Mastervolt repairs impossible in Spain. Beware.

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My Mastervolt MASS 12/80 charger has developed a fault and needs to be repaired. I am presently in Almerimar marina, close to Almeria in Spain. I have emailed Mastervolt whose Mr Dennis de Beer, "Mastervolt Techn. support Solar & Int. Marine", has replied telling me that I must firstly get their Spanish agent, who is miles away, to give me a 'Verification Number' then 'return' the charger to Amsterdam for repair. He doesn't seem to realise what is involved in all this, in terms of time, cost and difficulty. It would be very difficult and expensive for me as a private individual, on a yacht, to pack a heavy charger and arrange carriage to Holland.

Does anyone know of a way to get Mastervolt to provide the sort of service one would expect in a major European marina?

Otherwise, caveat emptor - I wouldn't touch Mastervolt again with a barge pole.
 
Rick, Thanks for that link. I shall try calling Mastervolt Romsey instead.

David
 
I had a Sterling one that went on the blink . Took it home and sent it back for repair to be told that a s with most electronic goods one buys these days it was not economic to repair but I could have a new up to date one at a good factory discount .

I would be interested as to how you fare with yours
 
Update:- Mastervolt Holland put me in touch with the local Mastervolt agent in Spain. They arranged collection last Friday and it has just arrived with them. They want to look at it for a couple of days then send it to Mastervolt Holland, who are then expected to work on it for at least a few days. While Mastervolt Holland have made the right noises, the fact remains that we are still not significantly further towards getting a battery charger. Thankfully someone in the marina has lent me a car-type charger and with our solar, I can manage, but in the middle of the cruising season this would have been a complete wipeout.

I stand by the title of this thread and caution everyone that Mastervolt chargers cannot be serviced here in southern Spain. Whether the same applies to their generators and other products I cannot say.

When we finally get our charger back I will update this thread.
 
Repairs of proprietary equipment

I've always found it fastest and most sstisfactory to deal direct with the manufacturer.

that's certainly worked with Asus in Sweden, van der Meyde in the Netherlands and Lumic and Raymarune in the UK with 1st class support and a quick (and reasonably priced) rectification of the problem.

When Plastimo France simpered at me and referred me to their local agent (who knew less than me or Plastimo about the Navik) I just replaced the part with one of local manufacture and made a note to eschew all Plastimo equipment in future. That's a shame because I had a good rapport in the past with Lorient.
 
Re: Repairs of proprietary equipment

I agree in principle. In this case, Mastervolt have a complex RMA system (returned materials authorisation) so you may not return stuff to them unless they have issued you with a number - i.e. authorised you. This sort of system is typical of high volume manufacturers where relatively large numbers of products are being returned. One assumes that Mastervolt have a large number of returns if they need such a system. That assumption would be consistent with the fact that my boat, built in 1999, is on its second Mastervolt charger - if they replace this one it will be the third. Third time lucky or should I exchange for a more reliable manufacturer and cut my losses?
 
One month on:

Had an email from Mastervolt Holland on 16th November, to say that they had now received my charger from their Spanish agent. Nothing further heard to date though I understand that Mastervolt Holland require the cooperation of their Spanish agents for permission to send it back to me once repaired (!!).
 
At last I have the charger back on the boat, working fine. No charge was made - they treated it as a warranty repair. The repair slip says "C210 has lost its capacity, causing the unit to switch off by OVP. We replaced the capacitor by a larger one." From what I understood from their Spanish agent when I met him at the Barcelona boat show, this is a well-known problem and the repair slip is consistent with that. Despite the fact that the charger is nearly five years old, it would seem to me that a warranty repair is in order given that this is a design issue.

I question why it took so long for this to be resolved and would add that there was considerable pressure on me by both the Spanish agent and one particular person in Mastervolt Holland to pay around €600 for a reconditioned replacement. I only ended up with a warranty repair after a lot of arguing and a very lengthy wait; a wait that would not have been acceptable in the cruising season - I managed by borrowing a car-type charger from another yachtsman in the marina.

All's well that ends well? I don't know....I dread the thought of another little design defect showing up later on.
 
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