Is TomTom a disposable GPS?

Joined
Apr 10, 2008
Messages
10
Wow, as much as I love my Go 720, TomTom has really kicked me in the, you know what's.
The external speaker jack has gone bad and the battery is getting weak. So I called TomTom to see about sending it in to have a new jack soldered in and replace the battery.
I was told by their support personnel that if my unit is out of warranty, and it is, that TomTom will not repair it at all. I can not even pay for the repairs! I was floored.
I live about 5 miles from Garmin in Olathe, Kansas, so it was a stretch for me to go with the TomTom over the local team.
So my next question to the TomTom support person was who is the authorized company for after market service on these devices?
I was told there is none and that I am on my own.
They would not even give me a name of a service company of any kind.

So what are my options?
Someone on here knows where to get this fixed.

Or I have to replace it.

Obviously if I have to replace it I am going to check what the repair situation is with Garmin so as not to get caught like this again.

Some help would be appreciated.
 

The external speaker jack has gone bad and the battery is getting weak. So I called TomTom to see about sending it in to have a new jack soldered in and replace the battery.
I was told by their support personnel that if my unit is out of warranty, and it is, that TomTom will not repair it at all. I can not even pay for the repairs! I was floored.
First, I must say that I would prefer that TomTom take a clue from Garmin and start managing repairs properly, and on a flat rate basis as does Garmin. If anyone is curious about their rate schedule, and it covers everything but their most antique products, it can be found here:

Garmin | Out Of Warranty

I had the same complaint about TomTom when my 720 battery started to get a bit weak. Even wrote a quick tutorial on changing your own that's in a sticky around here somewhere (either 720 forum or tweaks, I forget which at the moment). And the speaker jack isn't a huge deal, either. If I still lived in KC, we'd meet for a beer in Lenexa and I'd fix the thing for you. I've even got another spare battery:D

I'm not clear about why TomTom refuses to put together some sort of factory authorized service program for the U.S. It appears that they're working with some 3rd party service companies in Europe. I'm not sure how else these outfits would be getting access to some of the requisite parts. I know they certainly won't sell ME parts. How formal these arrangements are, I have no idea. The link below is to an outfit in the UK that seems capable of dealing with some pretty nasty problems that would unquestionably require access to some unique components from the TomTom models they service. In addition, here's what they say on their web site:

"We only use 100% genuine parts where possible. If original parts are not available we will source the next best thing OEM parts from the same factories that produce the parts for the manufacturer."

http://www.satnavrepaircentre.com

Make of that what you will.

If we were talking about $99 GPSr units, I could more easily understand TomTom's reticence to be bothered with the service angle. At that price, it would be hard for a user to justify repairing a unit. You won't find companies selling $39 DVD players offering service for those, either. But at the top end of TomTom's line, we're talking about a replacement cost that could easily justify service... especially on something as mickey-mouse as a battery. Remember the great outcry when Apple sent out its first iPods and people realized they couldn't replace the batteries? Apple finally got their minds right about that one and started offering battery replacement service at a price - not cheap, but tolerable. A TomTom can be considerably more expensive than an iPod. Wake up, guys.
 
A Follow Up

Hi all,
I decide to try to repair my Go 720 myself, So I sent the following to TomTom Tech Support.

My refurbished go 720 has never run more than 1 hour on a full charge. I also am now having a failure of the external headset jack on the bottom of the unit. My unit is out of warranty. I have been told that here in the US there are no service centers at all. The only place that I could find that would repair it said they have a flat rate charge of $129 plus shipping. I can replace the battery myself and have located one for $19, however in order to solder a new headset jack on the motherboard I need the brand and model number of the jack so I can purchase it from a local electronics supply house.
Please send me the part info on that jack.
Thank you

****************************************************************

Dear John,

Thank you for contacting TomTom Customer Support regarding the part number for the headphone jack. My name is Patrick. We are always happy to help.

The information you have requested on the headphone jack for your GO 720 is not available. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Thank you for choosing TomTom for your navigation needs. If you have any further questions or comments, please email or call us at 866-486-6866 Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM until 7:00 PM EST or Saturday, 9:00 AM until 6:00 PM EST. Thanks again for writing. At TomTom we believe in showing you the way the easy way.

With Best Regards,

Patrick
TomTom Customer Support


I must admit that I am somewhat annoyed that someone couldn't even look up a part number for me...
 
I think the root of the problem is that, unlike Garmin, TomTom does not actually build any of their devices. They're subbed out to the low bidder for fabrication so they don't have any simple access to repair parts.
 
I think the root of the problem is that, unlike Garmin, TomTom does not actually build any of their devices. They're subbed out to the low bidder for fabrication so they don't have any simple access to repair parts.
Same lame excuse I've heard from my own company at times. You order the SPARES along with the PRODUCTION parts, and the spares are sent directly to the depots that manage either spares or repair or both, not to the manufacturing site(s).

They should know to the subassembly level (from what SHOULD be moderately well detailed failure analysis from the people sending out the refurbs ... vs. repairs) where the problems are, and what kind of spares inventory makes sense for each model.

The current situation is a function of either pure laziness or a problem with the business model. Either way, it shorts the consumer and doesn't do the company's reputation a lick of good.
 

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