Why aren't many ebike warranties tranferable?

[BigNerd]

So at least 2 or 3 companies I know of who sell in the value ebike range ($1k-$2k) won't honor the warranty if you sell the ebike to someone else.

Why not? Wouldn't that make their ebikes more valuable and add a secondary market value to their products making more people interested in them?

Are there D2C ompanies that do transfer the warranty?

Edit: Turns out even the big brand names do not allow transfer of warranty.

 

[FlatSix911]

Good question... inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Alex M]

Why should they be transferable? It's a market philosophy, enjoy the capitalism. When/if somebody will start doing it and if (IF) he is a serious competition, the others might follow.

 

[BigNerd]

Because people will be more willing to by a used ebike if they know there is some warranty for it.

That’s not capitalism, that’s good service.

 

[Taylor57]

So at least 2 or 3 companies I know of who sell in the value ebike range ($1k-$2k) won't honor the warranty if you sell the ebike to someone else.

Why not? Wouldn't that make their ebikes more valuable and add a secondary market value to their products making more people interested in them?

Are there D2C ompanies that do transfer the warranty?

I think it is a fair question. Why wouldn't one of the Ebike owners who I'm sure lurk or have lurkers respond?

 

[Taylor57]

I think it is a fair question. Why wouldn't one of the Ebike owners who I'm sure lurk or have lurkers respond?

*Resellers

 

[Lantley]

The companies have no incentive to extend warranties to the 2nd buyer . There obligation is to the original buyer. The 2nd buyer did not pay the manufacturer any money. Warranties cost money to fulfil. Why should the warranty company spend money on someone who did not spend money with them.
The original buyer is responsible for keeping up with maintenance and not abusing the product. Does the 2nd buyer know the bike was always maintained and never abused? WAs the bike abused and unloaded on a unsuspecting 2nd owner, who now seeks warranty service?
THere is no upside for the manufacturer. Manufacture wants loyal customers who will become repeat buyers, used buyers do not meet that criteria.
Manufacturer has no obligation or incentive to cater to used buyers.
The only thing they will get is additional warranty cost by extending warranty.
They will not get any additional sales from used buyers. It's a no win scenario for the manufacturer. It's a simple business decision for the manufacture.

 

[Dewey]

I think the Dutch second hand market has the right idea offering a 14 day no questions asked money back guarantee, plus a store seller can choose to offer a warranty So it’s all transparent and the buyer can be assured if the battery has died they can get a replacement, https://www.tweedehandsfietsen.nl/klantenservice/#garantie

 

[BigNerd]

The companies have no incentive to extend warranties to the 2nd buyer . There obligation is to the original buyer. The 2nd buyer did not pay the manufacturer any money. Warranties cost money to fulfil. Why should the warranty company spend money on someone who did not spend money with them.
The original buyer is responsible for keeping up with maintenance and not abusing the product. Does the 2nd buyer know the bike was always maintained and never abused? WAs the bike abused and unloaded on a unsuspecting 2nd owner, who now seeks warranty service?
THere is no upside for the manufacturer. Manufacture wants loyal customers who will become repeat buyers, used buyers do not meet that criteria.
Manufacturer has no obligation or incentive to cater to used buyers.
The only thing they will get is additional warranty cost by extending warranty.
They will not get any additional sales from used buyers. It's a no win scenario for the manufacturer. It's a simple business decision for the manufacture.

In a non-abuse situation, would there be extra cost if you are just honoring the original warranty?

And if the original owner did abuse the bike, won’t the company still lose money if they make warranty claims themselves?

I just think the simple concept of honoring the original warranty will increase their reputation and speak to the quality of their bikes.

Does the warranties on the name brand bikes end when ownership transfers?

And yes, they could consider charging for an extension or a warranty transfer.

Would you buy a 2-year old used car if you knew the manufacturer would not honor the 3rd year of the original warranty?

 

[Lantley]

In a non-abuse situation, would there be extra cost if you are just honoring the original warranty?

And if the original owner did abuse the bike, won’t the company still lose money if they make warranty claims themselves?

I just think the simple concept of honoring the original warranty will increase their reputation and speak to the quality of their bikes.

Does the warranties on the name brand bikes end when ownership transfers?

And yes, they could consider charging for an extension or a warranty transfer.

Would you buy a 2-year old used car if you knew the manufacturer would not honor the 3rd year of the original warranty?

The question is will transferring the warranty benefit the manufacturer?
Will it produce more sales?
I imagine it would benefit the used buyer, but manufacturers are not interested in used sales particularly if it hurts new sales. Remember we are talking budget models bikes. There is not a lot of margin to support transferring warranties on the lower priced models.
If buying from a dealer you maybe able to get the bike with a certified warranty or pay for an extended warranty , but 3rd party private sales would create nothing but a headache to manufactures with no upside.
On some level the manufacture would have to administer the warranty which would create additional cost. Who is going to pay those cost? Do you increase the cost of the bike to cover those additional cost? There is lots of competition, will increasing the price of the bike to cover warranty transfer hurt sales. Is there a real demand for warranty transfer?
Automobiles have a dealer network and warranty program in place the cost of warranty administration is already built into the price of all cars but that is not the case with E bikes.
In the end the manufacture wants less warranty coverage not expanded warranty coverage. Offering a 1 year or 2 year warranty looks good on the sales brochure.
The idea of transferring the warranty really doesn't come up at time of initial purchase. The manufacture has no need to bring it up, simply because consumers are not thinking of resale at time of purchase.
Lastly private sales are always item sold as is, If you want a warranty buy new otherwise buying used is always a buyer beware scenario.

 

[Deleted member 4210]

Here's probably one reason why - there is no way for the OEM to know how the ebike was treated by the first owner. People would be more inclined to abuse them (similar to what happens to rentals), and then the dealer and OEM get stuck dealing with an ebike, that the second owner has no idea of what occurred. So the first owner could 'claim' - " Hey, you get a warranty" and give the second buyer a 'feel good warm fuzzy' that he is getting a good, well cared for ebike (when it could be the exact opposite), while likely paying a higher price than the original owner could ever get without a warranty that could be transferred. No, this does not help the OEM, nor any dealer, and only puts money in the pocket of the first buyer that perhaps isn't justified. Maybe everyone would be honest about it all, but there are often enough people to take unfair advantage of a situation like that, to make it worth nothing to the OEM, other than more headaches down the road. If it were a $50,000 Audi, and its certified inspected by an Audi dealer, before a transferrable warranty is given, thats an entirely different situation. But nobody is inspecting anything here, and you are talking about a product that can be much more easily abused without any obvious outward signs. As one very simple example, a new display could be installed on it, and showing very few miles. New tires can be slapped on, but there is often no way to determine how many charges were on the battery, whether the controller got over amped, and many other little things that add up, and could easily void a warranty in the first place. Nope, this concept doesn't even pass the smell test, and a transferrable warranty on used (and possibly highly abused ebike) between private parties with no intermediary, is really not a win/win for anyone involved, especially the entities that would have to honor it.

 

[BigNerd]

So all things said above by Mike and Lantley can be applied to the more expensive brands too. Do they not transfer their warranties on ownership change also?

 

[tomjasz]

Another example of buyers looking for low ball pricing and then expecting unrealistic warranty service.

 

[Lantley]

So all things said above by Mike and Lantley can be applied to the more expensive brands too. Do they not transfer their warranties on ownership change also?

I can't speaks for other brands, however I have a Pedego ,
they offer a decent 5 year warranty. Battery warranty is 3 years then it becomes pro rated.
They are certainly not the most expensive high end Ebike but they are not bargain priced either

Below is from my Pedego owners manual:

Warranty Requirements:

1. Proof of purchase
2. Registration at the time of purchase
3. 100-mile tune up by an authorized Pedego dealer
4. Annual service by an authorized Pedego dealer

This warranty extends from the date of purchase, is offered only to the original retail purchaser, and is not transferable.

 

[Dewey]

So all things said above by Mike and Lantley can be applied to the more expensive brands too. Do they not transfer their warranties on ownership change also?

Yamaha Power Assisted Bicycles offer a transferable warranty

 

[FlatSix911]

Yamaha Power Assisted Bicycles offer a transferable warranty

Good to know!

 

[BigNerd]

Another example of buyers looking for low ball pricing and then expecting unrealistic warranty service.

What is your point? Seems like this question is valid for even non-value brands.

 

[Lantley]

Good to know!

The devil is always in the details:
From the Yamaha Manual:

Transfer of Warranty. Transfer of the warranty from the original purchaser to any subsequent purchaser is possible by having the Yamaha Power Assist Bicycle inspected by an authorized Yamaha Power Assist Bicycles dealer and requesting the dealer to submit a change of registration to Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. within ten (10) days of the transfer.

Please reference your Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. Power Assist Bicycles Limited Warranty Certificate for complete details.

So this transfer doesn't take place until after the sale.
Unless of course the seller agrees to transfer the bike before the sales is complete. Is there a fee for the inspection?
Also note the transfer is possible not necessarily guaranteed.

Below states what the warranty covers: Basically the drive train and frame are for 3 years. Everything else one year. If you want to buy it with any warranty left to transfer. Then you need to buy from someone who is selling a recently purchased bike.
Under the Yamaha scenario I don't see the transferable warranty as being the deciding factor in purchasing a used Ebike.
See excerpt of Yamaha Warranty Below:


The drive unit (including the motor assembly, housing cover, internal gears, motor control unit assembly, drive axle assembly, and torque sensor assembly), battery, rigid frame, and rigid front fork will be warranted for a period of three (3) years from the Date of Purchase, subject to exclusions noted herein. All other Yamaha Power Assist Bicycle components, unless expressly excluded hereunder, will be warranted against defects in material or workmanship, for a period of one (1) year from the Date of Purchase, subject to exclusions noted herein. Replacement parts used in warranty repairs will be warranted for the balance of the applicable warranty period.

 

[FlatSix911]

The devil is always in the details: From the Yamaha Manual:

Transfer of Warranty. Transfer of the warranty from the original purchaser to any subsequent purchaser is possible by having the Yamaha Power Assist Bicycle inspected by an authorized Yamaha Power Assist Bicycles dealer and requesting the dealer to submit a change of registration to Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. within ten (10) days of the transfer.

Please reference your Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. Power Assist Bicycles Limited Warranty Certificate for complete details.

The drive unit (including the motor assembly, housing cover, internal gears, motor control unit assembly, drive axle assembly, and torque sensor assembly), battery, rigid frame, and rigid front fork will be warranted for a period of three (3) years from the Date of Purchase, subject to exclusions noted herein. All other Yamaha Power Assist Bicycle components, unless expressly excluded hereunder, will be warranted against defects in material or workmanship, for a period of one (1) year from the Date of Purchase, subject to exclusions noted herein. Replacement parts used in warranty repairs will be warranted for the balance of the applicable warranty period.

Excellent news... thanks for posting the details.

 

[BigNerd]

So doing some googling and I found that the bigger brands differ on transfer of warranty but most are only for the original owner:

Specialized:

If you're the second, or later, owner of a Specialized or Roval product, you are eligible for a two-year warranty from the date of the original retail purchase.

Not sure if you have to pay for that eligibility.

Giant:

Warranty; Exclusive Remedy. Subject to the following limitations, terms, and conditions, Giant warrants to the original purchaser (and only the original purchaser) of each purchased Product as follows:

So no on Giant?

Trek:

This warranty extends from the date of purchase, is offered only to the original retail purchaser, and is not transferable. This warranty applies only to Trek bicycles purchased through an authorized dealer or distributor. Trek Bicycle Corporation is not responsible for incidental or consequential damages.

So no on Trek too.

I checked Haibike, Pedego and RadPower and all are original owner.

So it seems that most ebike companies don't allow transfer for warranty to a different owner. I can understand for a non-ebike, but for some of these bikes that cost multiple thousands (forget the value ebikes), doesn't that seem strange?

Going to change this title to reflect that it's not just Direct To Consumer brands that won't do warranty transfer.