Why Wiimote repair costs more than a new Wiimote (fixed)

[RKRigney]

So it's the night of the Super Bowl. A lot of kids are over at my house, and my girlfriend and I are downstairs watching the game on the couch. Right about the time that Eli Manning goes WILDEBEEST on the Patriots and uncorks the greatest play in NFL history, I hear a crash from upstairs. My Wii is upstairs, and so is one person. I'm not going to name any names, but I will say that this kid's name starts with a "J" and ends with an "oseph". Figuring that good ole' Joe simply tripped over his own legs, or the BowFlex or something, I ignore the noise and continue watching the game, because I want to see that replay of Eli stiff-arming like 5 defenders and unleashing the 60-something yard pass that sealed the deal for the Giants.
Joe: Well see... I was just sitting there... and--- and I looked over, and yeah. It happened.

Me: What happened?

Joe: It broke.

Me: It just broke itself?

Joe: I donno. I guess.

Me: You're a big idiot.

So as you can see, that wasn't productive in the least. Joe never admitted to anything, and I decided I'd call up Nintendo's tech support and see about getting the piece-of-garbage-Wiimote fixed. Unfortunately, I have the attention span of a down syndrome crack baby, so I sorta forgot about it for a while.

I finally remembered about the Wiimote last Sunday, and gave Nintendo a ring. After wading through The incredibly nice tech support was reluctant to inform me that to get my beloved Wiimote repaired, it would cost me only $47.81.

Now I did the math in my head. A new Wiimote is $39.99... so... what gives? It doesn't matter that the remote came with my system when I bought it ON LAUNCH DAY because there's only a 3 month warranty! Awesome. Just awesome. This is what we call customer service, people. And Joe, if you're reading this, I hope your kidney pops.

 

[shadow skill]

Probably charging you RMA fees.

 

[x434343]

Wow so you decided to make a spite-filled topic to Nintendo when you could have smply just gone and bought a new one. Forget that it could be cheaper. In the end, you're gonna pay for it.

 

[shadow skill]

Wow so you decided to make a spite-filled topic to Nintendo when you could have smply just gone and bought a new one. Forget that it could be cheaper. In the end, you're gonna pay for it.

And you decided to post without reading nice move.

 

[RKRigney]

Yeah I actually DIDN'T pay for it... I didn't figure I'd have to say that after spewing hatred in Nintendo's general direction.

 

[Lucane]

At least the T.V. didn't go with it or the wall or the window(s)....

...

oh and the kid isn't hurt right?

 

[RKRigney]

No although a week ago I witnessed the same boy fall on a wooden table and shatter it. Quite amusing.

So yes, I guess he is hurt.

 

[The Franco]

As an electrical engineer in training, repairing small circuit boards is a pain in the ass. If your DVD player stops working and you send it to get fixed, often the the technician will just replace the PCB because it's easier than having to test every single fucking little node on the board just to see whats the problem. God forbid you want to repair the tiny Wiimote, its a task that would make Theseus blush with envy, and makes a DVD player look like a lego set.

 

[Goofonian]

Why would nintendo even offer repairing the remote as an option?
They should just say that broken wiimotes out of warranty are effectively write off's since they are cheaper to replace than repair.
I'm quite certain if you send a broken one in under warranty they will just send you a new one and put the old one in the bin.

I must say though, this is the first I've heard of an actual wiimote breaking. Nintendo has a pretty good history of making nearly indestructible hardware. I'd hate to think what the kid did to it!

 

[x434343]

Wow so you decided to make a spite-filled topic to Nintendo when you could have smply just gone and bought a new one. Forget that it could be cheaper. In the end, you're gonna pay for it.

And you decided to post without reading nice move.

And you went ahead and assumed I did not in fact read it before posting when I actually did. How's that feel, *****?

 

[MRMIdAS2k]

So it's the night of the Super Bowl. A lot of kids are over at my house, and my girlfriend and I are downstairs watching the game on the couch. Right about the time that Eli Manning goes WILDEBEEST on the Patriots and uncorks the greatest play in NFL history, I hear a crash from upstairs. My Wii is upstairs, and so is one person. I'm not going to name any names, but I will say that this kid's name starts with a "J" and ends with an "oseph". Figuring that good ole' Joe simply tripped over his own legs, or the BowFlex or something, I ignore the noise and continue watching the game, because I want to see that replay of Eli stiff-arming like 5 defenders and unleashing the 60-something yard pass that sealed the deal for the Giants.
Joe: Well see... I was just sitting there... and--- and I looked over, and yeah. It happened.

Me: What happened?

Joe: It broke.

Me: It just broke itself?

Joe: I donno. I guess.

Me: You're a big idiot.

So as you can see, that wasn't productive in the least. Joe never admitted to anything, and I decided I'd call up Nintendo's tech support and see about getting the piece-of-garbage-Wiimote fixed. Unfortunately, I have the attention span of a down syndrome crack baby, so I sorta forgot about it for a while.

I finally remembered about the Wiimote last Sunday, and gave Nintendo a ring. After wading through The incredibly nice tech support was reluctant to inform me that to get my beloved Wiimote repaired, it would cost me only $47.81.

Now I did the math in my head. A new Wiimote is $39.99... so... what gives? It doesn't matter that the remote came with my system when I bought it ON LAUNCH DAY because there's only a 3 month warranty! Awesome. Just awesome. This is what we call customer service, people. And Joe, if you're reading this, I hope your kidney pops.

Invite him to sleep the night.

Then do this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mcsQarma04

 

[shadow skill]

Wow so you decided to make a spite-filled topic to Nintendo when you could have smply just gone and bought a new one. Forget that it could be cheaper. In the end, you're gonna pay for it.

And you decided to post without reading nice move.

And you went ahead and assumed I did not in fact read it before posting when I actually did. How's that feel, *****?

What did your post have to do with his question? Instead of spewing the vitriol that you seem to be so against it would have been better to actually answer his question. Its also interesting that you use the word ***** when you were in fact the first person to actually ***** in this thread.

On topic: I've always wondered why expensive electronics don't come with at least a six month warranty. I think it's kind of sucky to only have ninety days to RMA a product if there is a problem or it breaks. Furthermore knowing Nintendo they would just send you a refurbished Wiimote, in all likelyhood they are seriously ripping people off with that pricing.

 

[x434343]

Wow so you decided to make a spite-filled topic to Nintendo when you could have smply just gone and bought a new one. Forget that it could be cheaper. In the end, you're gonna pay for it.

And you decided to post without reading nice move.

And you went ahead and assumed I did not in fact read it before posting when I actually did. How's that feel, *****?

What did your post have to do with his question? Instead of spewing the vitriol that you seem to be so against it would have been better to actually answer his question. Its also interesting that you use the word ***** when you were in fact the first person to actually ***** in this thread.

On topic: I've always wondered why expensive electronics don't come with at least a six month warranty. I think it's kind of sucky to only have ninety days to RMA a product if there is a problem or it breaks. Furthermore knowing Nintendo they would just send you a refurbished Wiimote, in all likelyhood they are seriously ripping people off with that pricing.

I said that it was full of spite and that, because he went to Nintendo, he didn't get as good a deal than if he had just said "Oh, a Wii-Mot's broken" and bought a new one.

 

[Wiiviewer]

I don't understand this at all. I have had two of my wiimotes just die on me...they replaced them at no cost in less then two days. They didn't even ask how long I had them.

 

[Flunk]

I know a lot of people who would go and buy a new Wiimote and then return the broken one in the new packaging the next day claiming it had broken that night... Not that I would condone such behaviour.

 

[Ruffythepirate]

Why would nintendo even offer repairing the remote as an option?
They should just say that broken wiimotes out of warranty are effectively write off's since they are cheaper to replace than repair.
I'm quite certain if you send a broken one in under warranty they will just send you a new one and put the old one in the bin.

I must say though, this is the first I've heard of an actual wiimote breaking. Nintendo has a pretty good history of making nearly indestructible hardware. I'd hate to think what the kid did to it!

Yeah, I must say, destroying a Wiimote is a pretty impressive thing to do. My brother has not only destroyed his TV with a Wiimote, but also made big bulks in his door and wall, without the Wiimote even getting a scratch.