Conference noted::bicycle

I think in general, the bike companies want to replace "like" with "like".  It
discourages warrantee claims for what are really upgrades.  My 1995 Cannondale
R600 frame had a paint defect and the top tube was flaking.  Since it was a blue
to black fade paint job, touching it up was not acceptable (I would have, if it
was the bottom of the tube).  All I wanted was a professional touch up.  The
bike shop said it would be warranteed.  The short version of the story is that
when they finally made 1996 63cm frames, I got one.  I offered to pay the
upgrade cost to an R1000 (600/Ultegra) but they insisted on sending me a
frame/fork set instead.  The only way you get an upgrade is if they are out of
the older style.  Me, I got carbon forks on the 1996 frame so I did get somewhat
of an upgrade.  Nice, btw.  What I want to know is what is my warrantee now?  I
bought a 1995 Cannondale with a lifetime frame warrantee.  UNder a warrantee
claim, it was replaced with a 1996 frame, which only carries a 5 year
warranttee.  If this breaks in 2002, will they cover it?

Tim

<Rat Hole Alert>

RE:.1  Tim,

>>What I want to know is what is my warrantee now? I
>>bought a 1995 Cannondale with a lifetime frame warrantee.  UNder a warrantee
>>claim, it was replaced with a 1996 frame, which only carries a 5 year
>>warranttee.  If this breaks in 2002, will they cover it?

  After recently reading a discussion about warrantees in the consumer
notesfile IMHO you'll have to ask Cannondale. Several examples were
citied about how different manufacturers handle warrantees and warrantee
claims from consumers. With out doing all the combinatorics on the
different options you will find that some manufacturers will honor the
orginal warrantee from the the original purchase date on the replaced
item. Some will honor the warrantee of the replaced item from the date
replaced and some honor the original warrantee on the replaced item from
the date replaced.
					Craig
</Rat Hole Alert>

    
    	That's very odd that they'd sell a bike with a lifetime warranty
    	on the frame and then replace that frame with 1 with only a 5-
    	year warranty.
    

Too many abuses of the warrantee policy... All frames are going to 5 years.

    
    	Hmmm, so I wonder how much of the original purchase price of
    	these bikes was Cannondale's "insurance policy" to cover fut-
    	ure frame returns, that they'll no longer need now?
    
    	I mean, even if they charged $20 more per bike than they would
    	have normally, and assuming that 1/20 bikes came back for a
    	frame replacement, that's $19/bike extra that they have, in
    	effect, made as profit over and above the built-in profit of
    	the rest of the bike.
    
    	Maybe my numbers are off, but I wouldn't doubt that it works
    	like this.  Maybe they factored in $40 as frame insurance,
    	but now only factor in $20 since their studies show that maybe
    	1/100 bikes fail within 5 years.  And they definitely will be
    	making a bucket full of money in this case.
    
    	Summary ... when I bought my Cannondale, didn't I pay a price
    	based on the availability of the lifetime frame warranty?  And
    	if they take that warranty away, what portion of the purchase
    	price was dedicated to the lifetime warranty and what portion
    	was dedicated to the rest of the bike in general?  And should
    	I expect a refund of the difference?
    

    probably not related to warranty coverage...
    but Cannondale stock has been hitting new highs as of recent.
    Ticker symbol: BIKE (naturally).

    re: .4
    
    My 1996 Trek 1220 with aluminum frame has a life-time warranty.  From
    the Owner's Manual I got with it, all Trek frames with the exception of
    carbon fiber (for example, the 2120 I was considering) have a life-time
    warranty.  The carbon fiber ones get a 5-year warranty.
    
    Bob

    As Tim mentions, there have been abuses of the warranty policy.
    The idea of breaking a frame and returning it for an upgrade has
    probably occurred in the past, to someone who wasn't honest.
    
    Have you tried speaking directly to Trek?  I'm afraid I've had some
    frustrating experiences with store personnel giving me "warranty
    policy" right off the top of their head (when there was nothing there).
    
    An option you do have, if you haven't already considered it, is the
    sale of your replacement (brand-new) frame, and buying an OCLV.  
    The last time I asked (a couple of years ago) they were available 
    separately. 
    
    Justin

    A couple of years ago, a friend of mine had a Trek 1400 which developed
    a crack in the frame.  This bike had been raced and had obviously been
    crashed (on of the seat stays was bent).  Still, Trek honored their
    warranty because the crash didn't directly cause the crack.  Because
    the 1400 was a discontinued model, Trek replaced the frame with a 
    carbon fiber 2100 frame.  Trek could have offered to replace the frame
    with a 1200 frame, which is identical except for the paint, but
    upgraded to a 2100 with no questions asked.
    
    Things may have changed in the past two years, but Trek seems to be
    very generous in their warranty coverage.
    
    
    Steve
    

Thanx for the advice.  I have since contacted Trek.  They customer service 
rep told me to strip my bike and bring it to an authorized dealer for 
return to the factory.   He said they need to look at it and if indeed it 
is deemed a manufacuring defect they will allow me to upgrade to OCLV.  The 
extra cost to me is not known at this time.  I'll keep you posted.

Mike