I guess things are different in the bike trade than motor trade. Many good points have been raised and answered though not always as you would want or expect. Still I have learnt a lot and thanks to all for your contributions. It leaves me with a potentially worrying problem as even though Raleigh say they several dealers in my area (that is if I went with Haibike) the reality is very different with only one dealer that actually stocks Haibike (and that is some 65 miles away) I can see warranty being a potential logistical problem - lets hope nothing goes wrong.
Haibike sDuro Hard Seven or Trekking
- Thread starter Vennwood
- Start date
Well I would guess that's because of the dealer reputation honda sell electric scooters and say the same thing but it's only because they want to keep returning customers happy you won't get that from most independent E-bike dealers
Agreed - but at the end of the day your words are correct "keep returning customers happy" - for me that's the right balance.
Totally agree with you mate that's why research into the person/company your buying off is important. Companies house has been most helpful in doing just that. Public records can make your choice a little easier when buying from a so called reputable seller
Interesting example used here. I did some looking and could not find a single uk BMW dealer that sold an ebike. I also could not find anything regarding an European warranty amongst BMW dealers regarding their ebike as sales of this bike are apparently still centered in Germany. A link to this info would be helpful.
Onto the spirit of your comment. If BMW ebikes were widely availible across their many dealerships and had a bike technician on staff, I have no doubt that they would help you out. However, you are talking about one of the biggest automotive chains in Europe not independent bike shops.
If the profit margin was as big on the sale of a top of the line ebike as a 6 series BMW that would be one thing but it is not. Independent bike shops work on avery small margin comparitively and would quickly fold under the weight of servicing warrantys on ebay purchased bikes. If you were to walk into a local UK BMW dearership pushing one of their ebikes today I doubt very much that anyone there would have actually seen one in real life. If they were a BMW ebike dealer I think they would help you out only because they could afford to.
Moving onto Raleigh UK Haibikes, the first line of their warranty states "All items purchased from Raleigh UK are coveredby the manufacturers warranty". I do believe that this would rule out ebay bikes. It also goes on to say that you can return your purchase in its original box and packaging to Raleigh in Nottingham. It mentions nothing about taking it to an approved dealer.
Again, as I stated earlier, If one were to take a Raleigh supplied bike to a dealer that sold the same, I am sure something could be worked out. Using major automobile suppliers is not a fair comparison.
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Thanks for all the advice on the European importers. I've had a rethink on the haibike then in that case and had a visit to my local electric bike shop. SYEBC is only 5 minutes round the corner so yesterday I went and had a try on the Oxygen MTB.
I had a quick tear down a country lane which had a fairly steep hill at the end. I was very impressed with the hill climbing abilities of the bike. It was my first time on a hub motor and also with a throttle. To be honest I was a little bit dissapointed with the throttle at first but then again with my lardy 17 stone can't really expect much without a least some help on my part. I think compared with the crank drive on the Haibike, which I've got on loan at the moment, I find that on the hills I have to drop it down into a fairly low gear to allow the assist to work more efficiently so find my legs are spinning fairly fast. I didn't notice this as much with the Oxy MTB.
I wish I could have the oxygen on a loan for a few days to try it on my usual commute to see if this is really going to be at all practical for me.
The tires appear really wide compared to the thin ones road ones on the Haibike trecking maybe not really practical for long distance commuting. I suppose I should really be looking at the Oxygen City with the thinner tires, mudguards and lights but don't really like the look or location of the battery and its not as powerful.
I wish I could have the oxygen on a loan for a few days to try it on my usual commute to see if this is really going to be at all practical for me.
The tires appear really wide compared to the thin ones road ones on the Haibike trecking maybe not really practical for long distance commuting. I suppose I should really be looking at the Oxygen City with the thinner tires, mudguards and lights but don't really like the look or location of the battery and its not as powerful.
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Continuing the topic of warranties. I found on oxygens website it does say they will let you transfer any warranty left to a new owner as long as the bike is taken for a service and checked over by them by the new owner. I think this also applies if the owner has also just had it in for an service just prior to selling it as I found out from a guy in Sheffield selling his 6 month old emate city.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electric-Bike-Oxygen-E-MATE-City-Bike-BLACK-/111664299797?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item19ffb5ff15
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electric-Bike-Oxygen-E-MATE-City-Bike-BLACK-/111664299797?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item19ffb5ff15
BMW e-bikes are centered around the London Park Lane dealership who appear to act as the importer I guess. Its true that not every dealer stocks them but I found several that do - Bournemouth for example have them in stock as did the JKC dealership. I contacted my local dealer who didn't have one in stock but could get one within 24 hours. Just as a point my dealer didn't have an X5 or the new 4 series coupe either so not actually having stock shouldn't be a complete downer. I have found similar experiences with some ebike dealers - no stock but can usually get fairly quickly. Having trained mechanics isn't really a problem for me. If they agree to fix it at their expense and the guy isn't too familiar with say the Bosch motor then they are more likely to replace the whole part (just like they do with their cars these days) If they get it wrong then they have to fix it again
The warranty is the same as the car warranty according to the BMW Park Lane service manager but limited to 2 yrs parts and battery and 5 years frame
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No dealers fix Bosch e-bike motors at present. They all go back to Bosch / Magura.
The question should be has your local BMW dealer got the experience to diagnose a fault on a Bosch e-bike? - probably not.
If they all go back to Bosch for repair - does it really matter if the BMW dealer has the experience or not. In some cases sales and service dept of bike dealers are not always up to speed.
However again the discussion centres around the ability or not on BMW being able to service these bikes or whether or not the design is up to scratch when what really would be of help is does anyone have any experience on riding them?
I'm willing to accept the reputation of BMW to sort it out IF it goes wrong so really I'm more interested in rider experiences out on the road.
It's the motors only that go back after they have been diagnosed.
I spoke with the e-bike guy on the BMW Stand at the NEC in 2013, it was clear that he didn't have much clue as to what he was talking about.
As for reviews / experiences etc. I've been on this forum almost two years & can't remember anyone that had bought a BMW e-bike.
Anyway it appears that you are focused on buying from e-bay / a car dealer / somewhere cheaper. Why not just buy from a proper e-bike dealer?
Absolutely not true - I'm not focused on anything just trying to learn from past mistakes and so far not impressed with your "proper e-bike dealer"
Perhaps its time to move on as its starting to appear to be a "dealers site"
Of all of the posters that have given their input, advice and discussion to this topic, only one "dealer" responded. That dealer made no attempt to sell you a bike or even give you the answer to your original question. Yes I am in the business. I have not said you should or should not buy a Haibike or any other brand for that matter.
All I and others did was answer your questions and discuss points. Myself and other simply pointed out the pitfalls of buying from ebay and the advantages of buying from a dealer. You asked about warranty work and what would happen if you broke down. The answers did not sit well with you. If you think that buying from BMW will satisfy your concerns and that you will be looked after where ever you go, please do.
While Wander's last remark may have been a bit pointed you have indeed talked about buying cheaper, from ebay and from BMW. Again , if that is your pleasure, that is your choice. However he is only givng his opinion about buying from a "proper e-bike shop".
Proper e-bike shops will give you service and sales on the different brands they sell. They will take the time to explain differences and similarities. They will let you test ride. All the words we say on this forum will not be able to match a test ride on the bikes you have mentioned.
Most importantly "your" shop, should you choose that route, will look after you. If you buy a Bosch/Yamaha powered bike from ebay or BMW then, in my opinion, they simply do not have any obligation to look after you. Most will help you if it is a bicycle related repair. If it is a system issuse they may still try to help but most will likely direct you to contact the seller or Bosch/Magura.
Yes there are dealers posting on this site. However, there are far more people like yourself that come here for answers. There are also people here that have passed on their experiences, good and bad, after buying from a dealer, ebay and used along with many, many more that are going the kit route. I do not see any hidden agenda here, I see it as a resourse. Sorry you feel this way about it.
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BTW, this sale had been ended "due to an error in the listing".
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