Bachmann's Geep

[jwb]

Well, as long as this thread is on the Bachmann Geep, I ordered one, and first thing, I wanted to replace the couplers with Kadee 158 and replace the dummy plug. So I had to do a lot of figuring-out and reference to the (unhelpful) instruction sheet and discovered I needed to remove 6 small metric screws to take off the body. Naturally, one of those went south. So I e-mailed Bachmann for a replacement -- nearly every company will replace lost parts, in addition to missing. I got an e-mail from the service department saying they'd forwarded my e-mail to the parts department, asking for some sort of official bureaucratic permission to do this. Several days later, I got a reply from parts, saying the cost of the screw would be .25, plus $5.00 P&H, please send your credit card info right now. I objected, and they e-mailed back saying well, if there was a missing part under warranty, they'd replace it, but this is one you've lost, so you owe us $5.25.

$50 for a loco, and 10% of that to replace a bleepin' screw? Out comes the Dremel. Darn coupler pockets don't fit Kadees anyhow.