Hey, so in 15 years of traveling (just after having posted it has never happened to me ), it finally happened - I needed some repair on my luggage. The airline did "whatever" and suddenly two of the wheels of my Samsonite Cosmolite Spinner 61cm no longer roll like they should, but the ride is rather sluggish and handles like a Delsey ...

Samsonite referred me to a repair shop that is local to Hamburg; and they said that, sure, they'd repair it under their 10 year warranty. So far, so good; nothing to complain about - their warranty would allow them to say No to airline damage, but they didn't, great. "When will you have it done?" "Oh, allow for a minimum of 4 weeks; we'll call you should it happen to be earlier."

4 weeks? That's a couple of trips that I'll now have to lug along my larger suitcase. One week I would have considered adequate for swapping 2 wheels, max! They could just have sold me the replacements and I would have screwed them on myself, but they don't sell them at all. (Swapping the whole suitcase wasn't feasible, since mine are heavily customized.) It probably isn't enough bother for me to swap out my Samsonite, but it did put a dent in my trust in them. "Covered under warranty" isn't the whole story ... What use is a lifetime warranty to me if they then need 2 months; a relaxed attitude to the "official" 2 year warranty but fast repair times for a little cash might actually turn out more advantageous.

So, what is your real life experience with the time needed for warranty repairs? Did I just end up unlucky? I'm particularly interested in experiences with Samsonite, Victorinox, Eagle Creek since those are my preferred brands; but since that might change, do tell about Tumi, B&R et al too!