Great question and an important concept to understand when dealing with old equipment, so let’s dig into it.

All our work is covered by an industry-standard three-month warranty on parts and workmanship. This means that if any of the parts we install fail, or the work we do is somehow incorrect or unsatisfactory (incredibly rare), we will rectify them at our cost. You just need to let us know and return the equipment to us within 3 months.

You may know of our reputation for meticulous attention to detail, so it is important to understand what warranties like this do anddo not cover, with equipment that is sometimes 50 years old:

• Parts we’ve not replaced are not covered by this or any other warranty
• Faults related to age or wear and tear needing further attention are not covered
• Issues not caused by work we’ve done are not covered
• Things that I cannot logically be held responsible for, logically, are not covered

Think of it this way: when a car goes in for a service, it doesn’t come back with a warranty on the entire car and engine, does it? The completed work and parts installed are covered by warranty as they should be, but beyond that, the mechanic is not responsible for work they haven’t done.

Example

Take the case of an amplifier with a worn and noisy volume potentiometer, a fairly common scenario. Say the potentiometer cannot be replaced, only serviced. We cannot warrant the volume potentiometer to be free from faults because we didn’t replace it. We are not responsible for its wear, only for meticulously cleaning and servicing it. This does not guarantee it will work perfectly; nobody can offer that guarantee, because we are not dealing with brand-new components.

We cannot warrant the rest of the amplifier to be free from faults, either. Of course, we test things to determine that they work well before giving them back. Nothing is ever returned without testing, and we explain any remaining faults we find. In cases like this, though, amplifiers still contain probably 99% of their original parts, so we just need to understand what this means, in the bigger picture.

What Does This Mean?

We don’t have one of the very best reputations in the electronics repair industry for no reason, and thankfully, most seem to understand the fundamentally important logic here. We look after our customers, even when something isn’t our fault, and we have a vanishingly low warranty claim rate in the first place.

Old equipment can be neglected, damaged and temperamental. Sometimes, just opening, cleaning, or even moving old equipment that’s long overdue for maintenance can cause issues to surface. This is the nature of complex equipment, no different from an old car or motorcycle. It is fair and reasonable to charge for non-warranty-related follow-up work, but we do so sparingly, sometimes even gratis, and always with the customer in mind.