Why aren't many ebike warranties tranferable?

[Dewey]

If you buy a used Pedego from a dealer that offers their “pre-loved” program they come with a 12-month warranty to cover everything https://www.pedegoelectricbikes.com/pre-loved/

 

[Taylor57]

So based on what I have learned regarding my warranty, it makes no sense to sell my bike in the first year? It sounds like I would probably have to take a 20-30% haircut on essentially a brand new bike. If I really like my Sport, I may pass the XP along to my kids...

 

[BigNerd]

So based on what I have learned regarding my warranty, it makes no sense to sell my bike in the first year? It sounds like I would probably have to take a 20-30% haircut on essentially a brand new bike. If I really like my Sport, I may pass the XP along to my kids...

Yep. One of the reasons I was looking into warranty transfers because if I don't like the ebike I ordered, instead of shipping it back and paying a hundred plus ($175 for a certain brand), I could just sell it to someone local who would take a $200+ discount from what I paid. But then if the warranty doesn't transfer, they probably may be less apt to do that purchase.

 

[rich c]

Yep. One of the reasons I was looking into warranty transfers because if I don't like the ebike I ordered, instead of shipping it back and paying a hundred plus ($175 for a certain brand), I could just sell it to someone local who would take a $200+ discount from what I paid. But then if the warranty doesn't transfer, they probably may be less apt to do that purchase.

I'd need more than a $200 discount to buy a used eBike. I would assume that if the original purchaser didn't like it, why would I? That's probably just me though, but at my age I've been burned before when I took everything the owner said as the truth. Now I assume there is a problem and I need to get a good enough value to do some repair or replacement parts.

 

[TomD]

I think it makes sense for products that offer lifetime warranty or for an exceptional amount of time. However, for more typical warranty periods of say 1-3 years it seems manufacturers just want to limit their costs. I suppose you could argue it is similar to rebates, where the assumption is not everyone will submit the rebate, and this allows larger rebates for those that do submit. In other words, it allows manufacturers to provide warranty longer for original customers not having to cover the cost to those who are not original customers.

I was disappointed to see Watt Wagons has similar verbiage. @pushkar, can you shed insights on why warranty wouldn't transfer if I decided I had too many bikes and decided to sell my bike to someone during the warranty period?

Warranty

Watt Wagons LLC guarantees each new bicycle frame against defects in workmanship and materials for 1 year. Warranty does not apply to Watt Wagons Labs products. All original components are guaranteed for a period of 1 year from the date of delivery, excluding any customizations, or purchase of...

wattwagons.com

 

[FlatSix911]

I'd need more than a $200 discount to buy a used eBike. I would assume that if the original purchaser didn't like it, why would I?

That's probably just me though, but at my age I've been burned before when I took everything the owner said as the truth.

Now I assume there is a problem and I need to get a good enough value to do some repair or replacement parts.

Today's market is quite a bit different... you may be able to sell your pre-owned bike for more than you paid.

In some areas of the country, bikes are going over asking price based on immediate availability... the Covid-19 effect!

 

[pushkar]

I think it makes sense for products that offer lifetime warranty or for an exceptional amount of time. However, for more typical warranty periods of say 1-3 years it seems manufacturers just want to limit their costs. I suppose you could argue it is similar to rebates, where the assumption is not everyone will submit the rebate, and this allows larger rebates for those that do submit. In other words, it allows manufacturers to provide warranty longer for original customers not having to cover the cost to those who are not original customers.

I was disappointed to see Watt Wagons has similar verbiage. @pushkar, can you shed insights on why warranty wouldn't transfer if I decided I had too many bikes and decided to sell my bike to someone during the warranty period?

Warranty

Watt Wagons LLC guarantees each new bicycle frame against defects in workmanship and materials for 1 year. Warranty does not apply to Watt Wagons Labs products. All original components are guaranteed for a period of 1 year from the date of delivery, excluding any customizations, or purchase of...

wattwagons.com

We didn’t have a specific policy around this and and used to offer warranty transfer till early this year. In our limited run we had a case where a customer damaged a battery pack, and sold it the bike to someone saying that it was in working condition, and this new owner filed for warranty coverage within a day of buying the bike.

Once we received the battery pack we discovered it was damaged beyond what we would consider normal use. (they broke a cable pin, opened the case to fix it, but damaged the internals more).

There’s no way to identify who was at fault. We covered the claim as a one off but unfortunately we are no longer able to support transfer of warranty after that incident.

That being said, a customer in NJ sold his UC pro to buy a travalanche. We inspected and tested the bike with both buyer and seller being involved. We were able to certify the warranty at a nominal charge ($50 for labor). so there are exceptions in cases where we can test the bike as part of the transaction.

 

[FlatSix911]

We didn’t have a specific policy around this and and used to offer warranty transfer till early this year. In our limited run, we had a case where a customer damaged a battery pack and sold it the bike to someone saying that it was in working condition, and this new owner filed for warranty coverage within a day of buying the bike.

Once we received the battery pack we discovered it was damaged beyond what we would consider normal use. (they broke a cable pin, opened the case to fix it, but damaged the internals more).

There’s no way to identify who was at fault. We covered the claim as a one off but unfortunately, we are no longer able to support transfer of warranty after that incident.

That being said, a customer in NJ sold his UC pro to buy a travalanche. We inspected and tested the bike with both buyer and seller being involved.

We were able to certify the warranty at a nominal charge ($50 for labor). so there are exceptions in cases where we can test the bike as part of the transaction.

Well done... great customer service promotes brand loyalty!

 

[BigNerd]

I'd need more than a $200 discount to buy a used eBike. I would assume that if the original purchaser didn't like it, why would I? That's probably just me though, but at my age I've been burned before when I took everything the owner said as the truth. Now I assume there is a problem and I need to get a good enough value to do some repair or replacement parts.

Well... if the bike brand new cost less than $1k, I think $200 is pretty good discount if it's within a few months of buying it new. Or what if I wanted to sell it to a friend? I guess I could always claim any warranty as my own but that wouldn't be right.

This was an interesting exercise because I thought it was only value brands that did not transfer warranties but it turns out even expensive bikes are usually original owner only.

 

[tomjasz]

Well... if the bike brand new cost less than $1k, I think $200 is pretty good discount if it's within a few months of buying it new.

That's just not ever going to happen unless the buyer is clueless. As Pushkar clearly demonstrated there can be serious issues and damage in those few months. I would NEVER buy a used bike without discounting the cost of a new replacement battery.

 

[Taylor57]

Ok, so help me out here guys. I have a 2 month old xp with 330 miles. I paid 899 plus tax lets call it a grand. It does not have a scratch. Tires perfect with Slime installed. New Suntour seatpost and Giddy Up seat with light in the back. Would 800 be a fair price considering no extended warranty?

 

[BigNerd]

Ok, so help me out here guys. I have a 2 month old xp with 330 miles. I paid 899 plus tax lets call it a grand. It does not have a scratch. Tires perfect with Slime installed. New Suntour seatpost and Giddy Up seat with light in the back. Would 800 be a fair price considering no extended warranty?

Not according to @Thomas Jaszewski

 

[Asher]

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.

Because your first buyer is your customer, everyone after is competition. Makers aren't going to care unless customers insist on it, and they don't. Makers don't like used item sales unless they can get their cut from it. For any product.

Warranties are almost never transferable for precisely these reasons. Why do you expect ebikes to change the way retail works?

 

[Dewey]

I thought the rule of thumb was subtract the cost of a replacement battery, which for the XP is $300, so if you paid a grand and can show that on the receipt, you might ask for $700. But it’s a sellers market right now.

 

[BigNerd]

Because your first buyer is your customer, everyone after is competition. Makers aren't going to care unless customers insist on it, and they don't. Makers don't like used item sales unless they can get their cut from it. For any product.

Warranties are almost never transferable for precisely these reasons. Why do you expect ebikes to change the way retail works?

I’m not trying to revolutionize the ebike retail industry, just wondering because I was looking at my options if I decided I didn’t like a D2C ebike because of the inability to test it at an LBS.

Warranty transfers are not unheard of, as I said before, car warranties follow the vehicle, not the owner and since ebikes are in the same class... mobility/transportation, I would think there would be some allowance for that.

I do understand that by extending the warranty to subsequent owners creates competition for your new sales but it also creates value and reputation for your brand. That’s why maybe some type of warranty transfer fee might help.

In the end, what is the percentage of warranty claims anyways? Most who buy used (at least for non ebikes) understand the risk and will accept the trade-off for savings vs warranty but the situation I’m talking about is where the ebike is near new and rather than disassembling and shipping back within the return period, selling to someone else (like a friend or relative) and giving them the peace of mind of having a warranty.

For the D2C model, free shipping and low cost returns becomes important due to the touchless buying... so instead of spending $200 to ship an ebike back under a 14 or 30 day return policy, I was wondering if it would be better to pass that savings on to someone else with the warranty intact.

Not trying to change the world, just looking for ways to improve the D2C (or even LBS) purchase model.

 

[Asher]

Ah ok, that's a fair point, and an interesting suggestion, especially if there's a warranty transfer fee (2-5% of bike value ?)

One barrier I've usually heard to transferable warranties is that manufacturers don't know what the previous owner did. Hard to say if this is real or just an excuse.

However, you could work out an agreement with the used bike buyer to simply do warranty claims yourself, and that the bike would be 'on loan' to the bike buyer for the duration of the original warranty. It's not even that hard since everything is remote anyway. There's still a risk for the used bike buyer, because you could just ignore him when he asks you to make a warranty claim.

All that said, brands have affiliate programs to let you try out the bike from current owners. They want to minimize returns anyway unless they're defective bikes, and then of course it should just be returned.

 

[J.R.]

Seems to me it would be very difficult to transfer a warranty. The only way to get warranty coverage on a used automobile is to take it to an authorized dealer/service center. That's not possible for most ebikes. I guess a seller could say a warranty is transferable and in the fine print put stipulations that the bike has to be shipped back to the seller and the seller will determine whether the original owner or the new owner altered the bike and nullified the warranty. That could be expensive for the bike owner. Even some big top tier brands are sold by independent bike shops and warranty service elsewhere gets complicated due to record keeping.

Bikes and ebikes are regulated as consumer products in the U.S., not part of the transportation sector and consumers don't get the same protections.

It's an interesting topic. Seems like extending warranties to used bikes would raise prices for all ebikes and newcomers are often shocked already. It would help the private seller though. I can see it possibly happening one day when there are enough regional service centers.

 

[Asher]

Bikes and ebikes are regulated as consumer products in the U.S., not part of the transportation sector and consumers don't get the same protections.

I was trying to figure that out. Are carmakers required to make their warranty transferable?

I think a warranty process involving multiple buyers and sellers is always going to be convoluted. It's not a perfect substitute, but we'd all be better off if the components at risk of breaking were simply built to be non-proprietary and easily repaired. Frames would be professionally inspected upon sale, everything else is a repair or wear item.

 

[tomjasz]

I thought the rule of thumb was subtract the cost of a replacement battery, which for the XP is $300, so if you paid a grand and can show that on the receipt, you might ask for $700. But it’s a sellers market right now.

$300 battery? Wow!

 

[Taylor57]

$300 battery? Wow!

Is that Wow for wow thats a low price or wow thats a high price or just wow!