I'm now more than a little eBike curious, looking at new or secondhand.
I normally don't bother worrying about warranties on a normal mtb bike, as everything bar the frame I consider consumable.
But secondhand eBikes - mtb especially, motor, battery, electrics could get very expensive, very quickly on a secondhand bike ?
So what's the deal with being the second owner of an eBike, are warranties transferable, or is it just down to luck?
some are - i think specialised are pretty good on warrenties. otherwise you may need a receipt from teh purchase.
if its been de-restricted or messed with you wont have warrenty anyway.
depending on budget it may be prefereable to buy a cheaper new one than a more 'expensive' second hand one.
i bought mine on sale and the cheap kit and suspension was actually OK, well apart from teh 12speed which was shite and upgraded quickly/cheaply.
The Specialized one is transferable. A couple of hoops to jump through to do it on line but not a problem. We have bought two second hand Turbo Levos this year and it was easy to do.
Some brands are, some arnt. Specialized are good for it, so are Trek/Bosch.
Shimano motor/batteries arn’t, which is ideal, as its the ones brand you can’t get fixed by motor repair companies 🤦♂️😆
As per Hobnob post, specialized will transfer it, though you maybe required to supply the original invoice, they have a 2 year warranty.
Trek from 2020 (onward not backward) updated their policy to a longer 3 year, though it's undefined as to whether that cover electrics, especially as bosch only supplies a 2 year warranty on their motors, and a transferable warranty.
Also no I won't be rushing to buy an ebike with a shimano motor, which is a shame as the Rise is a lovely looking bike. As per the Cotic (IIRC) thread, they are or were, the only manufacturer offering new deals to ppl making bikes
Isn't giant transferable?
Contact Race Co Cycles as they are selling second hand ebikes on ebay. They're usually ones that have been traded in for a newer model. I've had no issues buying from them in the past and you'll probably get some sort of warranty.
Spesh and Trek can be transferred but you’ll need the original receipt. It’s not a full warranty transfer though and is significantly diminished for the second owner. Best bet is to have a good read of the manufacturer warranty terms and conditions.
I think Shimano warranty is transferable if you go to a dealer and present the original receipt.
https://www.emtbforums.com/threads/shimano-warranty-is-transferable.18862/
thanks, some good info there.
I've read online shimano do get some bad press for the lack of repair ability / warranty of their motor system. Which also kind of puts me off a little.
Will give Race Co Cycles a call as well.
So for Bosch - is the motor warranty with the bike manufacturer, or Bosch direct ? So long as you have the original receipt / invoice - you could be ok for warranty work. Not quite so bad.
With a new one not so concerned. Secondhand, its bosch, brose, shimano or yamaha motors mainly to work out how / if the warranty transfer might work.
No giant are not.
One guy on the giant owners ebike page has had a 2021 trance second hand for 2 months and it's dead.
Giant won't touch it. They want £1200.
But then giant are rubbish. I've also a trance e. 4 months old and it's dead. Now waiting for parts. Which is slow.
Also needed receipt and Id to match.
I think giant test their bikes in Utah or spain or something. Somewhere where water isn't a thing.
My mate has just bought a nearly new Merida e160. Our local bike shop is a Merida dealer and my mate reckons because he has the receipt then if he has any problems he can go in and claim on the warranty. Im not so sure:
He's used the lbs loads of times and therefore the dealer knows his name. My friends name is Jeremy not "Gary Davies" like on the receipt for the bike. Going to be hard claiming he's had that new.
I love riding the ebikes but I can't see mine lasting.
Well without knowing the full story, not that I was considering a giant, that’s giant off my eBike option list.
I’m genuinely surprised the secondhand eBike market is so buoyant, as you’re effectively taking a punt on whether the drive unit will run ok, or not and cost circa a grand.
If you're a noise queen Spesh has the quietest motor by a significant margin. If noise is not a problem the Bosch motor is , IMO, the best motor and is easily repairable if the worst happens.
If Raceco is local to you I would highly recommend using them; I've always received exemplary service from them even though my bike came from somewhere else!*
*Sadly, they didn't have the size and colour I wanted when I had money.
Cube have the Bosch motor and are amongst best value (if that term can be applied to multi-thousand pound bicycles) but the warranty is most definitely not transferrable.
All warranty details can be found on the various brands websites. Definitely worth a look and a read on your favourite brands. Thats the best way to get the info you're looking for
I think somewhere like the EMTB forum rather than ebay would be a better place to buy from. Seems so Ebike orientated like here theres people who can afford multiple Ebikes and like to change for latest models more often than somewhere like ebay where the seller paid a fortune and didnt get into it.
Stealth ad alert; I'm selling a Medium Rail, message me if interested.
@doomanic PM’d you as luck would have it I am a medium in mtb. What model / year rail do you have ?
Just a thought as I haven't got a flaming clue. I assume that if a motor is chipped then returned to standard for a resale, the chip will show up in someway on a computer if plugged in. So , if you buy a used bike,it has a warranty, and ask for repairs it could throw a spanner in the works. Get me?
@mattsccm that’s a good point. As a buyer I wouldn’t have a clue if an ebike had previously been chipped.
But strongly suspect a dealer would when looking into a motor / electrics warranty request.
Balls.
Most have different lengths for parts, some are 2 year motor, 1 year battery, frame, etc.
Reality is, if buying secondhand get something serviceable, Bosch, Yamaha, etc are serviceable via third party repairers, shimano aren’t, same thing for batteries, some are fixable, some aren’t, factor that into buying price.
That’d be an interesting negotiation point when buying a secondhand ebike, so I’d like to knock a grand of the asking price as I can’t tell if it’s ever been chipped etc and I’m not taking the risk.
Maybe new is the best approach & avoid shimano motors.
same thing for batteries, some are fixable, some aren’t, factor that into buying price.
Bosch batteries are not fixable.
I’d like to knock a grand of the asking price as I can’t tell if it’s ever been chipped etc and I’m not taking the risk.
Youd better buy new (and pay the premium price for taking no risk) if you dont want to take a risk, cant see anyone knocking a grand off their asking price,unless it was already priced a grand above other similar bikes for sale secondhand,in which case theyd never sell it anyway.
AFAIK, a chip doesn’t show up in the Bosch dealer software even when it still plugged in. It certainly doesn’t register if a chip has ever been installed.
I was told by a dealer that they can all tell, and bosch are more likely to do something about it. Rumor and misdirection? I do know I've only heard of bosch motors having their warranty rejected due to chipping or even suspected chipping (with owners saying there innocent...).
Bosch error code 504 is tamper detection, ie chipping. A lot of early Gen 4 motors had erroneous 504 errors, myself included, and a firmware update reduced the likelihood of false positives. However, I know of many people who have chipped their bikes and never had a problem with some not even bothering to remove the chip before getting firmware updates done. If the dealer portal doesn’t throw a wobbly at that point I think it’s highly unlikely that they’d be able tell once the chip has been removed.