the shark

Does anyone know how the warranty of a bike would work if you bought it online -example Ebay, from someone who said they bought some overstock from a dealer.

I wondered if you get a warranty or not. The seller said only the original buyer - him - has the warranty.

I would think I could take it to local shop etc. I am still buying it as it is a great deal of money saved.

Let me know of any experience you have had with this.

vic32amg

some companies will still honor a defective product and replace it with a new one. however in a general complaint or a situation where it may not be a manufacturer's defect I don't think you will carry the same leverage not being the original buyer/owner.

HigherGround

Check with the bicycle manufacturer. Some warranties are not transferable. Some warranties are voided if the bike is not assembled at the shop.

mandovoodoo

Contract issue. No contract between you and the manufacturer or the original retailer selling. Only a contract with original buyer. So a warranty extending to you would be unusual. They exist, but I can't imagine why. Little incentive to warranty where the existence of the warranty doesn't serve to generate money for the manufacturer.

jengel

The warranty on a Cannondale bike is void if not sold and assembled by an authorized Cannondale dealer. I bought mine on the grey market. Fortunately I haven't had any problems with the bike.

kwrides

What kind of bike? Most manufacturers list the warranty online.

the shark

It is a Fuji and I was told no warranty by seller on ebay. I thought that strange, as I figured a defect is a defect if it had one. However reading posts above I can see the issues involved etc.

It is a new bike so I will inspect carefully on arrival. It will be built up by a local dealer, where I bought a lot of stuff from including a new Fuji, so maybe they will help me in case of issue.
I will also call manufacturer and ask them as I have a contact there.

sykerocker 

The safest line of thought is that if you buy a product, not through an authorized dealer, automatically assume there is no warranty of any kind.

What is a warranty? It's the company taking the obligation to stand behind a product - and in return for standing behind that product, they're controlling every step of the sales process to minimize their losses in the process. Because of this, it's ridiculous to expect them to be willing to warrant their product when the customer has gone out of his way to circumvent the process that the company has set up in an effort to minimize warranty costs. That warranty is part of the price of the bike, and if you're looking at a way to cut the price by going out of the normal distribution channels, the warranty is probably going to be one of the first parts of the bike to disappear.

I work in this situation - I'm employed by a Honda motorcycle dealership, formerly ran the service desk, now I'm in parts. I'm well used to warranty issues. Yes, a defect is a defect. Getting the company to agree that it IS a defect that they are liable for is another issue. After all, something could have happened to the product while it's been outside of the normal production-sales-delivery loop - and if it happened there, the company is no more liable for the problem than if you had highsided over the bars on a downhill run.

Now, assuming you're willing to have a Fuji dealer handle the assembly of the bike (and I would assume that he's going to check it over carefully during assembly - that only makes good business and legal sense), I can see where it could be dropped back into the warrantly loop. In this situation, the company has produced the bike, and one of their authorized dealers is doing the setup and delivery. It's back in the loop, even with a detour or two in the process. Just the same, check with the dealer first. It's his call whether or not he'd want to get involved in this. After all, this is not a straight, warranted sale.

The reason this is such a sticky subject is that in all too many instances a customer's definition of warranty is, "Something is wrong with my __________ and I don't want to have to pay for the repair."
Period.

oilman_15106

Bike frame warranties are an interesting issue. There was an article about in a Mt. bike mag about sticking your bike on a roof rack then driving into your garage then claiming the damage was done on some downhill run. How many times does the LBS hear this "My bike just broke while I was riding down to Starbucks".

mandovoodoo

That's why most warranties include text giving the company the power to decide what's a defect and what isn't.