Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had a Black and Decker electric blower for four years before the motor started to give out. At that point, about three months ago, I read reviews and decided to go for this Greenworks model -- reasonably good reviews and longer warranty than others. It was very easy to assemble and worked fine -- similar to the Black and Decker -- for cleaning up our back patio. I used it three or four times (about once/month) for about 15 minutes each time. Yesterday it died. I waited a few minutes, tried again, and it only powered on for a second before shutting off again. I tried a different extension cord and a different outlet. Same. Ok, bummer, but it has that 4-year warranty, I thought, so no big deal! Big deal. I called the toll free number. No technical assistance to see if there was an easy fix or I was doing something dumb to cause it to shut off quickly. All they wanted to know was my zip code, and then explained that I take it in person with receipt to the authorized service center. Well, for me the closest one is 45 minutes away... and I live dead in the middle of Houston, the 3rd or 4th largest city in the U.S.! So then I would have to drive round-trip once to drop it off in some hinterland area, then again to pick it up when repaired. Three hours of time and gas to get a $50 blower fixed! Seriously? So, yes, it's a great warranty -- free repair for four years -- if you *happen* to live near a repair store that has applied to be certified on their products. Otherwise, you can't even ship it back to Greenworks. "We don't do repairs." Lame.