Powabyke warranty issues

[pedestrian]

I have said previously that I've been very pleased with my Powabyke X-byke, and the customer service from the company-until today.

My X-byke has stopped working. It's under warranty so I rang Powabyke to ask what I should do. Specifically, I wanted to know where my nearest Powabyke dealer was who would fix the bike under warranty.

I was told that the warranty from Powabyke itself is only valid for parts. Free labour under warranty is only available from the shop you bought the back from.

I was genuinely surprised by this. I asked what would happen if I moved to another part of the country, if my dealer went bust or even died. I was told I would lose my free labour warranty under such a situation. Powabyke said they might "make a contribution" to labour costs under such a situation.

As I say, all this surprises me. I took my Peugeot car to my nearest dealer for its free service under warranty. No one suggested I had to drive it back to Blackburn (other side of the country) to the dealer who sold it to me.

If you're thinking of buying a Powabyke from a dealer who isn't local to you (or may not remain local for at least year) I hope this information might be helpful to you.

 

[flecc]

This sounds like the labour liability is part of the sales margin agreement with dealers. If so it's understandable that only the selling dealer will do the job.

The very long established motor trade is much more sophisticated than almost any other form of manufacturer/retailer relationship, and motor manufacturers have a very high degree of control over dealers. In sales of most other products retailers will refuse to handle warranty issues on items not sold by them.
.

 

[pedestrian]

The very long established motor trade is much more sophisticated than almost any other form of manufacturer/retailer relationship. .

Same is true of my motorbike (which you may still consider part of motor trade). I bought it from a dealer 60 miles away, all my warranty work is done at my local dealer.

I'm not really arguing about the business pros and cons. I'm just keen to make sure consumers are fully aware of this.

 

[flecc]

I understand, thanks for that. Fortunately with their large network of dealers, not many Powabyke buyers will be adversely affected by this. It certainly has a more serious effect with most makes which have very few outlets, I once had a 340 mile round trip to get a warranty issue dealt with.
.

 

[pedestrian]

Flecc,

There was one other thing, which I didn't mention because I wasn't sure whether or not it was true and I was keen to stick to the facts as I understood them. But you may be able to clarify.

One dealer said to me that the free dealer labour part of the warranty was in any case at the discretion of the dealer.

Is this true?

 

[flecc]

Yes that's true. It's only necessary for a warranty to cover parts, though some suppliers cover labour or limited labour as an additional benefit. However the sale of goods act and other consumer legislation do require goods to be of merchantable quality so a supplier can be forced to cover all costs under some circumstances or supply a replacement.
.

 

[pedestrian]

Thanks.

I will be much wiser when I next buy a bike, and will certainly do some things differently.

Hope others may also benefit from this.

 

[Mussels]

Thanks.

I will be much wiser when I next buy a bike, and will certainly do some things differently.

Hope others may also benefit from this.

I have always understood that the retailer is legally liable for the warranty, the manufacturer has no contract with the customer. If the retailer goes bust then it's tough unless you bought it on credit.
The motor trade uses insured warranties which is why other garages are happy to do the work - they get paid for it by the underwriter (the manufacturer for new cars). This costs the retailer more but it means they can shift the risk to someone else.
I think Powabyke's answer was quite fair and more than they are required to do.

 

[Rad]

Just out of interest pedestrian, what happened to your bike?

 

[rog_london]

I have always understood that the retailer is legally liable for the warranty, the manufacturer has no contract with the customer. If the retailer goes bust then it's tough unless you bought it on credit.
The motor trade uses insured warranties which is why other garages are happy to do the work - they get paid for it by the underwriter (the manufacturer for new cars). This costs the retailer more but it means they can shift the risk to someone else.
I think Powabyke's answer was quite fair and more than they are required to do.

Here's where I definitely fly the flag on behalf of Wisper - they do offer their own warranty which only requires that you register with them, and although they didn't sell you the bike directly (and therefore have no legal obligation to help you) they have a superb record of doing so. If I hadn't known that before purchase I probably wouldn't have dealt with a box-shifter in darkest Hampshire which realistically I couldn't take the bike back to if I had a problem.

I haven't needed the warranty, and hopefully never will, but the peace of mind is worth a great deal. E-bikes in general seem to be an uneasy mix of ancient and modern technology which hasn't quite come together yet, and as many on here have discovered, you can be royally stuffed due to the non-availability of an essential part which has failed for one reason or another even within the first year of ownership.

If you don't have a decent follow-up service, and don't have the engineering ability to dig yourself out of any consequential hole you may find yourself in, so many bikes you could buy carry a considerable element of risk, even if you buy one from an otherwise reputable retailer.

Rog.

 

[Patrick]

I'll get to test out the warranty this week, my rear derailleur went crunch and snapped this morning

Fortunately I was past the hills so I was able to finish my journey to work under battery power.

 

[pedestrian]

Just out of interest pedestrian, what happened to your bike?

The power started cutting out a couple of days ago. Then it went completely.

Power to the throttle OK-all the lights are on-but no power to the motor.

 

[Patrick]

The power started cutting out a couple of days ago. Then it went completely.

Power to the throttle OK-all the lights are on-but no power to the motor.

One thing that might be worth checking is the pedal sensor. There's a plastic disc inset with magnets one of the pedal cranks and a sensor mounted on the frame of the bike.

If the disc gets pushed away from the sensor then your pedal movements won't be picked up properly; it the disc is still close enough for some of the movement to be detected then you'd have trouble starting and your motor would be liable to cut out periodically; if it's further away then you motor just won't start.

You can simply push the plastic disc back into place to fix this.

 

[pedestrian]

it the disc is still close enough for some of the movement to be detected then you'd have trouble starting and your motor would be liable to cut out periodically.

Thanks. I'll try this but not sure it quite fits. When it started cutting out I didn't have any trouble starting and it started to cut out when I was up and running. I was on pure power at this point so pedal sensor shouldn't have been an issue (you can of course stop pedalling on pure power and keep going under throttle power for as long as you like, or until you stop again.)

 

[Rad]

That sounds exactly like what happened to mine. Not encouraging is it? :|

 

[carpetbagger]

on the older bikes there used to be a connection from the throttle jointed on frame or near the brake cables on the handlebars...if there is just try moving it with the power on..it should have a heat shrink around it.....i came across a brandnew bike that had the fault..

 

[pedestrian]

on the older bikes there used to be a connection from the throttle jointed on frame or near the brake cables on the handlebars...if there is just try moving it with the power on..it should have a heat shrink around it.....i came across a brandnew bike that had the fault..

Thanks for suggestion. I tried that, the connections feel secure.

 

[pedestrian]

That sounds exactly like what happened to mine. Not encouraging is it? :|

Do you have an X-byke? How was problem resolved?

 

[Rad]

Do you have an X-byke? How was problem resolved?

I do. And I went through pretty much the same procedure as yourself. I'd already been made aware that if I took the bike to a dealer different to the one I'd bought it from then I'd have to pay the labour charge. I'm just concerned that your machine's exhibited the same symptoms that mine had.

 

[pedestrian]

I do. And I went through pretty much the same procedure as yourself. I'd already been made aware that if I took the bike to a dealer different to the one I'd bought it from then I'd have to pay the labour charge. I'm just concerned that your machine's exhibited the same symptoms that mine had.

So have you managed to fix yours?