Many are concerned about the unavailability of warranty on JDM reels, and I realized I have no idea how common it really is. I've never had one go bad, although I have had a few Tatulas that were geary right out of the box. 

 

Other than just sending it back, have you had to use the warranty on your reel? 

I used to have a Piscifun reel, whose reel seat foot got broken after a couple of trips; they gave me a full refund.  I had also asked KastKing how to obtain certain parts for its Royal reel; they sent me a whole bag of spare parts without any charge. I used to have a Daiwa reel whose line guide ring fell off after a month or two. Lucky, I didn't lose it. I didn't bother with the warranty and superglued it back; It had held up pretty well. 

If your buying a name brand reel I wouldn't worry about it. I have only bought two reels from Japan and both have been impeccable. 

Never had an issue with a new reel and I have several that I purchased directly

from Japan.

Never

Never had to send one in, but I have had to contact Lews a couple times and their service was awesome. Bought an LFS and while gettu,g ready to use, I noticed a couple of the brake magnets were missung. They sent me a replacement side plate

I have a 'blem' Tatula Elite I bought figuring that meant cosmetic issues.  Turns out it is internal mechanical issue(s).  I don't plan on sending it to Daiwa.  I'd rather send it out to a professional to repair and clean it while they have it.  Don't know if Daiwa would just replace the bad part(s), or if they would also clean it.  I'm considering possible upgrades while the professional has it.  Pretty sure Daiwa wouldn't do that.

I've never needed to send a reel off for warranty work but I am lucky enough to live close to an official warranty center for most major brands. They stock a TON of parts for new and old models. If I ever need anything for a reel they generally have it. 

 

When I've owned and used something for more than a few months or so I generally take responsibility if something breaks. It always blows my mind when people send off 2 year old broken rods for free replacement but that's another story and obviously different than a reel with a broken part.