Would you have been willing to pay a further premium of $75-$100 for a US made jack?
No. I paid about 3.5 to 4 times the cost of an import item and I expect the unit to perform as advertised. I don't care where it comes from if it works for it's intended purpose.
I bought a J&S jack because I thought it was the best jack out there from the reviews, I had two years and the seal around the release valve leaked all the fluid out, I called J&S and told them I need a new seal, the lady said we can send you a new bottle jack and I said just send me the seal, a couple of days later I received the seal, I went to install it, I have no idea where this seal was suppose to go, but it wasn't for the release valve, I tried calling Omega to get one, they wanted $30.00 for a seal kit, so I called J&S back, they sent me a new bottle jack. Now mine was over two years old and out of warranty, they still took care of it, but if it leaks again, I think I will buy this jack from Northern Tool and install like this member.
Holy smokes..The man purchased a pricey product. It had an issue. After a little back and forth the issue's resolved.Done... anything more is nothing but drama.
Would you have been willing to pay a further premium of $75-$100 for a US made jack?
I would.
All I know is, I was getting ready to kick down $800 on a J&S jack/dolly combo. I know the jack assembly and related components (excluding the bottle jack) are all great quality, but I definitely would not be happy if I was encountering this problem after I had purchased what is purported to be the highest quality jack on the market. It is unfortunate that the only part not manufactured by J&S is the piece that may preclude some potential buyers from doing so.
Last edited by ChickinOnaChain; 02-03-2018 at 10:08 PM.
Well......My 4 yr old J&S jack works just fine with no issues. I jack up mine every day after I ride, so it gets used daily during the Chicago riding season. After reading some reports of bottle jack failure, I proactively purchased a spare from J&S ($35 w/free shipping) so IF the original ever fails, I can change it out within minutes. However, as I've said my J&S has been dependable since I un-boxed it.
I decided on the J&S was for two main reasons:
1. My 2015 Ultra Limited is a "Low" and the J&S jack is one of the very few that will easily slide under the "low" while it's on the kick stand (about 4.25"). Most others are too tall when fully compressed to slide under the frame without pulling the bike fully upright while at the same time sliding the jack underneath.....not a "maneuver" I ever want to do!
2. The ease of rolling once my Ultra Limited is loaded on the J&S. It really does roll as easily as the demonstration video on their website. Because I need to push my Ultra Limited into the far corner of my garage so I can still fit 2 cars in I needed a jack that would roll very easily while still being VERY stable.
I dig my J&S.....to the OP - no matter how good a product is...CHIT happens....
It’s cool that each jack is serialized too.....was looking at my J&S the other day, those 4 bolts per side that hold on the back wheels, they might look good
chromed....4 on the flag side, 4 on the S/N side.
It's an economical choice of J&S between a higher quality bottle ( =extra cost, with reduced profit) and the frequency that a bad Chinese bottle needs to be replaced ( extra costs). As long,in this business model, the profit prevails J&S does not need to change the bottle for a higher quality bottle( = more cost => less profit). Now, if it seems that the amount of complains increases in such a way that the perception of J&S being a high end jack becomes doubtful, then the used business model is failing and needs to be altered.
Building up a good reputation takes a long time, losing it can go very fast. Hope J&S understands that.
01-12-2018, 01:53 PM
