Fabfive31

Hi all,

Flew AeroMexico from SFO to Lima with my Rimowa Topas Stealth. Unfortunately I was required to check my brand new bag. Upon arriving, I found my bag wrapped in dreaded plastic. When I unwrapped the plastic, I found a large dent to one upper corner. The impact that caused this dent also caused the top of the bag's "seal" to become misaligned. The bag closes with no problem, but as you can see in the photos, the top misalignment isn't going to fly. The dent doesn't so much bother me as much as the misalignment of my bag.

I have looked at various threads on here, but I haven't really noticed damage similar to this. I'm trying to work with AM, wish me luck with that. I've also contacted some of the certified Rimowa repair shops - once I'm back I plan to take it in to see if it's repairable. I understand this is not covered under the Rimowa warranty.

My questions to the community is: have you ever experienced damage similar to this on your Rimowa? Was it reparable? Is there any use to contact Rimowa themselves to see if they'll do anything? Do you have any recommendations on what to do? Any and all advice is welcome!

Thanks much.

alphaod

I can't see you pictures, but Rimowa will usually fix dents and stuff for free. For alignments, if it closes, they may not try to fix it. If it's totally screwed up, they will fix it.

Fabfive31

Here are pictures of the bag. As you can see, the top alignment is way off. Think it's repairable?

Coathanger

Rimowa have partnered with certain hotels around the world to offer a repair service with a 24 hour turnaround time. Not sure if you're going to be staying at any of the hotels but previous FT reports of this service have been good:

http://www.rimowa.com/en-us/repair/hotels

Fabfive31

Yes, I am aware of this. I am more wondering if the type of damage my bag endured it's repairable or if the damage is too severe. Any idea?

LAChargers

Do you have to be staying at one of the hotels or can you drop it off if you're not?

Coathanger

Firstly, condolences. I'd be furious/inconsolable if that happened to my bag, a humble Salsa.

I'd send it in for repair and see what they come back with. As long as the metal is just out of shape (rather than broken), they should be able to mould it back.

TOMFORD

Ouch!!! Can you file some report with the airline?

Madone59

Geez, did they drag it behind the plane?! Sorry!

Mellonc

I know a lot people like Rimowa Aluminum cases but airlines baggage handlers simply throw bags. Since Aluminum has no "spring back" property like steel it will remain dented. After seeing all these video on line like this one it scares me to buy one of these beautiful and iconic cases. I know the dents are part of the charm but a collapse of a bag is definitely not a charm.

Fabfive31

Thanks for the condolences. I am quite upset!

The metal is not broken, but seems severely out of shape and misaligned. Have you heard of Rimowa being able to fix bags like this even if it's severely damaged?

Has anyone had this experience and successfully had it fixed via Rimowa?

I have called the Rio Rimowa store, and they said to bring it in so they can look at it once I'm in Brazil (next week). I also sent an email to my local Rimowa store to search for other options while I'm away. Lastly, I spoke with AeroMexico this morning at the Lima airport. They offered me $300 for the Topas stealth I have. That didn't quite make my morning. I told them that wasn't sufficient enough for the bag, and they told me this type of claim would have to go through another office as they aren't able to pay more than the $300. I denied the $300, hoping the other office will be able to do more. We will see what they come back with.

dimramon

This post is the exact reason why I am hesitant to buy a Rimowa.

MaxBuck

Seriously, what's the rationale behind buying Rimowa instead of another brand of polycarbonate luggage at a tenth the price? The pictures of damage I've seen don't suggest that Rimowa is any more resistant to rough airline handling, and to me, one plastic box looks pretty much like another.

I'm open to persuasion here.

tsolin01

This was a Topas stealth so it's not polycarbonate but aluminum which is why the dents don't bounce back. A salsa would likely have survived whatever abuse his bag received.

You buy a Rimowa Topas more so because it's a nice piece of luggage and not so much for durability.

I think they can probably fix that damage though.

bumfluff

Hey OP,

Any updates?

What size was the case? Was it checked at the gate?