Sears Lawn & Garden

You have to hand it to Sears. The fading legend has a remarkable ability to alienate some of its oldest and best customers. There are also some interesting questions about the warranty on Sears' garden equipment.

George of Robbinsville, NC July 15, 2009

My son purchased a Craftsman ATV to use on my property. The ATV had less than 100 miles on when I used it to go to my deer stand. I only went about 100 yards to the steep part of the hill when the motor stalled. The ATV started to roll backwards and I applied the front brakes,they failed to hold. I jumped or was thrown from the ATV. After that I'm not sure what happened, all I know I was pinned under the ATV and it was on it's side. I manage to free myself, rip of my shirt and use it as a bandage to stop the bleeding and walk 200 yards to my house. My son drove me to the hospital, half way there I passed out and stopped breathing. My son pulled over to the side of the road and gave me CPR and got me breathing again. So he said, I don't remember anything until I was in the emergency room.

Lisa of Stokes, NC July 10, 2009

My aunt gave my mother a weed eater as a gift and the whole string attachment comes off without any notice or effort while in use. We returned this to the store without a receipt (Since it was a gift) waited for 30 minutes for someone to try and locate the transaction and then was told that it had been more than 90 days since the purchase and there was nothing they could do about it.

Then when I explained what happens and that this product is unsafe for use the man said that he guessed that's why they discontinued that line of products. No apologies at all. Craftsman 4.0 amp 12-in weedwacker electric trimmer, model #172.74533. No damage other than what my aunt paid for this product but damages could result to others that have purchased it.

edward of dayton, OH July 10, 2009

front wheel drive lawn mower the front wheel gear is made of plastic and strips out. have had the mower a little over 2 years, and am on third set of front wheels. the last wheel lasted 34 days and the store manager said he whould replace it THIS TIME. I will never buy another sears mower.

Alfred of Mechanicsburg, PA July 10, 2009

Ihave a Craftsman riding mower and experiences some problems with the tires. I ordered a replacement tire from Sears Parts and after using it for one mowing I noticed it was flat. I tested the tire and noticed the cause was a defect in the rim that caused the tire to deflate. Needing my riding mower to cut my lawn I e-mailed Sears parts about my problem and the defective tire and immediately a response was made and a new tire was ordered for me at no cost to me. What a wonderful solution in what I thought was going to be a hassle. Thanks Sears Parts for your wonderful service

andres of miami, FL July 7, 2009

I purchased a craftsman model # 917.27678 LT2000 lawn tractor from sears. The transmission broke 11 days after the warranty expired. It costs a fortune to repair! WHAT A PIECE OF CRAP THIS TRACTOR!!!! I would never buy anything else from SEARS or KMART. They should all go bankrupt.

Neil of Flemington, NJ June 30, 2009

I purchased a Sears lawn tractor (917.272681) in 2006. My previous lawn tractor (also Sears) included guide wheels mounted on the mower deck which keep the deck level when cutting. My new mower did not include these wheels and will not cut grass level but leaves ruts and uneven cut marks. I had Sears attempt to repair the mower three times, they made no changes and informed me that there was nothing they could do.

I contacted Sears and asked that the mower be returned for credit. They refused, even though I had owned the the mower for less than 30 days during their service attempts. The mower deck guide wheels are designed to keep the deck level while mowing and the deck contains the mounting brackets, but Sears does not sell the guide wheels as they are discontinued even though all previous models have these wheels installed. This is a cost cutting measure that has caused the mower to perform in a sub-standard manner.

After two seasons, the engine malfunctioned and was replaced by me. Sears wanted almost 1,000 for a replacement engine (not including installation) even though the mower only cost about 1,200 new! I purchased an exact replacement engine from a non-Sears distributor for less than 500.

I disconnect the battery every winter and have had to replace it once so far.

One year after purchasing the mower the blade engagement mechanism malfunctioned so that when I disengage the cutting blades they continue to rotate. This is a mechanical problem caused by metal parts that 'stick' due to rough edges. Sometimes the blades will disengage after several minutes.

This is the third season that I am using the mower and the clutch cable has just broken. The exhaust comes loose every few weeks and needs to be re-tightened. The headlights don't work anymore, it's not the bulbs, it's an electrical problem but I don't mow at night so will not bother to repair this particular problem.

If the oil is overfilled by even a small amount oil will get into the combustion chamber and will cause large backfiring and a mushroom cloud larger than my house! Really.

My experience with Sears has been one of the worst consumer experiences I have ever experienced and I will not purchase anything from Sears in the future and have not purchased anything for the past three years, except replacement parts. The Sears representatives were not helpful, they were rude and just did not care. Next year I will replace the mower, of course not with a Sears product.

Maggie of Des Peres, MO June 25, 2009

June 25, 2009 File this one with the exploding glass table tops. Our patio set was purchased in April of '03 at Sears, it was called the Venice Collection by the manufacturer Foremost (it has been discontinued).

Today, June 25, 2009 I was standing on the deck about 2 feet away from the table when I heard a loud pop and the glass on the table exploded and shattered into thousands of pieces onto our deck and the patio below. Stangely, the shards appeared to be moving and making a popping sound, as I took a closer look, the pieces were popping up and jumping, some as high as a foot!

The clean up was a nightmare, and after hours of following up with the manufacturer and retail store, I was informed there is no warranty or replacement part. Consumers beware of glass top tables, it can happen to you! At the very least a warning should be posted on the carton about the potential for this. Luckily my family was not sitting down to eat dinner on the deck when this happened, we were fortunate. We are out 500.00 and no dining table. I'll be buying a tile or metal top table from now on.

Dale of Cadillac, MI June 19, 2009

Purchased a new riding lawn mower from them. When we got it home went to try everything out. The steering wheel once you hit a bump drops down and just spins around freely without turning the wheels. The mowing deck when disengaged made a loud clunking sound three of the five time we tried it. The hood and grill were misaligned.

We notified the store and they told us to contact the 1-800 repair service for sears. We did that and they said being it was that new that it was not even in their computer sytem yet and if there are multiple issues to just return it for a refund or exchange. Called the store back and they aggreed to take it back. Upon arrival, they did not have the same model to exchange so we just wanted our money back. They then said there would be a 15% re-stocking fee! Approx. 240.00!

We ended up calling the local police in to mediate. They then told us we were not going to get anything back. We summoned the police again and they agreed to pay us back for the mower but still charged us the re-stocking fee! This is for items returned such as a shirt that's the wrong size or a duplicate gift etc., not for merchandise that is faulty.

We are out approx. 240.00 for the re-stocking fee which we want back and we are also banned from coming in the store. (no problem there, we'll never go back anyway) Thanks for listening.

Mike of Bloomington, IN June 18, 2009

Dear Sir 06/18/2009 For several days I have been trying to pick-up my lawn mower at my local sears Store (Bloomington, IN 47401). I dropped it off on June 5th and was told to pick it up on June 16th, it is not yet returned to the store. When I call the store, I have been treated rudely and curtly by the Manager Mr. Bob E. All I want is my mower back and he treats me like I am at fault for not buying my mower at sears. Bob raised his voice to me several time and ridiculed during our conversation. When I asked to speak with his supervisor, he said I could not because he didn’t have a supervisor. I will never return to that store. (Except to pick-up my mower when they find out where it is)

Charles of Concord, MA June 18, 2009

On June 21 2008 I purchased a Craftsman 5.5 hp. Side Discharde Push Mower with Large Wheels from. 7041 Big Kmart 252 Main St. Acton, MA. After just less than one year of use the engine block failed. The mower would leak oil, clog it's airfilter, loose power, and run poorly. I called Sears Central for help. They sent me to Sears in Chelmsford. When I got there with my mower on 6/03/09. I was told by an employee there that: "we don't repair mowers here, we send them out to Hudson, NH.

The next day I took the mower to Sears Service warehouse Pine Rd. Hudson, NH. this number proved to be useless;their phone was never answered whenever I called and that was more than a few times. Back to Seras Customer Service I asked about my mower and about the two year warrenty advertized. I was told that I should have purchased a service agreement from Kmart. I said that I had, after a half a day of haggling, gotten my hand on a copy of the sales slip form the time of the purchase and I was advised by the service thech at Sears in Hudson, NH.

I left my cell phone number with Sears Customer Service and told the person answering the phones that I wanted them to get back to me with a definitive answer on the warrenty question. No one ever called back. Back to Sears Service. Days later I had Sears Put me throught to the plaece my lawn mower was sent for repair. It's been weeks now, and my mower was "waiting approval." I don't even know (where exactly) the mower is, but we digress.

The lady at the Sears Service place where my mower is now was kind and helpful. So unlike every other Sears employee I had encountered this far. She said that she would go a head and put the mower in for reapir. Several days later I called to check on my mower. I was told; it was scheduled to be repaired on june 23rd. What? Grass grows faster than that!

I have been put aout of at least a full days Gardening. I have a part time business. Three Rivers Gardening Svc. Cost to my about 200.00 I had to pay a fee of: 29.99 just to have Sears take the mower in for repair. The projected cost of repair is greater that the purchase price of the mower. If they refuse to honor their warranty...they can keep the mower. Th fact that the engine block had failed on a lawn mower with about a half dozen uses is ominous at best.

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