Might trade in Brake Buddy
I have the classic Brake Buddy that I have used for the past 10 years while travelling 70K+ miles. The unit has served me well helping me stop many times.
On my last two trips I noticed a few times the Brake Buddy did not actuate as is did in the past. I'm thinking there might be a problem.
Yesterday I powered up the unit and then while holding it I tipped it forward to see if the inertia switch in the unit would activate. The switch did activate and the arm on the unit traveled as it usually does when installed in the car.
Today I called Brake Buddy and spoke with Matt in Tech Support. Nice fella. He suggested I can test the Brake Buddy by powering it up while placed on the car floor on the passenger side. Then find an open parking lot or field where it would be safe to make a "hard stop" and observe if the Brake Buddy activates. I plan to do this test later today.
Matt from Brake Buddy also said I can send my unit in for reconditioning. He said the most expensive part to replace would be the circuit board at $299 plus $$40 labor plus $20 shipping. These costs seemed fair. Also, there is a trade in program. I could give them my old unit and they would provide a new Classic Brake Buddy for $650. Retail on he new Brake Buddy would be $1500 retail. Again, this seems like a fair offer.
So...I'm asking for your comments and feedback with any of the stuff I mentioned above. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this posting and any replies you offer.
On my last two trips I noticed a few times the Brake Buddy did not actuate as is did in the past. I'm thinking there might be a problem.
Yesterday I powered up the unit and then while holding it I tipped it forward to see if the inertia switch in the unit would activate. The switch did activate and the arm on the unit traveled as it usually does when installed in the car.
Today I called Brake Buddy and spoke with Matt in Tech Support. Nice fella. He suggested I can test the Brake Buddy by powering it up while placed on the car floor on the passenger side. Then find an open parking lot or field where it would be safe to make a "hard stop" and observe if the Brake Buddy activates. I plan to do this test later today.
Matt from Brake Buddy also said I can send my unit in for reconditioning. He said the most expensive part to replace would be the circuit board at $299 plus $$40 labor plus $20 shipping. These costs seemed fair. Also, there is a trade in program. I could give them my old unit and they would provide a new Classic Brake Buddy for $650. Retail on he new Brake Buddy would be $1500 retail. Again, this seems like a fair offer.
So...I'm asking for your comments and feedback with any of the stuff I mentioned above. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this posting and any replies you offer.
