 bit, doesn't change that. Nor does whinging about it. And when you sell ' Serviced by Quad ' will no doubt appear in the advert ...

 

He can't get over the fact that Quad charged £12 for new box and packing to protect his equipment for the return shipping. He's been going on about it every chance he can for ages. No doubt he'd be claiming against Quad if his returned item got damaged in transit.

I remember a story of a customer who sent in an amp dead on left channel. Quad repaired it. Not long after return, right channel went dead. Customer kicked up a stink claimed Quad should have known right channel would go.

I have to confess that I complained to Quad twice. First time, years back, I complained that what they carged me was far too low.
Second time, they repaired an elderly item and several months later it developed a different fault. Quad wanted to repair it free of charge. I made a big fuss insisting that they charge me for the repair.

I have never come across any company of any kind giving better service than Quad. A reminder of the PJW days.

 

Another thumbs up for Quad’s Service Department.
I’ve used it several times over the last 25 years, most recently last autumn on a 99 Series CD player.

It’s a pity Linn can’t offer similar ….

 

There's a wonderful story that persists from PJW days of an owner returning a 405 to the factory for a repair - met by PJW in the reception area, and when explained why there (a second repair) was invited - 'Oh follow me..'

PJW led the customer owner up a stair or two, and to their surprise found themselves on the roof and - with a comment somewhat akin to 'Now , let me see about that repair ...' - PJW threw the offending amp off the roof down into the car park - and gifted a new amplifier on the way out...

Cost-effective customer relations, eh

 

I recall working in my local HIFI shop, a Saturday Job many years ago. A customer brought in a FM3 which had a broken 75ohm arial socket, its inset to the rear panel. Would we send it back to Quad to see if it was repairable and or service. Two Saturdays later the customer returned to ask if any progress had been made, yes there is a FM3 box from Quad I was told in the stock room for the customer. To my surprise on fetching the box it was a new box and to the customers delight he had a brand new FM3 for the standard service charge. Amazing.

 

How *very* PJW!

I have to say that all my experiences of having Quad kit serviced by Quad since the early 80's (some of which I still own) have been excellent. They've even done work I requested and not charged me for it. Combined with the fact that they can pretty much service anything they have ever made, it's astonishing.

In response to Mike's experience I would just note that, had n components needed replacing they would have been and the work would still have only cost £48 + parts. Fixed price servicing is a gift. WRT, to the packaging materials, they know that their packing materials will protect the goods in transit to their standards and as they 'own' the risk in return transit until you receive the goods the only sensible thing is to package it to their standards.

There seems to be a culture of service there coupled with pride in the product which I've not found equalled by anyone except Les at Avondale, but that's another story!

 

I have mentioned it twice on PFM to my knowledge - both times in response to request for info about charges. Even if it was more than twice - so what!
Each time I have given the list of costs drawn from the invoice, hardly 'whinging'.
I mention the box issue because its worth knowing in advance of sending anything to Quad.
I didn't know, and there is no mention of such additional costs on their website. It is also non-negotiable, despite me offering by phone to send a signed waiver re any in-transit damage.
The fact that it took more than 3 months is also a relevant factor. They didn't inform me of the delay, I only found out when I phoned them to enquire about the status after two months.

I know there are some who feel that it is improper to say anything negative when an opinion or info is asked, however I do think it best that posters are aware of the rough as well as the smooth. I am also well aware that there are many who think the sun shines out of Quad's arse, perhaps it did in the old glory days of empire, etc...

If you don't like it, ... tough nuts, but if you have an issue with what I post please direct your comments in a reply to me so I am aware of them rather than making snide remarks to other posters.
Thank you.

 

I believe they want to be on the safe side, maybe couriers have damaged some of their kit earlier.
My 303 were in same box when received, their service were splendid and reasonable priced, I could even phone the guy afterwards asking for more information. Some contrast to their current product range mass-produced in a random factory in China - eh ?

Mind you mentioned service was before Brexit which now is a dealbreaker with most UK stuff in/out to EU.

 

+1 to both

 

It seems very fashionable in some quarters to knock companies that charge to service or repair a long out-of-production product. Personally, I feel it is the companies who don't offer this kind of service that should be knocked. Whether it is Quad or Naim etc, that you can get the item back to its original or better than the original spec is a great selling point for a company I feel.

 

Not exactly servicing but… I recently bought a NOS 405 transformer from Quad, really cheap, actually much cheaper than the toroidal replacements some companies sell. Why look elsewhere?

 

Quad servicing is great. OK, my experience is 25 years old but that amplifier is still running now. As far as labour charges vs parts cost, I've just repaired my neighbours ' front door lock. It took me a your of poking about to diagnose the fault, 10 minutes to dismantle it, 5 minutes to make it work and fetch a replacement nut from the garage. I did this in exchange for a cup of coffee, but had I been a locksmith it would have been callout, hour's labour, not cheap. For what? A nut worth 2p. But it's not about parts cost.

 

At least here in the USA -UPS has a lovely "out" for damaged in shipment products : Not covered because either not in original shipping package or not covered because original packaging was reused ?? Delivered a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls Friday -made a point (as I've been doing for the last 40 years or so) of encouraging the customer to retain the packaging for future use and warned them that these come from the factory on pallets -the box I delivered are not ultimate protection for shipping un-palleted. And that while Klpsch would sell them replacement packaging -it's REALLY expensive. BTW- to name but two -neither Bryston or Magnipan will accept repairs in anything other than their factory packaging.