van staal/repair
 

1 week ago, setting the hook on a fish I snapped my anti-reversie on my vs200

called Dan "the man" at van staal, explained the situation to him

His exact words were...not a good time for this to happen as the fall run is starting for you guys in RI

told me to send it back to his attention

5 days after sending the reel OUT to van staal, already back at my house

customer service there is incredible, as always

reel had normal wear and tear on Some parts that Dan took care of as well....................a total of 43 parts..........NO CHARGE

like people say, you get what you pay for

just a reminder for people that just got a vs this year....make sure you send in your reel for annual service as this would not have been covered


THANKS AGAIN VAN STAAL

:thanks:

nice to hear Jim... I'd be more than a little nervous busting my reel this time of year. Well anytime actually :usd:

Yup..
8 day turn around counting the weekend for me last week... busted out the penns for a while...

and the turnaround would have been one day if you were fishing with a penn 706

I must say Ben,
thats pretty quick

i think it was 1 day of repair for van staal also...2nd day air to get it there and 2nd day to get it back

a company that quick you have to be impressed with, whether its VS or penn

i'll be impressed when van zebco comes out with a user serviceable reel and stops wasting valuable r&d and production efforts on fugly bailed models.

gee, back a week and already ingratiating ones self on the Van Staal masses. Ben, I think you just like to pi$$ everone off.

spend $700 or more on a spinning reel, and then $40/yr thereafter.

see how you feel when it becomes an expensive paperweight at the worst possible time.

I must be lucky..Beat the piss outa mine and still tickin'..Yeah, I'd be :mad: is I had a prob. with it after spending all that $$$$:realmad:

You'd be more pissed if you spent 900 clams on an Accurate Twin Spin and had to send it back twice in a season and a half for a new handle bushing--like one of the Canal guys I know ;)

I have a VS 250 and I have beat the sh%^$#t out of it. Had one problem in 2 years and I use to spend 100 nights in the water. BTW, they fixed the problem back and forth in one week for n/c. I still think it's the best reel on the market if you spend a lot of time on the water, sand, rocks, etc. Just my opinion

I am sorry you feel that way, I have my share of penns and love them
But My Van Staal is the best reel I ever used, I bought it used and they
have stood by the warrantee I sent it in like the rep said and they replaced
about 50 parts for 36 dollars, that is short money

So what's the deal for someone (me) who bought a VS200 off the classifieds? Do I just send it in after the fall run? Where? What $$ to expect for this maintenance? Bo I need paperwork?

vanstaal.com

The surf likes to break stuff, no matter what it costs or what it's built of.

It's the nature of the enviroment we like to fish in. It's better to accept the fact that pretty much nothing is bullet proof in the surf. Someone or something will always break ANY reel if given enough time and oppurtunity.

Accepting that fact saves me plenty of grumpage if something breaks.

Just print the return form off their website and send it in. It's possible you are going to get whacked the first time in but then you'll be under warranty from their out as long as you send it in yearly. Very tough to predict what the cost will be.

You better hope it's not one of the old reels with the stainless center shaft though, issues with that generation of reels (they're from the Connecticut Van Staal) can get expensive. It's better to stick with the Ti center shaft reels.

jim sylvester & piemma: couple of questions for both of ya:

Were you the original registered owner?

How old was your reel?

I hear lots of great stories about VS. Unfortunately I know of some that weren't quite as good of an outcome. :( These aren't stories - I have facts.

thanks,

:jester:

cool, did you still get the fish? lol

There is a paper you need here it is, I also looked up Craigs Cantelmo's phone number 631-734-2251 he is the Feild Sales Manager you meet him at all the fishing shows really nice guy.

Jim, Pete, and Bob, thanks. Annual service done in Tulsa only?

As far as I know, yes

Oh and do yourself a favor and send it in before January. you will get it in 2 weeks if you wait it could be up to 2 months

How the hell did you screw that reel up setting the hook? Must have 100 lb. test line and one huge pair of biceps!!:tm:

Keep in mind if you have the older style w/ the interior counter weight they WILL change the shaft & gear out to the newer titanium nitride one and it WILL cost you more $. You can't take off the side plate on those either - strap wrench .... that is a joke. Doesn't work on a reel that hasnt been service. Some special tool that attaches and needs a couple of tons for force to open it.

NOTE: they don't need to contact you if the fee is below $200. Guess how much the new shaft, gear & other std parts come out to $180. In fact when the shaft came back it was BENT intensionally so it couldn't be re-used. I heard that at one point some of the "black" colored shafts were nickle coated and created even MORE problems = supposely very few of those show up now.

I'm still waiting to hear from those other two to see if they were original owners or not.

When you buy an "used" older style reel w/ interior counterweight that hasn't been service so it has newer parts - be aware of the $$ it WILL cost you. I'm not making this up.

My terminology many not be correct: what I call the shaft is the piece joints the spool to the body of the reel - piece that goes up and down. Feel like THE SHAFT when that $180 comes up on some ones CC. :(

The idea that they FORCE you to make your older style reel more current since you aren't the original owner and charge you $180 just isn't right. I haven't any idea what would have happened if I was the original owner all along and sent it in for annual service IF I would have been charged the parts.

Those of you who were fortunate to get it for FREE - PLEASE post your specifics of being original owner and whether or not you always had sent it in for service.

Buddy if mine has a few VS's - never sent one in for service... fishes them MORE in a yr than a regular person would in a decade. He just keeps filling it w/ oil & grease. He has a maintenance kit he purchased but has never used a part from it. All of his reels have the hex on the side plate and can be opened w/ service wrench.

FWW = Ben: Dude u are crazy & funny at times. Your BS doesn't bother me.... just hard to keep track of your username. ;)

Good to be different otherwise the world would be a boring place.

Oh - those of you who haven't checked out one of mikecc's Quarrow Tiderunners - u really need to..... a lot of rod at any price. Use the left over to buy a Shimano Spheros or Stradic. :D

4 seasons of hard use..
it is scratched, nicked and dinged...
but it catches and holds up..
one minor problem with the handle knob and they reserviced the whole reel for nada.. 8 day turn around and I sent it on a thursday so they got it the following monday...

I stand by them.. yeah Penns are easier to work on and get parts for.. but did I mention I rarely if EVER rinse my gear :D

I ALWAYS rinse my VS... Whenever it rains :rotf2:

My gear gets rinsed if it rains out, and maybe at the end of the season, I love the fact that if sand gets in you dunk it and turn the handle problem gone, with out taking it apart

still landed the fish....a fat 40" 29#

a little different fight when the anti-reverse is gone

decksweeper was with me and was saying to himself what the #&*$ is he doing reeling backwards

Some old timers SWEAR by a reel that can real backwards... It can be VERY usefull at times.