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Maintenance Contracts
I have had a maintenance contract for my Summasign D60 cutter for the last six years. This contract is renewed each year and is due for renewal again at an annual cost of 400 pounds.
I now effectively have a second cutter – a roland PC600 printer cutter (bought six months ago) – that I could use as a back up cutter should the Summasign fail (albeit not as fast or good a cutter as the summasign). A new Summasign costs about 2200 for the equivalent machine (complete with a 3 year warranty). I am tempted now to forego the maintenance contract and simply pay for any repairs or maintenance required in the future. I am worried of course that in the event of a breakdown-without a contract-I might not be able to get anyone to fix the machine.
The machine is now six years old, so has effectively been written off in terms of its residual value to the business.
Am I just being mean – or am I making business sense?
What do the rest of you do – Should I keep my contract going or not?
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6 Replies
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we don’t on our color-camm, its just something we didn’t really think was worth the money! To be honest with roland machines if anything is gonna go wrong (and it will!) it’ll more than likely get it out of its system in the first year. So any repairs would be under warranty!
And the only thing that may go wrong after that is the head, but it doesn’t go that often (I hope 😳 )
ANDY
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I had a service contract on my Graphtec FC2100-50 originally…after about five years @£400 a year I decided enough was enough. It did have a fault in the early days but it’s been working fine for more than eight years since…
Continuing with the contract would have meant that, by now, I would have paid out more than it would have cost me to buy a new one. So if it’s a ‘normal’ plotter we’re talking about then I’d get a maintenance contract after the first year warranty runs out but maybe only for three or four years thereafter!
more soon
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i have to say this….touch wood. cutters seem to just keep going. but when they go they can go… we had one that chruned the work out!
never a problem… then one day..bang a problem.. then another then another… so at that point you do save in the long run… its just your donald duck! do you want to be save or just take the chance….?phil… ill e-mail you a number in the morning… it should solve this problem for you.. 😉
sorry guys this solution only works up in scotland.. 😆
i would share it here on the boards but then i would have to shoot you! 8) -
Its really a decision you can take Phill, if everyone says don’t bother sods law says something will go wrong and you end up cursing us!!!
As my equipment is still under warrenty its something I havent had to deal with yet.
I would probably look at the problems I had had with the machine over the warrenty period, look at the worst case repair price and make a decision base on that info.
As maintenance contracts are designed to make companies money I doubt that it would cost you much more in repair costs if a fault developed in fact it might still be cheaper. -
I would say don’t get a maintenance contract, even though we may make a coupla quid selling one. Generally we have found most cutters go wrong when they are fairly new. Once they are "run in" most cutters seem to run for ever 🙁 All new machines from reputable manufacturers come with at least 2 years maintenance these days, plotters like Graphtecs can be expected to run problem free (maybe just a new cutting strip or 2) for 3,4 or 5 years after this. Maybe even longer Mike? 😆
I have known many sign companies that have accidentally dropped something on their cutter after a few years though? We have had to deal with quite a few insurance companies under dubious circumstances. Obviously I wouldn’t recommend this 🙂
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