We went back and forth a few times, and my final response is this:

Even though I spent $350 on one of your products, since it has been more than 12 months since I purchased it, you are telling me that you will not repair it, I cannot pay you to repair it, and there are no other repair facilities. Essentially I now own a non-working $350 TomTom brick, and there is no way whatsoever to get it repaired. The only way I can get a working TomTom GPS unit is to buy another one outright.

Is this accurate?

This seems to be what they’re saying, as far as I can tell, but I’m just trying to get a clear answer one way or the other. TomTom has not responded as yet, but I will keep you posted.

In the meantime, I found these instructions and plan to install this battery, assuming TomTom’s response is still negative. Hopefully that will get me operational again, but then again, it could just be $20 down the drain. I don’t even know if it’s the battery itself or some other subsystem that’s causing it to die shortly after I turn it on. Could be a wild goose chase, but I suppose it’s worth a try.

The final word:

You are correct in saying that the device can not be repaired by our facilities. We do not have out of warranty repairs available or any repair center available to assist with out of warranty devices, no matter the cost. We truly apologize that you can no longer use your device since the battery does not hold a charge. You may purchase another device to replace your existing device, this is up to your discretion.

Well then. Good to know.

Nearly every major electronics manufacturer offers some sort of repair service outside of their warranty period, either in-house, or contracted to a dedicated repair service which they endorse; and the fact that they don’t even do that speaks volumes to me about how they view the quality and permanence of their products.

Until this policy changes, I must regretfully refuse to buy or recommend any of their products. Such a shame. They have such a great GPS interface, too.