Quality of Brio wooden tracks?

[ett]

Can anyone that have Brio wooden tracks comment on their quality and how they compare to Thomas tracks or the generic Target tracks? Several months ago I picked up a Brio train set (Curious George hospital set) at Tuesday Morning and I just gave it to DS for Christmas. I have not been impressed with their tracks at all. They're less smooth than our Thomas or generic Target tracks and I see wood chipping off at various places. It's just not the quality that I would expect from a company like Brio. We have several Brio trains and have not had any problems with them. This is the first time that I've bought a Brio train set.

So did I just get a bad set?

Thanks!

[pittsburghgirl]

We have a Brio Figure 8 set and expansion set, and haven't had any issues. I don't know about how smooth (don't have the other tracks) but they are about the same as the ones that came with our Costco train table. I'm guessing the Thomas tracks have some kind of varnish on them based on what I've seen at B&N?

Marilee
mommy to James
http://lilypie.com/baby2/040120/1/1/1/-5/.png

[bluestar2]

We have both Thomas and Brio tracks and they seem comparable so far. We've had a couple of pieces from each set chip but they get alot of play time.

[traciann]

I thought that the Thomas the train and Brio were one in the same thing?

[daisyandacorn]

We've got both Brio and Thomas tracks in a big basket and I'm not sure which are which anymore....the quality is great.
Sounds like it's worth a call to Brio - I'd bet it's just your set.
Hopefully they'll replace it for you.
Good luck!
Susan

[annasmom]

They are not, but I think that Brio may have made Thomas trains & track at one time. I was just talking to my SIL about train stuff last weekend because her dc were VERY into trains, and especially Thomas, when they were young (they are now 14 &15). She swore that Brio used to make the Thomas trains, and she really seemed to know what she was talking about.

[nupe]

I have been looking for that one (on sale that is). Sorry to hear the quality is poor.

Nupe

[ett]

Thanks for the comments everyone. I think I will go to a local store that carries Brio stuff to compare my tracks with the ones in the store before I call customer service.

[tzipora]

It's not just you - DS received both Brio and Imaginarium tracks and I was also very surprised to find that the Brio tracks were much less smooth than the Imaginarium tracks. When we visit my parents, DS plays with my sister's old set of Brio, which seems to be smoother and finer grained. I've also been wondering if it is a recent development, or if it was just our set (Safari train figure 8). I'd be curious to hear what you find!

[ett]

I went to a local toy store today that carries Brio stuff to check out their tracks. The ones they had on display on the train table and the one piece that I looked at in a box were both very smooth - much smoother than the tracks I own. So I don't think it is a recent development. I'll let you know what customer service says when I call them.

[JBaxter]

Some of my Brio track is 11yrs old and like other pp's we keep ours in a big rubber made storage container I have generic, brio, thomas and really cant tell the difference. The only piece we have ever had break was a clicker track piece from Thomas. I am thinking you have a bad set. Call the company and complain.

[tzipora]

That's very interesting! I'm actually really glad to hear that it's not that Brio's quality has gone downhill!

Thanks so much for letting me know - I can't wait to hear what CS has to say. Good luck!

[brittone2]

I think Brio has a lifetime warranty?

FWIW Thomas/Learning Curve is no longer offering a lifetime warranty. I read this on another board and confirmed this with them via email before the holidays. If you have products that came with packaging that says Lifetime Warranty they'll still honor it if you can produce that packaging info, but otherwise it is now a much shorter warranty (90 days against manufacturing defects). They are still selling stuff that sells Lifetime Warranty but all of the new stuff rolling out will no longer have that on the packaging.

I was very disappointed and got a "form' email saying this is what they have to do to keep their prices competitive. I think even the less well-known companies offer lifetime warranties on manufacturing defects.

I've been planning to buy Brio for all of our future stuff as a result. I was really turned off by the emails I got back from Learning Curve.

I would bet Brio will replace that track for you if you aren't happy. I hope it isn't a sign of things to come!!

[mypa]

Just wanted to let you know about my recent experience with Maxim. I just bought the Maxim 101 pieces Mountain Train set with storage box at Tuesday Morning for $13 because there were missing pieces (original 149.99 for sale 69.99, discounted to 19 then 30% off for $13 final price). The set looks very nice with smooth tracks. There were 9 tracks and 6 signs missing. I contacted Maxim via email on sat 1/21 and got a reply on mon 1/23 saying they will mail out the missing pieces and it arrived today th 1/26 all the missing pieces are here!! No hassles, no questions asked, just an "I'm sorry"-they must have shipped it out that day because it came from MA and I'm in CA. There was no mention of warranty on the box. I am very pleased with Maxim's excellent CS and just wanted to pass it on in case you are looking for other companies to buy train pieces from. HTH, BTW this train set has a stamp date of 2004-I don't think they sell this set anymore (but obviously the train pieces themselves aren't discontinued!

[brittone2]

That's great!! :) What a great deal you got!! It is always wonderful to hear a nice CS story (since they don't seem that common sadly, or at least most of us don't talk about them as much as our bad experiences!).

Experiences like yours make it all the more ridiculous IMO when companies like Learning Curve/Thomas proceed to say they need to change their warranty policies to remain "competitive" price-wise. They are one of the most expensive companies out there.

And really...how often do people have a true manufacturing defect that they ask for replacement on?

I'm really disappointed in Learning Curve. The emails from them (a few other moms here emailed them as well when the change went into place) were very pathetic in terms of CS.