Specialized or YT?

[pgtips]

You see, in the motortrade if a vehicle is still under it's manufactures warranty any dealer of that make can do the warranty work even if you dint purchase the car from them and then the dealer can claim the parts and labour from the manufacturer. The owner of that vehicle has to pay nothing and even get's a courtesy car for free for the inconvenience.

So why this is not the same with ebikes? Some of the ebikes are close to 10k so no far off a small vehicles cost

 

[Doomanic]

even get's a courtesy car for free for the inconvenience.

IME that depends on the dealer.

So why this is not the same with ebikes?

They are not motor vehicles. They are bicycles and the bike manufacturers have not caught up with the car manufacturers in this respect.

 

[pgtips]

IME that depends on the dealer.

Nope, that's with any dealer. I work for the motortrade also for dealers.

 

[pgtips]

They are not motor vehicles. They are bicycles and the bike manufacturers have not caught up with the car manufacturers in this respect.

They are, they have motors?

 

[Doomanic]

Nope, that's with any dealer. I work for the motortrade also for dealers.

I've had warranty work done where no courtesy car was offered, or available after I requested it, so it's not any dealer at all. Just like bike shops, some car dealers do customer service better than others.

 

[Doomanic]

They are, they have motors?

*sigh* No, they're not. They are bicycles. The motor is irrelevant in the legal definition.

 

[pgtips]

I've had warranty work done where no courtesy car was offered, or available after I requested it, so it's not any dealer at all. Just like bike shops, some car dealers do customer service better than others.

Ok so you talking about courtesy cars. Agree. But warranty work is not charged to the customer.

 

[Gary]

So why this is not the same with ebikes? Some of the ebikes are close to 10k so no far off a small vehicles cost

I actually asked for a courtesty bike (ex-demo or whatever) when I last incurred warranty down time with my Emtb. guess the answer?
plenty new cars/motorbikes cost less than a top end emtb so I agree with you.

Out of interest who stipulates the rules on courtesy vehicles in the motor trade?
The manufacturers?
The Dealers?
or the law?
or is it just one of the thing a good dealer with good customer service has to do to keep up with the competition?
like free coffee

 

[pgtips]

*sigh* No, they're not. They are bicycles. The motor is irrelevant in the legal definition.

Why is it irrelevant when you spend thousands on an bike *with motor* ?
A Specialised, Giant etc dealer network should put the bike right under it's manufactures warranty and claim the parts AND labour from the manufacture.
Why is this so hard to understand and I can't see why you have any issues with that?

 

[Doomanic]

Why do you think I don't understand? I do understand, I just don't agree.

The motor is irrelevant. You can spend £10k on a bicycle without a motor too. Should they be treated differently to a bicycle with a motor? The important word there is bicycle, not motor. They are consumer goods and your contact is with the supplying dealer, not the importer or brand. The importer/brand clearly do not agree with you either; if they did we wouldn't be having this conversation.

 

[pgtips]

Out of interest who stipulates the rules on courtesy vehicles in the motor trade?
The manufacturers?
The Dealers?
or the law?
or is it just one of the thing a good dealer with good customer service has to do to keep up with the competition?
like free coffee

Courtesy cars are stipulated by the manufactures but not always possible for the dealers to deliver if there is no courtesy vehicles available at the time.
More importantly, if there is a business customer that the vehicle is in for warranty work, then 99% of the time they will get a courtesy car for sure. I seeing service advisers or sales advisers let there own demo vehicles that drive every day go to the customers.

 

[Gary]

Courtesy cars are stipulated by the manufactures but not always possible for the dealers to deliver if there is no courtesy vehicles available at the time.
More importantly, if there is a business customer that the vehicle is in for warranty work, then 99% of the time they will get a courtesy car for sure. I seeing service advisers or sales advisers let there own demo vehicles that drive every day go to the customers.

Thanks PG.
Very helpful reply.

I totally agree with you that the same thing should at least be starting to happen with £10k bicycles

@Doomanic I think the important thing here is the customer has spent ten grand.
what it is on is fairl irrelevant really

My LBS often loans bikes out in similar circumstances... but that's just because Steve the owner is a thoroughly nice guy.

 

[More-read-than-ride]

Thanks PG.
Very helpful reply.

I totally agree with you that the same thing should at least be starting to happen with £10k bicycles

@Doomanic I think the important thing here is the customer has spent ten grand.
what it is on is fairl irrelevant really

My LBS often loans bikes out in similar circumstances... but that's just because Steve the owner is a thoroughly nice guy.

That’s my experience too. I know 3 bike shops here in valencia and all of them would lend out a bike if they have one available. However, that does not mean they consider it an obligation.

I think Ebike should catch up to automotive standards in this respect, but of course it is a microscopic business compared so we cannot expect it to happen quickly as long as volumes of bikes is small overall...

 

[Doomanic]

I'm not saying it shouldn't happen, but I do understand why it doesn't. The performance cycle market is tiny compared to the automotive market, with shops margins being squeezed by online megastores and people's desire to get discount/a bargain and somebody, somewhere has to pay for the loaners.

 

[pgtips]

I'm not saying it shouldn't happen, but I do understand why it doesn't. The performance cycle market is tiny compared to the automotive market, with shops margins being squeezed by online megastores and people's desire to get discount/a bargain and somebody, somewhere has to pay for the loaners.

I think we drifted a bit.
The discussion was about dealers replacing an item that is still on it's manufactures warranty and charging the manufacturer for the item and the labour.
Loan bikes......I don't really have an issue with that as long us the repair wont take weeks.

 

[Slowroller]

I can't say that I've ever heard of a bike shop handing out a loaner, but then again, most acoustic bike repairs are fairly straight-forward and the time in a shop is minimal. It can be a bit different with an ebike, and as we've seen, there can be ongoing issues that bring the bike back in again and again, for longer periods of time.

 

[Doomanic]

Do we know for sure that warranty work is reimbursed? Some shops say it isn't and they are sucking up the cost from the profit made on the sale. Berkshire cycles have in the past charged for warranty work where the bike wasn't purchased from them. Are they effectively getting double bubble for the work or is to cover the time spent sorting it out with Spesh?

 

[pgtips]

So this been taken from Specialised website.
Read, especially the last paragraph .

 

[pgtips]

Do we know for sure that warranty work is reimbursed? Some shops say it isn't and they are sucking up the cost from the profit made on the sale. Berkshire cycles have in the past charged for warranty work where the bike wasn't purchased from them. Are they effectively getting double bubble for the work or is to cover the time spent sorting it out with Spesh?

Not sure Doomanic.
It just doesn't sound right to have to pay for labour.
In the end of the day, you bought a product, went wrong in it's warranty period, Spesh should take the full cost and reburse the dealer.

 

[Doomanic]

So maybe shops are taking advantage of the fact they have no legal obligation to do warranty work on a bike they didn't sell?

 

[pgtips]

So maybe shops are taking advantage of the fact they have no legal obligation to do warranty work on a bike they didn't sell?

If you're a bike shop and you sell, say Specialised then you are a part of the Specialised dealer network.
Buying the bike of specialised dealer and having the warranty work done on another Specialised dealer shouldn't be chargeable, that's why is called network.

The argument that you din't bought the bike from me and I will charge you, is completely Bol@*&s in my opinion.
I wonder if Specialised know about the doings

 

[Fivetones]

I think any dealer that didn’t with an e-MTB is probably not going to survive all that long.

I bet there aren’t many that would refuse you know.

 

[Doomanic]

I wonder if Specialised know about the doings

They do. There was a member on here who famously spat the dummy over having to pay for a firmware upgrade because he bought his bike mail order. Spesh told him that the shop was within it's rights to charge him and he made such a fuss they took the bike back.

 

[pgtips]

They do. There was a member on here who famously spat the dummy over having to pay for a firmware upgrade because he bought his bike mail order. Spesh told him that the shop was within it's rights to charge him and he made such a fuss they took the bike back.

Firmware update is not a warranty claim though is it? And a dealer could charge for this as I can't see they can claim that back from Specialised. They buy the software, special lead and access to Specialised to download the firmware. If they get it for free? I don't know, but I'm happy to pay for firmware updates if I choose to.

But for warranty work surely they can claim back, otherwise they be out of business very soon. The warranty screenshot I linked above, clearly states that you shouldn't be charged for any warranty work. They never mention this is only at the dealer you purchased your bike from.

 

[Doomanic]

Thoroughly bored of this now. We're not going to agree on this, and even if we did it won't change the fact that some dealers charge for warranty work if you didn't buy the bike from them. Nagging Spesh instead of me would be a far more productive use of your time.

 

[pgtips]

Thoroughly bored of this now. We're not going to agree on this, and even if we did it won't change the fact that some dealers charge for warranty work if you didn't buy the bike from them. Nagging Spesh instead of me would be a far more productive use of your time.

I'm glad you ended it

 

[R120]

I think it would be great if we saw regional service centres being open by/in conjunction with the likes of Bosch and Shimano.

I can see no reason why if an issue is with the motor, you can go direct to the manufacturer of the motor, rather than the supplier of the bike.

E Bikes do open up a certain can of worms, because you are entering a situation where all shops can sell them, but not all of the shops can offer the full range of service works on them, meaning that the capabilities of the shop you buy the bike from will have an impact on your warranty/aftercare experience.

 

[galaga187]

A number here have said they have been charged labour on warranty work , Iam only going on what I’ve heard or read here . Most bike shops will charge labour if you didn’t buy from them

I was charged £25 by Specialized Bristol to do a firmware upgrade. Berkshire cycles on the otherhand replaced the motor and fitted the foam free of charge.

 

[The Flying Dutchman]

+1 vote for the YT

like come on?! this is like choosing between an ice cream sundae and a kick in the nuts

 

[Stringbean]

I would wait with that vote for YT for just a while until warranty etc have been tested.
In my country YT agent is very small with crap backups.
Shimano back up here is almost non existent.
They leave it up to shops to sort out problems( di2 etc)
I guarantee you they will not set up shop just as back up because a manufacturer is putting a shimano motor in their bikes.They will pass that responsibility right on the bike manufacturer.
At least with Specialized there is a physical shop I can walk into with my bike if there is a problem and bliksem someone if need be.