How to get your pre-owned fly rod repaired

A common question we hear from customers is what to do if (okay, it’s usually when) they break a rod that they purchased pre-owned. This is because most rod manufacturers present an intimidating mix of information about warranties and repairs on their websites. This leaves most people with the impression that if they aren’t the original registered owner, then they are out of luck.

Here’s the good news - in most cases you can get your rod repaired even if you are not the original registered owner.

It helps to understand the difference between a warranty claim and a repair request.

Warranty claims are for when a rod fails due to a flaw in the manufacturing process. For example, you bring a brand new rod home and the cork falls off. Or maybe the wrapping on a guide hasn’t been finished correctly and the guide comes loose. In the case of manufacturing flaws, you usually need to be the registered first owner of the rod and have purchased the rod from an authorized dealer to get that fixed for free by the manufacturer.

That said, warranty claims are rarely an issue for second owners of a rod. This is because the vast majority of actual manufacturing flaws show up within the first few times a rod is used. This excellent article by Tom Kirkman in RodMaker Magazine estimates that less than 2% of rod failures are due to manufacturing defects. (Tom should know - he destroyed over 200 rods in the course of researching his article.) Manufacturing flaws just don’t suddenly show up several years into the life of a rod. 

Repair requests are for when a rod has been damaged in the course of normal use, or in some cases, misuse. Everyone has to pay for a repair request, regardless of if you are the first, second or third owner of a rod.

The most common culprits of broken rods are car doors, ceiling fans, garage doors, rods left on the ground and then stepped on or driven over etc. No manufacturer accepts warranty claims in these cases.

When a rod mysteriously breaks during use, it is almost never due to a manufacturing flaw. Most often the failure is an afteraffect of previous damage that may have gone unnoticed (again, see Tom’s article on this). For example, a break in the tip section is usually due to a streamer or weighted nymph ticking the rod during a cast. That collision leaves a small scratch or nick that weakens the rod. At some point after incurring that damage the rod is stressed, either when casting or fighting a fish, and the weakened section fails. These cases are also not covered by any manufacturer’s warranty. 

Now that we know the difference between warranty claims and repair requests, it’s clear that our main question should be whether a manufacturer will accept a repair request for rod owned by someone other than the original registered owner. 

Unfortunately, most manufacturers do a terrible job of answering this question on their Websites. Seriously. If you ever tried to figure this out and gave up in confusion, you are not alone. The information about repairs and warranties are usually mixed together. In many cases, the repair form is actually the same form as the warranty form, with all the associated warnings about being the original registered owner.

Here’s what you need to do - ignore all the stuff about warranties and just fill out the mysterious warranty/repair form with the expectation that you are making a repair request.

Out of all the top rod brands we resell at Recast Fly Fishing, only G. Loomis refuses to accept Repair Requests from anyone other than the original registered owner.

So if you break your pre-owned rod, never fear! Just submit a repair request using the links below. (unless you have G Loomis rod)

Thomas & Thomas	Non-warranty repairs for $175/section for tips and mids, $225 for butt section	Repair form Repair page
Winston	Non-warranty repairs for $175	Repair form Repair page
Sage	Repairs:  Current Models: $50 Recent Models: $95 Legacy Models: $195 Missing sections: Current and Recent Models: $150 Legacy Models: $195	Repair process Repair page Register rod with “unknown” in “purchased from” and “purchased date.”  Select rod from registration list and request non-warranty repair.
Orvis	Repair cost varies by age and model. Expect to pay a $60 handling fee plus the cost of the section being repaired.	Contact fishing@orvis.com to start the repair process.
Scott	$65 per rod return shipping and handling Non-warranty repairs: Each guide rewrap and ferrule refit $40 Tip or midsection replacement $125 Butt section replacement $200	Repair form Repair page
G Loomis	No repair service offered unless you are the original registered owner.
Beulah	Non-warranty repairs: $65 for each repaired part $75 for grip section	Repair form Repair page
Hardy	Non-warranty repairs for $75	Repair form Repair page
CF Burkheimer	Non-warranty repairs Single Hand Rods Tips and mid-sections $85 Butt sections $145 Double Handed Rods Tips and mid-sections $95 Butt sections $250 Broken guide replacement $25 each	Repair form Repair page

Please let us know if you’ve had a different experience working with any of these manufacturers to get your rods repaired.