LifeLike P2K parts service is good.

[Virginian]

Not great, because they made a small mistake.
I bought a LL P2K 2-8-8-2 (yes, another one), 3rd release, first series, undecorated, used. The guy I bought it from had gotten glue on the cab and tender shell, and a few other small parts were broken or missing. Perfect mechanical condition, the wheels weren't even scuffed; runs like a watch. So I made a small parts list and called LifeLike. Today I got a box.
I got everything I ordered, except one handrail, no charge. The handrail wasn't on the list, so I think the lady missed that over the phone. Maybe she had trouble with my enunciation, because in fact, I got 6 tender shells and 5 of a bunch of other things I only wanted one of.
As a tender freak, I know this is a test. A really, really big test, because these are about the best looking tenders around. But, because of their "won't even take any money" policy, with shaking hands, I am going to repack the extra parts and send them back to them with a nice note asking for my handrail. I sometimes think their prices are a bit high, but the quality is top notch, and when taken as a whole, I'd have to say the LifeLike experience is pretty darned good.

[dano99a]

Ditto on that statement, I have a good sized fleet of GP 7's and 9's that are all P2k and 2 SW9's I have had a few small problems with a couple right out of the box (a gear was modled incorrectly is what I was told) and the same from a pair I had gotten from ebay.

So, I called Lifelike and wouldn't you know it, they just asked how many I wanted and where to ship them to, I offered to pay but was declined and was told it's not needed.
[:)]
the next day they appeared on my doorstep via Fedex overnight!!

All I have to say is, they are doing something right cuz as stated above you pay a lot for the engines and it sure is nice knowing that they'll "give" you replacement parts.

So, i stand by my P2k's I think they are the best for the money you pay, hands down.

Happy modeling

[Anonymous]

Iron clad warranty, for life and probably the best in the industry. That's why I bot two Berks.

[davekelly]

Service like that is worth a little extra on the initial purchase!

[bogp40]

P2K offers the best service that I've found. The phone lines may be busy w/ helping customers, but they are friendly, knowledgeable and willing to satisfy the customer.
Bob K.

[Anonymous]

Life Like offers me very good service. I write one letter on a loose leaf paper schoolboy style with part numbers and include the payment.

Soon after the package arrives at my house.

It is very very very very good service for me. =)

[Sunset Limited]

I agree! I bought a couple of LL P2K GP30's, one had a thumping sound while I was running it on my test track, I opened the wheel holder and saw the gearing was cracked. I e-mailed LL and they sent me the replacement gears at no cost. No Hassles, No Problems!
Bottom Line! Great Customer Service!

[Anonymous]

I need a new shell for my older P2K SW9, If I go to life-like to you think I'd be able to buy one with all the detail parts?. Or would I have to go 3rd party.

[dinwitty]

I got the NKP 765 2-8-4, very nice engine, I wanted to modify the front, like
add a mars light and working marker lights and classification lights, but I didnt want to mess with the originals, so I contacted them via email, they just wanted the part numbers and my addy, and they sent them no charge!!

very cool.

let them know and you'll get the handrails.

[AggroJones]

My Y3 Mallet has a scewed up electric jigger board. I need to give them a call.

[Anonymous]

Hello!

Does anyone know the part number for the life-like gears which are cracked in my proto 2000 GP18's first release? thanks!

[cacole]

Instead of asking for just the gears, phone LifeLike and ask for an entire replacement truck -- they sent me replacement trucks for free, and they even paid the postage, under their lifetime warranty.

[Vampire]

My N&W 2-8-8-2 had a broken eccentric crank (shouldn't have made them out of plastic). I contacted LL and told them what I was looking for. I received a box with 2 complete cylinder, drive line and valve gear assemblies! Needless to say I was impressed. [tup]

There have been some posts lately from folks who didn't have such success stories. I've had one GP30 than ran slower than 2 others. However on the whole I'm very happy with my P2k loco's.

[Anonymous]

Hello!

Life-Like is sending me four trucks for my GP18's not bad since I've been using them since they FIRST came out =-)

[Anonymous]

I just had to tell you about my experience. I don't have a LHS anywhere nearby and make an annual pilgrimage to Toronto. I love my P2K GP7's, but had one with cracked axle gears. It languished on my RIP track for almost a year. After a frustrating experience with LifeLike Canada, aka Hobbycraft, I read this forum posting and decided to contact LifeLike directly. Brenda replied to my email the next day and I had my replacement axle parts within a week at no cost. I was ecstatic and now have an even greater loyalty to P2K. Service is GREAT!

[Anonymous]

Athearn (Horizon) are you reading this? Still no decent fix for their Genesis USRA 2-8-2 derailment and cracked gear problem. . .

[Anonymous]

I'm glad to hear all these good things about P2K, since I have a Alco FA2 with a broken spring in the diaphragm. Can anyone give me the phone number? Now, how to get Rivarossi parts?

[Virginian]

For Rivarossi parts, contact Golf Manor Hobbies in Cincinnati. They have a web site. Those parts will not be free.

[gmpullman]

I've been waiting for almost a month for a replacement smokebox front for my Nickel Plate 765. I melted the headlight when I put a 12v bulb in the headlight and it was too much heat. If any of you replace the lamps be sure it stays back in the boiler weight or use a resistor and keep the 3v. lamp in the headlight!
I'll let you know when I hear from Life-Like about my replacement smoke-box front!

[BRVRR]

I got the parts (axles) for my GP30 at no cost, overnight with just an E-mail. You can't beat that.

[fishplate]

THANKS!!!!!!
All I've been reading for the most part is how poor the quality of P2K stuff is. So I have stayed away from them. But with the kind of service you all have been talking about,
it's got me taking another look. Nothings perfict, but great service makes it awfull
close for me.

[Pruitt]

The biggest frustration I have with Life Like is that the P2k "Time Saver" kits have pretty much supplanted the regular P2k kits. I liked building those things. Did anyone else? They took a few hours longer than the average Walthers, Accurail or what-have-you, but they were fun. Time Savers get on the layout faster, but there is some small loss of satisfaction there, too.

[gmpullman]

Hey, dinwitty... looks like you got the last NKP 765 smokebox front! How much you want for your spare?? lol
I got a call from Brenda today, LL finally got my letter of April 5 requesting the SB front for my melted one... They don't have the part available but I hope our Chinese friends make me another one soon! In the meantime I guess I'll try to find a Cal-Scale brass replacement for the headlight.
Dinwitty, how did you do the Mars light??? I'd love to have one on my 765. If it's operating you'd have to run an additional wire up to it. I just put a Mars light in my Bluebird and programed it into the Digitrax decoder and it looks FanTasTic!!!
Thanks, ED

[gmpullman]

One more question...
I also have a couple of GP-7s with the "thumping truck syndrome" which is, I assume, a cracked gear. In my parts box I have some wheel/gear combos from an SD-7 that took a nose dive into the concrete valley... Would I be able to use the SD-7 wheel assemblies in the GP-7s? I haven't disassembled the GP-7s trucks yet?
Ed