Originally Posted by
prathmann
Don't know of many toys that are sold with lifetime warranties, so I see no connection between such warranty terms and viewing bicycles as toys. OTOH, lifetime warranties are rather common for a variety of items that are not regarded as toys: high quality tools, many home furnishings (doors, windows, some plumbing fixtures), some luggage, a number of optical devices, etc. Don't know of any lifetime warranties on motor vehicles currently, but from 2007 - 2009 Chrysler offered a lifetime powertrain warranty on their non-commercial vehicles.
NQA replacement policies are indeed becoming more common, but, as I was tried to say, that's different than a warranty against defects. My issue is that NQA replacement policies imply infinite service lives, which makers know isn't the case. They're nothing more than a marketing gimmick, based on a calculus that the owner will abandon the product on his own for any number of reasons, and the few that don't can be covered by building a reserve into the price.
The problem is that things do have a service life. I put a roof on my warehouse and GAF warrantied their membrane for the 20 year projected service life. The Auto industry likewise ties warranties to service life in years and/or miles.
In the bike world, we don't expect tires, wheels, bearings, chains, cassettes cables or just about any part to last forever. We recognize that things wear out. Well, frames wear out too. You might not be able to see it as it happens, but it does, and we shouldn't pretend that it doesn't.