I purchased a 2004 Bowtech Extreme VFT during the summer '04 and loved the speed and quietness of the bow. The only problem with the bow was that it seemed to eat up the bowstrings really quickly.
After reading a while back about problems that some of you were having with the limbs cracking on the VFT's, I wondered if it would everhappen to mine. Well, it did - AND IT HAPPENED ON OCTOBER 1st - OPENING DAY.
Anxious to get my limbs replaced, I called Spillway Sportsman in Brusly, Louisiana (they're the only Bowtech dealer within 1 and 1/2 hours from my home), got the info on what I needed to bring in with me (warranty and receipt) and the next day brought it in.
I proceeded to show proof of purchase and the warranty and then showed the guy just where the crack was on the limb. The first words out of his mouth were, "Man, looks like you took a knife to the limb. You sure that's a crack?" I thought he was joking, but looking at his facial expressions he wasn't. Needless, to say I was beside myself with anger after his comment. This guy supposed to be a proffesional, right? Why would I pay over $600 on a bow and do something like that - I'm an honest fellow. I babied that bow more than my girlfriend (it even had a nice resting spot on the pillow next to me the first night after I bought it
).
So after discussing the crack a little longer and leaving my information there, he said he would contact Bowtech and get back to me. I specifically made it clear that I would like them to call me as soon as it would be ready.
Reading some of the posts on here concerning the cracked limbs, I saw that it was taking about a month to receive new limbs. After a month had passed, I called and they still hadn't gotten them yet. the weekend of Thanksgiving, I called and they said they had it in (where was my call?). So, on my way up to the camp on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I stopped over ready to collect my bow. When I got there, the fellow told me that they have my bow, but couldn't put a string on it cause they had to order it. Why the hell didn't he tell me this on the Saturday when I called - would've saved me an hour on the trip to the camp.
So, again I let it there. But this time, I told them how disappointed I was that they hadn't called me like I requested. he assured me that they would call as soon as the string came in (they told me one week).
The next week, on Wednesday, I called again and they said that the string still was on order - to try back next week. Still,. they didn't call.
So, Monday when i got off of work in the morning, I decided that I would go pick the thing up whether they had a string on it or not.
When I get there, the guy goes to the back and brings out my bow with the new limbs and string. The first thing I notice is that the new limbs are a different camoflauge than my original limbs. But I'm happy, after 3 months, I finally was getting my Bowtech back. I had brought a Trophy Taker rest to put on and the guy placed it on in about 20 minutes.
Upon checking out, my bill was $300!!! I was figuring on the string and cable costing about $100, but THEY CHARGED ME $170 FOR THE LIMBS!!! How in the hell can they charge me for the limbs when there's a lifetime warranty on the bow!!! I argued with the fellow for about 10 minutes about this and he said that Bowtech charged them for the limbs so they had to charge me. Is there something I'm missing here on the Lifetime Warranty benefit of buying an expensive bow? I brought my copy of my warranty and receipt just as they asked!!!!
I left in a fury and assured them that I would call Bowtech and discussed the matter and in my leaving, I didn't even look over the bow (I'm stupid). When I got home, I took a couple of arrows and went to set it up. The string they put on it was a Barracuda string andthe cableswere touching (at rest) above the cable slide. The idler wheel looks and feels like it's loosley put back. The riser even looks a little bent. Still, I wanted to shoot it to see if it would be the same. I COULDN'T PULL THE BOWSTRING ALL THE WAY BACK BECAUSE THE IDIOT PLACED THE STRING FOR THE DROP AWAY TERRIBLY SHORT!! Once I fixed this I shot it...............BOING!!! Sounds awful!!! Feels awful!! I'm terribly disappointed.
The only reason I went to the Spillway Sportsman in Brusly Louisiana was because I was told that I had to go through a dealer for my problems. Well, I don't want to go through a dealer again. Is there any one on here that's a Bowtech rep, or is there anyone on here who can give me a number to the customer service at Bowtech so I can discuss this matter? I would really like to send it back to Bowtech itself and have them look it over. That's a bunch of money I spent on that bow and if it doesn't shoot like I initially had it shooting, or if it's not placed back together correctly, I don't want it!!!
Any help from you fellow hunters concerning this matter will be greatly appreciated.