makita hw131 pressure washer

handyman · Post by **handyman** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:51 am

£60 for the part, but the Makita approved maintanence center say it looks a pain to fix, so cant give me a price.........and think i may run into trouble fixing it myself (seals etc)

O yes, it gets better...........3-4 weeks for the part to come in, as it isnt in stock at makita HQ

Spare or repair anyone

gaffatape · Post by **gaffatape** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 7:23 am

I bought a Makita HW130 power washer in late 2007 from Axminster Power Tools within a month one of the plastic wheels had broken off. I emailed Makita to ask where I could purchase a new wheel (secretly hoping they might send me a new one) and got no reply

I was not impressed either by the Makita 18volt combi drill sold at B&Q for £99 with 2 batteries and accessories ...it seems under powered, you know, a bit toy like, when compared to my Dewalt 14volt combi.

handyman · Post by **handyman** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 8:07 am

I have emailed Makita about this machine, chancing my arm a bit, as the original purchase date is over 2 years ago. (but replacement machine 1 year old).

Anyway, no reply, so phoned, and lady said she never got any email, so said wait a few seconds and 'bing bong' the email hit her account whilst i was on the phone

Got a reply from who she forwarded it to the next day. All he said was he has forwarded it onto someone else

Thats now 3 weeks and no reply

Its really put me off Makita as a brand now, if this is how they treat you.

Got a replacement Bosch machine with a 2 year warranty. Will report on it soon.

handyman · Post by **handyman** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:13 pm

Emailed twice again, and still no reply.

Shocking customer service from Makita on this one.

Machine design really isn't fit for its purpose, so they really should be doing something about it.

Will call them again in the morning.

Just look at the difference with Bosch pressure washer..........straight through to the correct department, and part sent ASAP

Shopman · Post by **Shopman** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:59 am

Interested to read this.

I have the same model with the same fault, the casting has broken at the water outlet on the pump head.
This sounds like a design fault although the service centre I called mentioned that this machine was susceptible to frost.

Enquired this morning about a price for the part but after reading your tales of this machine I am wondering about calling it a day and blacklisting Makita for any future tool purchases.

I thought this one would last more than two years.

Is there a well made pressure washer out there?

handyman · Post by **handyman** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:16 pm

Well, do you think Makita have been reading this?

Today i get a call from their Stockport service centre and they will collect machine in morning and either fix it or send me a new one!

If only Makita did this 6 weeks ago when i first contacted them

Its intresting that shopman has the same fault.

Shopman · Post by **Shopman** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:11 pm

I have been researching a replacement for mine today and having decided on one of these - http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/browse.php/se ... 58/level/4 I read your comments so have decided to email Makita this evening and make my feelings known.

I have owned mine under two years and it's only been used a couple of times.

Last year it wouldn't start - kept blowing the circuit breaker and now this year the pump head casting has broken.

Not a machine to make Makita proud I'm afraid.

handyman · Post by **handyman** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:58 pm

yes, my one continually had the motor sticking on both machines i have had, which caused the fuse to blow. You can get round this by cranking the motor by hand using a screwdriver to turn the screwhead on the bottom of the motor casing, then switching on.

I looked into that machine as well, but the bosch machine had a similar spec and price, but more importantly, theres a Bosch service center 5 miles from me, where as Nilfisk is collection only (I think thats what I found out about them, might be wrong)

Bosch also had a 2 year warranty

PETER R · Post by **PETER R** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:55 pm

been looking for a few weeks now and was going to go for the makita but after reading the troubles you guys have had and the bad customer service , im going for a kranzle ok its twice the price but has good feedback

Shopman · Post by **Shopman** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:21 am

Nilfisk, originally called Kew were one of the first on the market with pressure washers, my brother had a Kew twenty years ago so I have some faith in their product and I believe their guarantee is two years on 'consumer' products.

Nilfisk is Danish although product is made in China.
I notice a lot of the Bosch products are made in Italy like the Makita

Costco is a good place to buy products like this as they will replace faulty products even years after purchase without a quibble.

I think I will see what they have on offer before making a decision.

Haven't heard of Kranzle, I will take a look.

PETER R · Post by **PETER R** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 4:05 pm

typical german engineering but with the price tag .
ive narrowed it down to either the kranzle K1150T
or the karcher HD 6/13cx plus, both if you shop around about £470 mark

Shopman · Post by **Shopman** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:39 am

I emailed the service department on 17 March and again two weeks later.

No acknowledgement or reply as yet...

Disappointing service from Makita so far.

Shopman · Post by **Shopman** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:58 pm

Finally got a reply from Makita, it would seem it is my fault for either damaging it or bad storage causing frost damage.

This would appear to be a rather fragile product, made in Italy where frost is rare.
By comparison my Karcher is still going strong with no frost damage despite being stored next to the Makita.

Makita do not reply to emails unless you make a nuisance of yourself and even then they are not helpful.

No more Makita products for me I'm afraid.
My understanding was Makita produced heavy duty professional products with a good service backup.
This is not the case. They will not even supply spare parts direct.
Only used twice, a waste of £265.

handyman · Post by **handyman** » Sun May 10, 2009 7:29 am

On a positive note, Makita have fixed my machine for free.

On a negative note, I didnt get any contact from Makita, it took over 3 months and lots of calls to their sevice agent. (thats what you call service!)

The part that cracked was a cheap rubbish casting, the new part looks like brass........so an improvement in quality.