Stealth Driver warranty claim - lack of support and customer care

[scottydog]

I own a Stealth driver which i bought brand new 3 years ago for £608.00, however, recently the face plate of the driver as come out of the pocket. A known quality failure that is well publicised. The driver is outside the warranty period of 2 years. however, i would of thought there would of been some customer care for such a failure. the response was very disappointing from Taylor made, no support at all just a briefly worded email that this was outside of warranty and an extremely rare event?? and would not support the claim any further. As a customer who invested in a premium TaylorMade product, I expected a higher standard of durability and, frankly, a more supportive response. The reliance solely on warranty timeframes does not address reasonable expectations around product quality, particularly where a common fault is well documented. I’ve always regarded TaylorMade as a leading brand. but i will not be buying anymore of Taylormade products after this experience.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Unfortunately it’s out of warranty


You could go back to where you bought it from and see what they say

 

[irip]

I own a Stealth driver which i bought brand new 3 years ago for £608.00, however, recently the face plate of the driver as come out of the pocket. A known quality failure that is well publicised. The driver is outside the warranty period of 2 years. however, i would of thought there would of been some customer care for such a failure. the response was very disappointing from Taylor made, no support at all just a briefly worded email that this was outside of warranty and an extremely rare event?? and would not support the claim any further. As a customer who invested in a premium TaylorMade product, I expected a higher standard of durability and, frankly, a more supportive response. The reliance solely on warranty timeframes does not address reasonable expectations around product quality, particularly where a common fault is well documented. I’ve always regarded TaylorMade as a leading brand. but i will not be buying anymore of Taylormade products after this experience.

I would say you have been unfortunate but as it is out of warranty it is the response I would expect.

 

[FuzzyDuck]

Exercising your consumer rights against the retailer under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 might be the way to go. You may need to get an independent report stating the fault is inherent.

 

[timd77]

It’s a known problem, all over social media shortly after they came out and a bit of an embarrassment for the company, and so although it’s out of warranty I’m surprised the haven’t sorted you out through goodwill and just wanting to keep it quiet.

I’m sure even Peter finch had the same thing happen a couple of times.

If it was me I’d be hounding them on social media.

 

[RichA]

Over £600 for a Stealth driver 3 years ago?
Was it the “Magic Beans” special edition?

Your contract under the Consumer Rights Act was with the retailer, not TaylorMade.

 

[howbow88]

£600! I don't think I'm ever going to buy a new driver again.

 

[clubchamp98]

Yes it’s out of warranty but that’s poor from Taylormade imo.

For £600 I would expect a recall of any model they know is faulty.
Just saying no and not at least coming up with some sort of compromise PX for a newer model seems bad buisness imo.

I have found most golf oems very good for this sort of thing.!

 

[IanM]

I agree. You've had the generic, "naff off letter 1." They hope you'll leave it there.

If you can demonstrate it's a known fault, you should go after them for a replacement (current model.) You said it was well publicised, I don't remember it, where was it? Get it and attach to your communication with both TM and place of purchase. Formally reject their reply, referencing the articles about the fault, and tell them what you expect them to do.

Where did you buy it? Your primary contract is with them, not the manufacturer.

Local Trading Standards Office are worth a chat too.

I'd also be asking embarrassing questions on Facebook/Insta etc if they fob you off again

Edit: just googled "known issue with stealth driver" and all sorts came up!

Become a pain, £600 is £600

 

[Golfnut1957]

I'd love a newer TM driver, but I have been completely put off by the constant reports of the carbon faces popping out and the carbon crowns popping off.

I saw one on eBay last week where the crown had popped off, it was going for cherry bobs and I thought it would be worth a punt and I would glue it back on. When I read the description, the seller had already tried that, but it just popped back off. There is obviously more to it than just glue.

Your experience just re-enforces my original view.

 

[nickjdavis]

Irrespective of any warranty, all products sold have a "reasonable life expectancy" during which time a consumer can reasonably expect them to work for.

A washing machine for example might have a two year warranty, but a single man living on his own maybe doing 2 loads a week would expect a machine to last much longer than a family of four with young kids/babies, where the washing machine is used every day. Two years might be reasonable life expectancy in the latter case, but not the former.

If you are an occasional golfer who maybe plays once a month then it would be reasonable to expect the driver to last for many years. If however you are playing 4 or 5 times a week and maybe you are a fast swinging, hard hitting golfer, then the life expectancy could be much lower.

I would expect a driver to last much longer than 3 years in the vast majority of normal use cases. If indeed there are other documented cases of similar failures - then I'd expect some sort of redress from TM. Yes your original "contract" is with the retailer, but this goes beyond that relationship and you are getting into the realms of a product with known issues that could be considered "not fit for purpose".

£600+ though? Even 2026 driver releases aren't costing £600.

 

[Tashyboy]

A two year warranty. Personally if that is all they are giving you can shove it. There are folk on here playing with clubs 20 plus years old and still going strong. If Ping can give a fantastic warranty on there products I don’t see why TM cannot do the same.
In a day and age of distance is king, maybe it would be prudent if someone could post exactly what warranty different club makers provide.
Hope the OP gets it sorted.

 

[scottydog]

Unfortunately it’s out of warranty


You could go back to where you bought it from and see what they say

American golf are going to look at it but are not promising anything. Saying it a Taylor made issue.

 

[scottydog]

I agree. You've had the generic, "naff off letter 1." They hope you'll leave it there.

If you can demonstrate it's a known fault, you should go after them for a replacement (current model.) You said it was well publicised, I don't remember it, where was it? Get it and attach to your communication with both TM and place of purchase. Formally reject their reply, referencing the articles about the fault, and tell them what you expect them to do.

Where did you buy it? Your primary contract is with them, not the manufacturer.

Local Trading Standards Office are worth a chat too.

I'd also be asking embarrassing questions on Facebook/Insta etc if they fob you off again

Edit: just googled "known issue with stealth driver" and all sorts came up!

Become a pain, £600 is £600

American Golf. It’s really poor customer care from TM. I’m shocked actually a reputable brand not showing any goodwill especially when this is a know failure.

 

[Crazyface]

Very poor. I was put off TM products after a purchase of a TM bag that the zips gave out after 18 months. Also, the way they constantly have new products does not inspire me with confidence that they a manufacturing them to last

 

[timd77]

I'd love a newer TM driver, but I have been completely put off by the constant reports of the carbon faces popping out and the carbon crowns popping off.

I saw one on eBay last week where the crown had popped off, it was going for cherry bobs and I thought it would be worth a punt and I would glue it back on. When I read the description, the seller had already tried that, but it just popped back off. There is obviously more to it than just glue.

Your experience just re-enforces my original view.

Me too, I tried the qi10 a while ago, loved how it felt and was getting an extra 10 yards versus my ping. But no way would I spend that money until these issues are sorted (they’re still having them).

A few lads at my golf club have won drivers on that golfstar draw thing and some of them are going for the new TM driver. I guess they’ve got nothing to lose but I’d be steering well clear myself.

 

[D-S]

£600+ though? Even 2026 driver releases aren't costing £600.

Sadly the new Ping release is over £600

 

[Tashyboy]

Sadly the new Ping release is over £600

For me, if they are that good, and I don’t just mean Ping, I will wait like I did when I got my last Ping driver. The new one came out and I saved a fortune on the previous ones original price. One thing about Ping. The warranty is excellent and I cannot for the life of me see Ping delivering the sort of aftersales service TM are dishing out. And that I don’t understand. The OP has done the right thing asking questions re his driver on here. But gofers are not stupid, if they see or hear this type of negativity towards a product, they will steer clear of it.

 

[Klimski]

I feel that a golf driver used in normal circumstances should have a life expectancy of at least 5-10 years. If in doubt one could show the sheer thousands of drivers older than that for sale on golfbidder and golfclubs4cash. Under EU consumer law the retailer of such a product would be liable to fix, replace or compensate if the product has failed. That said it can be very hard to claim these rights... Post Brexit I don't know what rules apply in Britain.

Pro tip: find a similar used model (not broken) on an established used golf gear website and propose to American Golf that they compensate you for that value.