Warranty

chatlow

Got a Giant TCR Advanced. The frame has a crack at the top of the seat tube.

I've taken it to the bike shop I bought it from. They have taken a few photos of the crack and the serial number to process the claim.

Just wondering if anyone has gone through Giant warranty especially in the area it's cracked?

Also, are Giant are likely to offer a newer frame is same spec and do they offer you a choice of frame colour etc?

Thanks

city_boy

I had a 2012 Defy Composite 1 which cracked on the top tube (about an inch before it joined the seat tube) exactly one year to the day I'd bought it. Giant replaced it under warranty without any issues but because they didn't have any comp 1 frames they offered an updated 2013 comp 2 frame (same frame but a different colour way). As I actually preferred the new colour I was happy.
Took about 4-5 weeks though by the time the shop had swapped the parts from the original frame.

chatlow

okay, thanks. Bike shop are in contact with Giant now. The bike is 2 years old but has been used for less than 100 miles

chatlow

Scrap that - Giant are happy to replace the frame. Not sure what frame yet as only just got the voicemail from lbs but the shop are saying it will cost me £100 for the labour of parts fitting, cable routing etc. I was under the impression that warranty covered everything? Speak to the shop tomorrow to ask..

foggymike

Just do it yourself, it'll just take you a couple of hours. £100 is outrageous but not unusual for shop labour fees. Any tools you don't have will cost a fraction of what they are trying to charge you.

chatlow

Happy to do it myself, didn't think that was an option so will mention it to them. Tredz said they'd so it for free but because I've lost the receipt I've got to go through this shop..

rolf_f

chatlow wrote:

Happy to do it myself, didn't think that was an option so will mention it to them. Tredz said they'd so it for free but because I've lost the receipt I've got to go through this shop..

Why should you need the receipt? Presumably there is electronic transaction info - if you bought it from Tredz, they should have it. Also your bank should have it. I don't think that there is any legal necessity for a purchase receipt in these circumstances.

city_boy

chatlow wrote:

Scrap that - Giant are happy to replace the frame. Not sure what frame yet as only just got the voicemail from lbs but the shop are saying it will cost me £100 for the labour of parts fitting, cable routing etc. I was under the impression that warranty covered everything? Speak to the shop tomorrow to ask..

I certainly didn't have to pay the shop to swap the kit over to the new frame. They told me that they would be reimbursed by Giant for the labour. They even fitted all new brake and gear cables. I'd tell the shop to negotiate their costs with Giant.

Edit: just realised that this wasn't the shop you bought it from. Tredz should do it and, as mentioned, you shouldn't need the receipt as they should have their own records.

chatlow

Didn't explain that too well.. What I meant was that I bought it from the shop that agreed with Giant to replace the frame under warranty but want £100. I've lost the receipt but this shop happy to do it still as I'm on their system. Tredz on the other hand would do it for free but I didn't buy it from them and haven't the original receipt.

city_boy

Think I've got it now :roll:

The shop you've bought it from have their own record of your purchase. They should do the job and reclaim the costs from Giant.

If a major part failed on your car and was covered under warranty you wouldn't expect the dealer to just hand over the new part and tell you to fit it yourself or pay them to do it!

chatlow

Same way I feel about it. Going to call then in an hour. As for the car analogy - this is exactly right if you have parts and labour warranty but from what I've read on Giant's warranty statement, they are not liable for labour.

chatlow

LBS saying that because the bike is over a year old they won't be able to claim for labour charges from Giant. They said I can save some money by taking parts off myself but they would need to assemble the new bike.

Trying to find an email address for Giant. Not easy!

kajjal

Just read warranty for Giant 2013 bikes onwards, it says labour costs are not covered in their UK warranty.

Sounds very strange to me and would seriously make me think twice about buying one. I would just contact Giant direct and see what they say, larger brands do not want to get reputations for poor customer service as it costs them a fortune.

chatlow

Spoke to giant bristol to get an email address for them and they said the shop should cover costs regardless of age. I have just emailed someone in the warranty department to see what they say about it. If all good then I will get offered the top frame of this year which is the white tcr advanced. It looks nice and costs more but I really wanted a black frame lol the cheaper back/red and black/blue are perfect but never mind

homers_double

It seems to me that road riders want everything doing for them, when I cracked my Heckler I stripped it and took it into the shop.

They sent it off, it came back with a replacement rear end and they gave it back to me. At no point did I think "hang on a minute, I'm going to argue about stripping and building it back up"

Four beers in the garage and two hours later it was back working again and I'd even baby wiped every component in the meantime.

Do you guys not enjoy fettling?

cookeeemonster

homers double wrote:

It seems to me that road riders want everything doing for them, when I cracked my Heckler I stripped it and took it into the shop.

They sent it off, it came back with a replacement rear end and they gave it back to me. At no point did I think "hang on a minute, I'm going to argue about stripping and building it back up"

Four beers in the garage and two hours later it was back working again and I'd even baby wiped every component in the meantime.

Do you guys not enjoy fettling?

Some people love it more than you'll ever know...some dont. You must know that people are different?

chatlow

homers double wrote:

It seems to me that road riders want everything doing for them, when I cracked my Heckler I stripped it and took it into the shop.

They sent it off, it came back with a replacement rear end and they gave it back to me. At no point did I think "hang on a minute, I'm going to argue about stripping and building it back up"

Four beers in the garage and two hours later it was back working again and I'd even baby wiped every component in the meantime.

Do you guys not enjoy fettling?

I think you missed the part where I said that the shop has to assemble the bike. I am more than happy to remove the parts and put them on the new frame, in fact, I love bike mechanics.

I just need to decide if I want to spend £100 on fixing the crack or getting a new frame which is nice but not the colour I want.

kajjal

Glad it seems to be sorted.

chatlow

Thanks, but not quite yet... fingers crossed Giant respond in a good way!

chatlow

Giant just confirmed that labour costs are down to the discretion of the shop. Shame this shop isn't like Tredz etc
who would do it FOC. Also, for anyone who reads this thread for future claims, the standard warranty replacement frame for TCR advanced is white, black and bit of green. Looks quite nice.

foggymike

I still don't see how the shop can force you to use their labour. If you take in your old frame and walk out with the new one to sort it yourself that should be fine shouldn't it?