maverikbc

My wheels keep failing on me, so I bought an American Tourister 2-wheel carry-on, thinking it'd last longer than no name brands. It comes with a 10-year warrranty.

I've been using it for about 2 years, then wheels stopped rolling because they're worn.

I took them to 2 Samsonite repair centers in Vancouver, they both declined to honor the warranty, because it's 'normal wear and tear'. It's not like I use that luggage everyday: the rest of the luggage is still in good condition.

If this gets rejected, I wonder what that 10-year warranty actually covers.

gobluetwo

Wheels are generally considered a wear item. If it's just "worn" it will not be covered. If it breaks due to a manufacturing defect (missing screws or something), then it would be covered. The only way a wear item could potentially be covered is if you can convince them that it's a material defect, although that would be a tough hill to climb.

http://shop.americantourister.com/Warranty.html

(bolding mine)

KevinDTW

I've had a Land's End 22" roller for over 10 years now, and it has traveled all around the world. A few months ago one of the wheels finally wore out, and I could see the other wasn't far behind. I emailed Land's End and asked if I could buy replacement wheels because the bag itself was still in great shape, and in response they sent a new set of wheels at no charge, and via overnight delivery! Can't ask for better customer service than that, so maybe give their stuff a look.

N1120A

Brands like AT have basically useless warranties that are limited in nature and very easy to weasel out of. You need unlimited warranties to get anything resembling decent service in luggage, whether that is from Red Oxx, B&R, first 5 years with Rimowa, etc.

GoRavens

Most luggage warranties suck. You've got three good options if you travel much at all:

1. Ultra Premium: Buy from the top tier manufacturers, eg: B&R, Victorinox, Rimowa, etc. They'll stand behind pretty much anything. They should though, the mark-ups are obscene (impo).

2. Buy a house-brand bag from a retailer who takes pride in their proprietary brands, eg: Kirkland (Costco), LL Bean, eBags, etc. These are likely to be high quality bags, with quality components, supplied by major manufacturers. These retailer's brand strategies depend upon taking a generous approach when backing up their house-brand products. You can find many reports of Costco just replacing a Kirkland bag (completely) when some little thing breaks after several years - no questions asked. Full disclosure: I just bought a Kirkland bag and think it's fantastic thus far.

3. Go with what the flight attendants use. From what I've seen, mostly TravelPro Crew series (not the TravelPro stuff sold at Kohls / TJ Max, etc). My Crew 4 rollaboard is over 10 years old, and doesn't owe me a dime. My wife bought a lower end TravelPro bag (walkabout or maxlite I think), and honestly, it's crap.

Lastly, NEVER check it voluntarily. The baggage handlers are like Russian roulette for luggage - they can and will destroy anything, regardless of price. I've even had a Pelican box latch broken, and there's no carry-on luggage - at any price - built as rugged as a Pelican box.

Hope that helps.

Yoshi212

As stated above reach out to the company and see if they sell or are willing to send you replacement wheels. They can also often be found for under 15$ on ebay or Amazon. I value my bags at about 50$/year so if I spent 200$ I expect to get at least 4 years out of them and if I have to buy wheels at that points for 20$ I'm ok with doing that. If you didn't spend too much on it and like the bag the under 20$ investment is worth it.

Loren Pechtel

I'd love to see a law regarding this. Mandate that anything which is exempted from warranty as being a wear item should have replacement parts available at a reasonable price.

maverikbc

When they offer long term warranties like for 10 years, I expect the products to last that long. I've owned a few roller blades, I've never seen those wheels worn. Of course I weigh much heavier than my carry ons, and obviously I roller blade much faster than I drag my carry ons, so I don't understand why brands like American Tourister doesn't use good quality wheels.

It seems like American Tourister is now owned by Samsonite, I'll never buy their products. It disgusts me the fact they throw away 10-year warranty, expecting nobody would qualify anyway.

It didn't look like I can replace wheels without the special tools, but I'll look into that possibility.

This is not my first time hearing about 'no questions asked exchange policy' by Costco, I may look into becoming a member. In Vancouver, there are Hudson's Bay and Nordstrom. Does anybody have any experiences exchanging at those stores?

Dianne47

Have you tried an actual luggage repair shop? It might cost $20-40 for new wheels, but that's cheaper than buying a new bag.

American Tourister has, unfortunately, become a low-price brand. No one can expect cheap luggage to last as well as more expensive brands that come with "real" warranties.

As others above have suggested, there are excellent brands with great warranties. But their products cost a LOT more. If you travel a lot, and wheels wearing out in 2 years suggests that, spend more on luggage. Kirkland brand, sold at Costco, is one example. They replace bags that wear out.

Briggs & Riley, some lines of Travelpro (Platinum Magna for sure), and other brands mentioned above are the way to go. B & R is a favorite of flyertalkers for the excellent quality and no-nonsense warranty. But you might be faced with shipping expenses for factory repairs, others here will know B & R's shipping policy.

There are brands out there I would never buy, such as Atlantic, off-name brands and lines sold at Marshall's and TJ Maxx. Samsonite has gone way downhill in the last few years. Delsey or Ricardo (lower price points) might be all right, I'm not sure about their warranty.

KRSW

As Dianne47 said, American Tourister isn't what it used to be. I remember growing up and AT luggage was all we had and it took a decent beating. Even had the zippers replaced once or twice on them.

My Kirkland (Costco) bags are ~8 years old, on the road ~52 weeks a year, wheels still appear to be in good shape. I've worn through a little bit of the plastic stationary feet, but still fully serviceable.

You might want to see if you can fit inline skate wheels & inline skate bearings to the bag. I did this for a friend one time and it was a huge improvement over the factory stuff.

B&R comes highly recommended by the local luggage repair shop, despite him not actually selling it there. He said he doesn't see a lot of it, but when it does come in, B&R is right on top of getting it repaired and going again.

maverikbc

I looked into an option of repairing / replacing wheels. The wheels are attached by rivets, so I can't do it by myself without a special tool. If I spend some money on repair shop, I'd rather buy a new one.

I hear a lot of good reputations on Kirkland luggage and Costco exchange policy, so I'll get my next one there.
Thanks everyone.

ceomom703

Aside from LLBean, I have had excellent experience with Brenthaven, as they also offer a lifetime warranty. I recently called in a wheel repair under their warranty, and they informed me that they would be willing to replace the entire case for the price of shipping.
Brenthaven offers a line of business cases. Too bad they don't actually sell luggage.

maverikbc

They don't seem to have large carry ons, unfortunately.

gobluetwo

They who? Brenthaven only makes business cases (briefcases, backpacks, messenger bags, totes, etc.). LL Bean does have carry-on suitcases, with great warranty. eBags is another more affordable option with solid warranty.

maverikbc

I was talking about Brenthaven.