Yes, the lack of willingness to provide appropriate support is why my sds br 41 is being “upgraded” to a DC motor with flywheel from SB Modellbau.

Hi
I dealt a few times with Märklin service
- repairs in Göppingen are very good and - not so rarely - it is free of charge. E.g.: I sent a loco for repair (a bit less than 5 years old) and I was expecting a repair estimate. Märklin repaired the loco at no cost and correctly. Turned out than MHI and Insider locos have a 5 years warranty. Delay: expect 1 to 3 months or more during Christmas season. More recently, on a BR06, the pulsed smoke unit went bust they replace it FoC and I learned later that I should have used the special LIGHTER smoke fluid instead of the normal one (my mistake, their cost for repairing). I also sent a 60214 CS2 to Göppingen and it was repaired at a medium cost (100€ or so) and they changed the mother board which transformed my CS2 into the latest, 5 A model with galvanic separation.
- spares: I ordered many times Märklin spare part ("Märklin shop") and I always got what I wanted. When it was not correct it was my fault.
This included motors, distribution gear,

On a period over 20 years (when I started to have a permanent layout) I never was disappointed except one time:
A bought a Mega Starter set (2 trains, a CS2, an oval with 3 switches) the 29640 set and one of the loco, when sound was on, would stop after a while and would only restart by powering OFF or by removing sound and activating any sound command.
Obviously this was a decoder failure. I sent back to Lippe (MSL) whith a detailled failure detail letter in German. They probably sent it to Märklin and 3 month thereafter I received the loco back with the exact same failure.

My advantages:
- I live near Paris so no custom issues, no currency changes with Märklin, same European laws for the customer protection and one of my shops in the largest in Paris (Au Pullman)
- I can read, write, speak in German which is very important sometimes. I found that often, the translations in Märklin manuals, etc are "perfectible".

My grief with Märklin
- the latest 2 CS3 upgrades which spoiled my only Märklin loco with an ESU LokSound 5 Micro.
- I wrote to Märklin and basically they are useless, advising me to go see my dealer.
- It turns out I need to reprogram my LokSound 5 (firmware is spoiled) using an ESU lokprogrammer that I don't have (cost 140€, thank you Märklin!)

Cheers
Jean

Jean you said

-( It turns out I need to reprogram my LokSound 5 (firmware is spoiled) using an ESU lokprogrammer that I don't have (cost 140€, thank you Märklin!)


Not sure but if the decoder is not Marklin then they probably will not have any interest in a repair. The warranty will not include non Marklin parts fitted to a loco. Common with most or all manufacturers that using parts not supplied by them will cancel any warranty. Any upgrade to a CS should allow it to work well but may not include items that are not Marklin. At times I do mix items from other than Marklin and most work fine but if not then I cant blame Marklin and just live with it.
ESU decoders have a good name and are excellent but I just stick with those supplied by Marklin which appear to be fine for me.

David

I have used Märklin service on and off for a range of services over 19 years.
I was always patient and treated the staff with respect (phone or email) and I got good assistance.
Just lately I got an email in return about a decoder installation from Frank Mayer who has always been helpful in the past.
It was mentioned in the forum somewhere recently that he had gone ??.

Kimball

Well, the service I got when Toottoot was still operating in Christchurch was excellent. Not quite so sure now it is under new ownership from Invercargil.

Every time I have emailed Märklin directly with a service or parts enquiry the response has been slow and they have not met my needs. I wish I could say differently, but that is the reality of it for me.

Since you’re in the nordic region like me. There are four shops that I’ve found to be excellent at helping customers with questions like the one you’ve asked the Märklin Service department .

Modelljärnvägsspecialisten Tåg och Hobby
These guys in Luleå are great at Märklin and David Nyström who works there has always been fast in helping me with my Märklin related questions.

Habo Hobby
A smaller shop outside of Jönköping. Very good with the servicing of model trains regardless of the type. Talk with Peter.

Kystbanen
The biggest MRR-store in Copenhagen and one of the best Märklin dealers I´ve been to. Has been working with Märklin for a very long time and is very experienced with their products.

Hobbykæden
Located in the danish town of Nørresundby. Ken Rosa, the owner has helped me several times. Great guy that always take great care of his customers.


My experience with the Märklin Service is limited to the webshop. And they have always been good with fast shipping.

My opinion is also that Marklin USA is quite good, thanks to Rick who looks after warranty. Dealers are a mixed bag.

That being said, for budget reasons with a young family, I've bought one or less new trains per year for the past few years now. Used articles are now my norm, and have their own issues, so I make every effort to "try before you buy" as well as avoid any item known to have issues, motor types like softdrive, items with frames known to zinc pest, and other potential odds of failure.

Indeed the reality is that "old" Marklin left room for detail/feature improvement, but had standardized motors and other concentrated R&D which made for a more robust product. Not Marklin's fault- the new stuff is what the market demands and the volume isn't there to back up elaborate R&D.

I'll close on a high note: I haven't had a single Marklin issue in years. A few of my long-owned locos need a tweak here or there, but no failures to speak of.