We placed an online order with Home Depot in May for a Sportsmans 4000 generator, intended for our camper. On the weekend after it showed up we went camping, and it worked fine, producing plenty of electricity. When we brought it on the next outing three weeks later, it ran for roughly 3 hours before it started sputtering and coughing, then quit abruptly. For about an hour we tried to bring it back to life, checking oil, fuel, connections and more, but found no fault. A few hours afterward it fired up immediately. Inside the camper, though, the light we flipped on stayed dark, and a work light we plugged in did nothing. The rest of the weekend went by without power.
Home Depot told us the online department was the one to contact, so we did. Their answer was a 30 day warranty, which we had exceeded by several days, and they said no warranty would be honored. Reaching that "NO EXCEPTIONS" ruling took them yet another week. They referred us to the maker, Buffalo Tools, where a man said he was sure he knew what was wrong and promised to dispatch parts at once. Ten days later we still had nothing. A young woman we phoned next spent another week exchanging information with us before announcing that her technician was mailing the part believed to be the cause. It showed up seven days later and belonged to a different generator. Another call, another man, and again a promise of parts that would surely fix it; they came after seven more days. Once installed, they changed nothing. Buffalo Tools then issued us a Return Authorization.
At our local Home Depot, naturally, that authorization was refused. Now we sit and wait while the online division makes up its mind. The manufacturer's warranty has meanwhile expired too, and nothing has been resolved. Trouble with Home Depot is nothing new for us, and they always shrug it off with "oh well." We live in Elko, Nevada.
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