Do you give a Warranty?

FileStyle

FileStyle

New Member
some of you out there have built and sold a motorized bicycle! did you give a warranty with that? and if so what did it cover and for how long? I just sold one before christmas, problem free for over 200 miles until it sold. then two days later the guy calls me up and says the brakes dont work and the pedal chain skips! now, I never had a problem, the neighbor kid didnt have a problem, my buddy didnt have a problem with the bike! so how in two days can someone tear something up? I replaced the guys rear rim for free to get him going again. I want everyone to enjoy what they pay for but this guy is wearing me out!!!! calls me for everything to see if I can fix it. yeah, I can fix it but its gonna cost you for me to run across town! he wants to pay me with a link card(welfare). it upset me because thats what I help pay taxes on, and he wants to use it as currency! a real winner if you ask me! I wish I would have never sold that bike to him! I told the guy -You Liked it, You Rode it, You Bought it ,it's Yours! your taking it like you took your wife-"for better or worse" and that is my Warranty.
 
I've had a few problems like that... Now I try to teach the customer how to ride it before they leave with the bike. I prefer to motorized the customers bikes because I only have to warranty the engine & work I've done.
As for the actual warranty that I give, it's only for the engine for 30 days & work I've done. If the engines gonna break, it'll do it in the first month. I don't waranty parts like chain & tensioner, but I will fix it for free if the chain comes off. Any broken parts are replaced at my discretion. I've had people crash their bike & try to BS me that the part broke on it's own... :(
Also.... I make them bring the bike back to me for any repairs! ;)
 
if/when i start selling bikes, i'd warranty some parts, like the engine, or anything i custom manufactured, but the bike itself won't leave my hands until i know it's mechanically sound. if someone came back telling me that the chain was skipping and the brakes were shot, i'd make them bring it back so i could inspect it.

i'd fix it free if i could, but if there were any signs that it wasn't do to my installation, the customer would have to pay for replacement parts. i'm pretty sure i could tell if it was due to abuse or wrecking it, or something.

i've sold a lot of bicycles before (without motors) and never once have i had anyone come back saying something's not right.

on the other hand, if i was selling a lot of bikes on a regular basis, i'd probably fix or replace a few things, just to keep the customer happy and my reputation intact.
 
the next build and sell Iam aiming torward the person who can understand how to tinker with these bikes! for the most part everyone Ive met with these bikes, I call them friends now! this guy turned out that I dont want him to know where I live! I delivered the bike , because of his sob story he didnt have no transportation but he could afford a MB. so I delivered a perfectly solid motor bicycle. replaced the wheel for free to keep my reputation. at some point he's got to learn the simple stuff. sorry for venting!
 
when I tried to sell my bike, the people who were interested expected warranties on the equipment and 1 even requested I sign a liability contract holding me liable if his son got hurt, but that was his stupidity. I put right in the ad that riders/ buyers 18 and older only.. I guess its an omen that I still have it.. I want to build a nicer bike with a slant motor but can't justify it till I get rid of this 1

if your selling assembled bikes as a company or hobby, then I would put in a warranty that only includes the factory warranty.. bikes were never meant to have that kind of vibration
 
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I don't build bikes for sale, but I almost did. I thought about it until my wife reminded me of what my thirty years of photography was like. I often had customers who just refused to understand. I sleep really good at night now, but once upon a time I had my cars vandalized and threatening phone calls. I have returned money for no good reason except upon the guarantee that the customer would lose my phone number and never recommend me to anyone who every heard of him or her.

It was only a hand full in thirty years, but that was more than enough. And all my customers, even the good ones, were pretty dim witted. I could just imagine all the things that could go wrong with a customer's bike. Just because the bike is sold as is, does not guarantee that you won't get that midnight call from some drunk threatening to change your looks. Some of them with no better excuse than their sister paid less for her wedding pictures than I charged. Most of them didn't really want to go toe to toe with me, but they were much braver with my car windows in the middle of the night.

Honest to god. I have nothing but a great respect for those who build these bikes for sale. I just lack the courage to do it at my age. That is just because I have seen what the customer can do to cause them to go wrong. If I ever did decide to do it, I would sell the ebikes not the china girl.
 
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My clients will most likely NOT be attending the Nobel Science awards this year. I deal in I have a job and I need to get there. The bus don't go there. I hear ya Bro. We can build the bikes to withstand most anything, But abuse. I sold the unit, I Didn't marry the owner. My clients are 50 + :)
 
It’s been my experience that 50% of the bicycle motor kits sent to America from China will have significant problems with production quality. The only protection you have is buying through EBay with a Pay Pal payment to give you some leverage against shoddy materials. I have purchased a motor using this process with several dealers with great success. I recently bought a 66-80cc motor from Kings Bikes and it installed and it ran straight up great and is doing so now. I assumed that they only sold a higher quality motors and bought a second one directly from them with my credit card. Bad move, it was a problem from the get go and tech service was only available for two hours in the afternoon if the tech wasn’t in court, unloading a truck or other excuse. When I got him on the phone through such devious devices as representing myself as a purchaser with a technical question, I got technically specific advice such as “you just have to fiddle with the screws on the carburetion” or “snug up all the bolts on the unit” and the best one is “we can send you a new part for cost and shipping”. You will find out what parts are covered when you try and get different parts because of poor manufacturing control screws that vibrate out, manufactured parts for the cylinder heads that will not seal (even with double gaskets and head sealant applied), chains that break, coils that burn up, clutch pads that don’t grab etc. The guarantee is for manufacturers defects that cannot be explained away by installer error, might be covered if properly documented and shipped prepaid to Kings Bikes (or several other dealer I have dealt with). By buying with EBay and PayPal there is a arbitrator for satisfaction, and usually you will get the parts for free or just shipping costs. Worst case scenario you ship the kit back for $25.00 shipping and get the balance of your purchase price back to try again. Bottom line is you don’t have to drop more money into a piss poor product to get a reliable running motor if you use this purchase method. Going to junk this motor and Kings Bikes as a supplier! You have been warned, (But no guarantees’)
 
If and when I sell a bike...I sell them as used. Warranty, just like you bought a car from someone down the road. Try it out and see if you like it. I'll pass on that these (most of them) suppliers are a POS on warranty. I'll work on them free if I see a defect, maybe 30 days...otherwise cough up the $$$$$$$$$. Liability... just like a power saw, or drill at a yard sale.
 
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First of all, I don't sell MB's to parents for their little darling to ride. Their body might be there, but their brain is not. Anyone that spends less than 150.00 and expects a quality product is a fool. There are ways to improve them. I have been riding the same bike, with the same motor for three years. Minor problems. I ride it every day. Just short trips less than ten miles. My four stroke however costs a lot more, and I have ridden the daylights out of it. I keep a list that is quite large of the people that have purchased bikes from me. A clutch goes out, a cable breaks. For what you get, and what you spend, the little things are truely remarkable. With over 30 sales, I have seen two bad engines. That ain't bad. (c)
 
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