New 4001C64 that's 2 yrs. Old

lowendbob · Post by **lowendbob** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 8:19 am

I received my brand spankin new 4001C64 MG today, and after checking the S/N I found that it was made in Feb. 2003. I am somewhat disappointed that my new bass is already 2 years old. Does anybody know how long these basses sit at Rickenbacker before they are shipped out to dealers? I suppose they are shipped from the factory when an order is placed so I couldn't imagine that there would be such a long time that a bass would remain in stock at the factory.
I won't mention the dealers name just yet but it's one that we all know quit well. I just can't believe that a new bass would sit around for so long, and I'm not sure yet if I want to return it or not. I was told the bass was a 2004, and I could live with that. Other than that every thing else looks fantastic. I will post pics and comment more later. What do you guys think?

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 8:55 am

Nothing stays at the factory for more than a few days. Hopefully it really is a new instrument, one the dealer has had stashed away for whatever reason.

To diverge a bit, it isn't intended to be that way as we do produce to inventory requirements, not specific customer orders. Unfortunately (or fortunately from another point of view) everything we produce has already been ordered by someone by the time we complete it and that won't change until production capacity increases further.

lowendbob · Post by **lowendbob** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 9:10 am

Thanks Mr. Hall for your response. Will the warranty for my bass still be valid? The dealer sent me a copy of the warranty and stated that the dealer was suppose to submit the warranty on my behalf.

green_us90 · Post by **green_us90** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 9:26 am

John,
I've always wondered how Rickenbacker operates in terms of their planning system, i.e. whether the Company primarily is a "Make to Stock", "make to Order" or "Build to design" shop. With the tremendous backlog it sounds like operating in a Make to Stock environment is necessary and would consume most of the Company's capacity, and would explain why ordering an instrument and delivering it takes the time it does. Understandable. A solid backlog is a "good thing".

That being said I'm pleased with the quality of my two Rickenbackers (1975 4001 WHT and 1997 4003 FG) and should I come across sufficient fun money would wait for however long it takes to build the instrument I would order. I'm sold on the quality of these two basses, as I'm sure my fellow consumers are.

Great to see you back here.
-Dave Ricard

beefandbones · Post by **beefandbones** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 9:35 am

4001c64 MG? Nice!

I can understand being wary of a new instrument that's almost two years old, but on the other hand, I can see something like that sitting for a while before it's sold, too. As desirable as they are, the 4001c64 is kind of an expensive bass and I bet mapleglo isn't as popular as fireglo (although I like mapleglo). A bass like that might take a while to find the right home. Or, as in my case, it might take the right home a while to raise the money!

Is it scuffed at all? Did it come with all the right case candy and the warranty card? Nothing's worse than spending a good chunk of money on something that just doesn't seem right to you. But if you're happy with it, I'd say keep it.

ken_swearingen · Post by **ken_swearingen** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 9:37 am

bob, you could order a new jack plate,just kidding,send it back if your not happy,otherwize you never will be.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 9:39 am

Bob look at it this way, you have new bass and it's already 2 years vintage, haha! I've bought several new Rics that were 1-2 years old by the serial numbers, they were fine.
I bought a new V63 several years ago new and it was about 2 years old by the number and it was a great playing and sounding bass.

jeff_ulmer · Post by **jeff_ulmer** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 9:53 am

My main concern would be warranty coverage, which by the sounds of it, has expired. That said, if the bass is in good shape, then chances are warranty work won't be required anyway.

lowendbob · Post by **lowendbob** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 10:04 am

The bass came with the vintage case. It had the cloth, keys, poster, allen wrench for the saddles, and owners manual.
The warranty card is in question. I have part of the warranty card and a letter and copy of the warranty with serial number, bar code, model number and production date. The letter states that "Rickenbacker requires that the dealer completes the warranty card and file on my behalf". The bass appears to be new. There isn't any scuff marks at all. My only complaint besides the age is that the action sucks,(way to high), and what ticks me off the most there are fingerprints on the tuners. I hate that! When you pay that kind of money for an instrument it should be spotless after setup. I've sold used guitars before and I always polished, and wiped the instrument down completely. Anyway, I was told that the instrument was not a customer return, it was never played or displayed.
If there is nothing unusual about the warranty, I may just keep it.

green_us90 · Post by **green_us90** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 10:08 am

I bought a Blue Flower Single Coil Precision Bass from Guitar Trader, 399 shipped, and the inspection hang tags said 2-15-02, so it was 2 1/2 yrs old when I got it.

Then again the finish on it is not for everyone and maybe that was why they were blowing them out at that price!

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 10:30 am

When I buy a new bass I always do a set up to it. I have a 4003FL Blueboy coming from Mike Parks, I asked him to put Pyramids on it and set it up for them, but I'm sure I'll at least have to tweak it when I get it home.

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 10:48 am

Bob: I believe the bass is considered new (by RIC) when it is sold as new by an authroized RIC dealer. I don't think it matters how long the dealer had it before it sold. RIC will honor the warranty as long as the paperwork was submitted as required.

jeff_ulmer · Post by **jeff_ulmer** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 12:19 pm

>Rickenbacker requires that the dealer completes the warranty card and file on my behalf

That isn't right. All my new Rics came with a warranty card for me to fill out and return. Perhaps John will give us the lowdown, but my understanding was that Ric warranted from the time of instrument manufacture, not sale. This was done to discourage dealers from hoarding, if I remember correctly.

lowendbob · Post by **lowendbob** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 12:42 pm

I just sent an email to the dealer to possibly have them explain the warranty issue. It just doesn't sound right to me.

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 2:11 pm

Actually, our dealer agreement does encourage the selling dealership to fill out the card at the time of sale, partly as a courtesy to the customer and partly to help make sure the card is properly filed.

This paragraph in the agreement dates back to the mainly brick and mortar times, and was removed several years ago when Internet sales became more common. The dealer is probably right in that he signed the old agreement but he can sign the new one if he's concerned.

Actually, it's a pretty good sign that the dealer is conscientious and there's not too many that really do this kind of follow through and customer service. I've noticed that there's several very good dealers who do this religiously for the right reasons but for every one of them there's another one that is very poor on the follow through.