# Disappointment with Festool - Complete failure with minimal use



## MrRon

I would suspect that they thought you wanted it completely refurbished, like new, not just repaired. You may have just gotten the one out of 1000 that had a flaw in it. I would have imagined Festool should make good on the repair to protect their reputation.


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## diverlloyd

That's a tough repair bill when you can rebuy the whole tool for $390. Was you able to tell if they even took it apart to see what was wrong or was it just here's a bill for everything? I agree that seems like a bad mechanic bill that they would only replace the gears and the charge for the rest but no replace it.


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## 280305

Could you buy replacements for the damaged parts (perhaps here) and replace them yourself?


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## NormG

Wow, and from Festool of all manufactures.


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## Desert_Woodworker

My sympathies, from experience with other brands…

Also, here is a YTube vid- mature language, yet like your review- what are they putting inside that plastic shell?


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## Dangerreuss

@diverlloyd - I can't say i know whether or not they took it apart. As part of the process, when I elected to have the item shipped back they indicated that the item would return disassembled. Makes sense, as why would they spend the time to reassemble? Well, not that it clearly answers the question but it was returned fully assembled.



> That s a tough repair bill when you can rebuy the whole tool for $390. Was you able to tell if they even took it apart to see what was wrong or was it just here s a bill for everything? I agree that seems like a bad mechanic bill that they would only replace the gears and the charge for the rest but no replace it.
> 
> - diverlloyd


@ChuckV - I did not know there was an aftermarket for festool parts. I may look into this. Thanks.



> Could you buy replacements for the damaged parts (perhaps here) and replace them yourself?
> 
> - ChuckV


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## splintergroup

> Could you buy replacements for the damaged parts (perhaps here) and replace them yourself?
> 
> - ChuckV


Site references like this are pure gold!


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## diverlloyd

> @diverlloyd - I can t say i know whether or not they took it apart. As part of the process, when I elected to have the item shipped back they indicated that the item would return disassembled. Makes sense, as why would they spend the time to reassemble? Well, not that it clearly answers the question but it was returned fully assembled.
> 
> That s a tough repair bill when you can rebuy the whole tool for $390. Was you able to tell if they even took it apart to see what was wrong or was it just here s a bill for everything? I agree that seems like a bad mechanic bill that they would only replace the gears and the charge for the rest but no replace it.
> 
> - diverlloyd


So they didn't even look at it then and just sent the maximum repair bill that they could. Sounds like a good business model over charge( at the price point real machined gears not powdered metal gears should be used) for the tool to begin with by 400%. Then give the customer a repair bill even higher then that. Sounds like it's time for a nice Bosch. I use a $1 auction buy black and decker from the 60s or 70s and have abused it like it stole everything I owned. I have used it to cut through 1/2"steel diamond plate for a truck bed 3/4 titanium 1/2" stainless steel oh and wood and cardboard. She still works very well and doesn't vibrate to bad for a jigsaw. 
New tools no matter the price are becoming more and more disposable.


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## playingwithmywood

all I can say is #RightToRepair and no I do not buy Festool cause I do not support companies that force dealer price fixing


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## Ted78

Keep in mind the stirpped gears could very well be a symptom of something else wrong. A bad bearing, a shaft that got inserted cockeyed, a screw that came lose, a missing retention spring around a shaft etc. Those look like pretty well made oversized gears, it's possible they didn't get sintered properly or something but I suspect something other than the gears is the real culprit. I would expect Festool to just send me a new one if I had spent that much money on a tool, and it was fairly obvious the failure wasn't from excessive use or abuse, but something wrong with the tool from the get go.


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## straylight

I have been lured by the shiny Festool bait many times but have resisted buying because of the ridiculous prices and horror stories from people like you. Thank you for the review.


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## Redoak49

Sorry to hear about your problems.

I have a couple of Festool and never a problem. I bought them for the ergonomics and dust collection. How soon will we see competitive products with similar characteristics?


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## PPK

I'm waiting for a non-festool "domino" machine to be made. Then I'll buy one. I don't care who you are, tools break, they all have annoyances, etc. So why pay the Festool price?? I'll tell Trump to make dominoes great. He'll make me a Trump-branded 'Merican domino machine that has no tariffs! hee hee…

I do have one serious point to make however: 
Unless I'm mistaken, the only thing that Festool is holding onto (that nobody has copied/currently makes) is the domino machine. Lots of other brands make pretty darn good track saws, sanders, dust extractors, etc. So once somebody else can make a domino machine… Well, Festool better improve their customer service or make/do something to make them stand out I guess.


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## MarioF

I side with you, I own a couple of Festool products and almost bought the Kapex until I went and compared it with the industrial Makita's and DeWalt's. As you mentioned, this brand is becoming a frivolous, over expensive, and difficult to maintain and repair tool brand. Only once did I had one of our Domino's repaired and it was appalling. Other than the Domino, I see no reason why not buy from Makita or Dewalt, I use my tools day in and out, and would expect from a mitersaw both fine and heavy duty performance, no place for unreliable expensive tools.


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## diverlloyd

> I m waiting for a non-festool "domino" machine to be made. Then I ll buy one. I don t care who you are, tools break, they all have annoyances, etc. So why pay the Festool price?? I ll tell Trump to make dominoes great. He ll make me a Trump-branded Merican domino machine that has no tariffs! hee hee…
> 
> I do have one serious point to make however:
> Unless I m mistaken, the only thing that Festool is holding onto (that nobody has copied/currently makes) is the domino machine. Lots of other brands make pretty darn good track saws, sanders, dust extractors, etc. So once somebody else can make a domino machine… Well, Festool better improve their customer service or make/do something to make them stand out I guess.
> 
> - PPK


Would the tool be orange and gold plated?


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## Dedvw

I had the chance to use almost every Festool product they made when I attended boat building school and can say I was never overly impressed with any of their equipment. Ill never forget how they mated a $400 brushless drill/driver with a NiCad battery. Sure, if dust collection is important to you, then there isn't many tools that are better. But overall I would never pay the premium for their tools.

This is not knocking anyone that owns and uses Festool as I own a ridiculous amount of tools that I probably paid too much for. I'm just with the population of 3X's the cost over a Bosch is a little much for me.


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## playingwithmywood

> My sympathies, from experience with other brands…
> 
> Also, here is a YTube vid- mature language, yet like your review- what are they putting inside that plastic shell?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> - Desert_Woodworker


It is not mature language it is AVE language so it is fine


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## Planeman40

Meanwhile I have a Harbor Freight Chinese "piece of trash" jigsaw I paid less than 1/10th the price of the Festool that works well and keeps on running and running.


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## playingwithmywood

> Meanwhile I have a Harbor Freight Chinese "piece of trash" jigsaw I paid less than 1/10th the price of the Festool that works well and keeps on running and running.
> 
> - Planeman40


just paint it green and you will be fixed


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## dhazelton

Local place sells Festool products and when I went in for a Makita pad sander he pointed to the Festool sander. He said a customer had one and it broke so Festool was going to refurbish it for 'only' $150. I said that was fine, but the Makita was under a hundred so I'd be better off buying that and if it broke I could buy a second one for less than the repair cost of the Festool.

Look at Ave Boltr's youtube reviews. Festool uses a lot of powdered metal gears and lot's of plastic in their motors.


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## Commarato53

I just purchased my first and last Festool product. It was a random orbital sander that really doesn't live up to my expectations. I still use my Porter Cable ROS that I've have for 20 years. It hasn't let me down. There are a lot of power tool makers out there that are just as good as Festool, and it is just so over priced. If you can take the language, watch AvE on YouTube on his tear down of Festool and others, you will be unimpressed too.


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## Wuu

I could have swore that Festool had a 5 year warranty on their tools, I remember that because once upon a time I argued that the length of warranty wasn't much longer than nearly every other brand. Guess there must of been a recent change. Curious I looked it up and they only guarantee part availability for 10 years, which is funny seeing that would put the tool well under its "return for value" over buying a similar tool and having replaced with new 2-3 times.


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