Gibson's Lifetime Warranty?

[KenG]

And their lifetime warranty does not apply outside of the United States.

Well we know for sure that applies to Canadian Vendors thanks to Yorkville/L&M but I wonder if Gibsons sold by Vendors elsewhere would still be covered?

To be honest, I think if it's OK when you get it and you can't find anything wrong, it's unlikely something will just happen later on.

 

[Axis39]

Actually, i have a friend who had an R4 that had a bad trussrod (it was broken inside the necl). He'd had the guitar for a number of years and had previously taken it to a Gibson Authorized guy for service - for a setup/trussrod adjustment.

Gibson asked for his receipt for the prior service.

Then had him send the guitar (at their expense). They decided that his guitar was unrepairable and built him a brand new R4. The new R4 was better than the original... and the original was one of my favorite guitars. I as truly impressed with the service and the new guitar!

 

[ACELUEK]

I have used the warranty 2 times. They replaced my 2009 Traditional Les Paul, even after I had installed Dimarzio Pickups in it. I'm perfectly happy with Gibson's warranty.

Here is what they gave me as a replacement. But, I also treated the customer service guys with respect.

 

[KenG]

I remember Gibson also sent pics of the build progress to you Ace which you in turn posted for MLP members. It was very cool watching them make your new Trad+.

 

[dspelman]

I have no idea what they actually DO cover, and I certainly have no clue why they'd call it a "lifetime" warranty. It's never really mattered to me; I've always figured that anything I'd want done to the darned thing would be better done locally by a really good tech than to let it fall back into their hands anyway <G>.

 

[circles]

Never had to deal with warrenty. My 20 year old standard has been rock solid from day 1. (I did wear out the toggle switch and the jack though.) Anyway I probably lost the warrenty card within a week...

 

[MarkieLesPaul]

Well we know for sure that applies to Canadian Vendors thanks to Yorkville/L&M but I wonder if Gibsons sold by Vendors elsewhere would still be covered?

Is this still true about Yorkville/L&M? This week I was in Long & McQuade and the salesman told me the Gibson Limited Lifetime Warranty does not apply outside the U.S. But I called Gibson in the U.S. and the guy said it definitely does and that the L&M salesman was misinformed. He did say that in Canada you'd have to go through Yorkville Sound to make a claim. And I see nothing on the Gibson website that limits the warranty to the U.S. So this is very confusing. Can anyone please clarify?

Cheers
M

 

[Inside Guy]

Show me any documents where Gibson states they have or offer a "lifetime Warranty". When you post a pic please include the word that comes before "lifetime".

Just helping to clarify a few things in this thread.

 

[Inside Guy]

So you mean to tell me that if I replace the caps in one of my Gibsons with some good PIO's, and then the neck warps all to **** from a "manufacturer defect" - it wouldn't be covered because of my cap swap?

I'd raise hell over that...

I've read their warranty before and thought the same thing, though - they don't warrant a goddamned thing.

The unwritten rule at Gibson was, if your modification had nothing to do with the problem, then you were fine.

So if you swtiched caps and the neck warped, Gibson would do the right thing. Now, if your pickups crapped out after you replaced the caps, then no, you probably wouldn't be covered.

Does that make sense?

 

[MarkieLesPaul]

Show me any documents where Gibson states they have or offer a "lifetime Warranty". When you post a pic please include the word that comes before "lifetime".

Just helping to clarify a few things in this thread.

The Gibson website says the guitar is warranted "for the life of the original retail purchaser". It also refers to the "limited lifetime warranty" in several places on their website.

http://www.gibson.com/Support/WarrantyRegistration/Gibson-USA-Guitar.aspx

http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/gibson-authorized-0518.aspx

 

[Hanover Fist]

My '89 LP Custom only had a 5-year warranty. Thankfully, I've never had to use it. You're lucky you get a lifetime warranty now!

 

[kevinpaul]

Warranties are lies, the longer the warranty the bigger the lie. I changed nuts on both my Les Paul's, a guy at a jam said you lost your warranty! I told Fritz they are the last people that I would send my lovely Gibsons. That is true, too hard to get them to live up to their part of the bargain. They spend more time and money fighting to get out of honoring their word, the rats! That is not the hill I want to die on guys. I will go with if it breaks in half you own both parts. Northern crazy glue is as good as southern crazy glue.

 

[Mindfrigg]

I sure hope my nuts are still under warranty.

 

[Donal]

I sure hope my nuts are still under warranty.

Well only if you are the origional owner, looks like transplants don't count

Your new Gibson instrument is warranted to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for the life of the original retail purchaser, subject to the limitations contained in this warranty.

 

[dspelman]

I've never used the warranty on a guitar.

teats on a boar hog.

 

[Left Paw]

Yeah. Be sure to save your original purchase receipt....

 

[Chris B.]

 

[Bluespower]

I had a warranty issue back in 1980 with a pup not working after about 3 months. i sent Gibby a letter about what i need to do and they wrote back that any warranty is void b/c i didnt buy it from an authorized dealer. NOW,how the heyll was i supposed to know that.

i took the letter and guitar to where i bought it from and made them fix it.
and they did. but i lost a bridge T Top and got a Bill Lawrence L500 in its place.
at the time i thought that was cool b/c gibby pups sucked and weren't cool at the time lol

 

[JPA67]

Gee is there anything left to cover with this warranty?

Seems useless to me.



I don't see anything that would actually be covered under this? Anyone ever have success using this warranty after a couple of years of ownership?

I can see an immediate problem/issue getting serviced but I think that after a year or even just a few months any of the above considerations leave you out in the cold.

I've heard some incredible stories concerning Martin Guitars & their "Lifetime Warranty" Repair/Service & these are coming from descendants of the original owner! We're talking decades down the road!

Considering the cost of a Martin & the cost of a Gibson on a comparable basis you don't' get much in the way of protection under Gibson's guidelines though they act like & even call it a GOLD COVERAGE WARRANTY!

Okay, RANT OVER!

I have had to use Gibson's warranty for a 2018 LP Classic. Didn't get played much since new. When stringing with 9's found the headstock to be slightly (looking down the neck) twisted to the "Low E" side. Took the instrument to an authorized repair center to which it was found to be a factory flaw. The date shows this instrument to be in the middle of the bankruptcy. A few emails, a few calls and Gibson warrantied the guitar and replaced it with a brand new 2022 LP Classic. Got it, during the week, after about a month waiting from when I shipped the 2018 to them. I won't say it was easy, but it was honored! The 2018 was Midnight Manhattan Satin Blue (kind of rare) and the 2022, replacement, was Chicago blue. I can't imagine a better result. Very pleased with the new one. A+ Gibson

 

[filtersweep]

Now we know why the soldering looks like dogshit. It is warranty control. If the wiring looks neat and tidy, it’s been modded.