# Merlin Warranty



## metricEee (Aug 28, 2002)

Anyone had to warranty a Merlin? I found a crack in the right chainstay of my extralight right where the tube tapers to the weld of the dropout (which to me strongly suggests a contaminated weld). I know they have a lifetime warranty, but I am almost positive I never registered the frame, and I sure can't produce a receipt from 6-7 years ago when I bought it. According to the website, if either of these conditions aren't met then the warranty is voided, which pretty much blows cause I'm not spending that kinda money again. I'm just curious if anyone has any experience with warranty coverage under similar conditions so I can guage what I'm up against.


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## jgandionco (Dec 28, 2005)

I don't know if the warranty is in effect, but the cost of them repairing it will be alot less than replacing with a new frame or bike.


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## metricEee (Aug 28, 2002)

yea, I figured what most likely is going to happen is they will play hardball on sticking to the letter of the warranty, but offer to repair it. I'll have to see how much that will be, but if they stick it to me on the warranty it will be very questionable if I will be willing to invest any more money into a company that doesn't stand behind their product better.


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## bob338 (Apr 11, 2005)

metricEee said:


> yea, I figured what most likely is going to happen is they will play hardball on sticking to the letter of the warranty, but offer to repair it. I'll have to see how much that will be, but if they stick it to me on the warranty it will be very questionable if I will be willing to invest any more money into a company that doesn't stand behind their product better.


but you didn't hold up your end of the bargain when you bought it. why should they assume that you're actually the original owner? all it takes is a stamp and a short walk to the blue box...


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## cptab (Sep 12, 2002)

Maybe you don't have the receipt, but the bike shop may have a record of your purchase.


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## metricEee (Aug 28, 2002)

I realize that it is standard warranty procedure to state that it is only limited to the original owner, but for the life of me, other than allowing companies to weasel out of a few warranties thus saving themselves some money, I can't understand how the transfer of ownership would make or break a frame? Even if the first guy was letting his kids use the chainstays for a trampoline all winter and then decided to sell the frame, only to have it break for the poor buyer 1 year later. What difference does this make? If the original owner of the frame turned it in for the warranty and sneaks it past them as "normal wear and tear" why does he get it warrantied but the second guy doesn't? It just doesn't make sense to me on any level other than it is a way of companies not having to deal with a few warranties that they probably should. I'm not saying I'm right here, so if you have a logical answer that doesn't come down to economics, please share.
Unfortunately for me, I am the guy they are probably gambling on when they claim lifetime warranties. I honestly don't remember who I bought the frame from. If I had to guess I would say I picked it up from Excel, but I just remember getting it mail order on sale from someone. Like I said, it was a few years ago. I guess that's what I get for not supporting my LBS https://forums.roadbikereview.com/images/icons/icon9.gif


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

metricEee said:


> I realize that it is standard warranty procedure to state that it is only limited to the original owner, but for the life of me, other than allowing companies to weasel out of a few warranties thus saving themselves some money, I can't understand how the transfer of ownership would make or break a frame? Even if the first guy was letting his kids use the chainstays for a trampoline all winter and then decided to sell the frame, only to have it break for the poor buyer 1 year later. What difference does this make? If the original owner of the frame turned it in for the warranty and sneaks it past them as "normal wear and tear" why does he get it warrantied but the second guy doesn't? It just doesn't make sense to me on any level other than it is a way of companies not having to deal with a few warranties that they probably should. I'm not saying I'm right here, so if you have a logical answer that doesn't come down to economics, please share.


The answer is very simple - a warranty is a contract between the manufacturer (or their agent) and the purchase. Like many other contracts, it can be specified to be non-transferrable.

And yes, it does come down to economics. A manufacturer could make their warranty contract transferrable to any and all owners, but obviously that would create a greater potential financial liability for the manufacturer. To cover this financial liability, the manufacturere would have to increase the price of the frame. Most initial customers aren't much concerned about the warranty validity when (and if) they ever sell the frame to another person, so they are not apt to see the value in the extra cost they would have to pay for the transferrable warranty. Instead, they'd rather pay the lower price for a frame with a warranty that applies only to them - and so, for competitive reasons, manufacturers make their warranty contracts applicable only the original purchaser.

So, if you want blame anyone, blame the person you bought the frame secondhand from, for not buying a frame with a transferrable warranty (or blame yourself for not buying a frame with a transferrable warranty).


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## metricEee (Aug 28, 2002)

For starters, if you read my post you will see that I am the original owner of the frame, I'm just not sure I will be able to produce anything to convince merlin of that if they hardball me, which they might not. I haven't had a chance to drive the 90 minutes to the nearest merlin dealer to see what my options are yet. This was the purpose of my original post, was to find out if anyone had to deal with a warranty with Merlin to see if they were a good standup company that took stood behind their product instead of hiding behind the letter of their warranty, or if they played hardball with the warranty. I've had to warranty both a Trek and a Specialized mountain bike, and both of them were done in different states from where I bought the frames, and without having to produce any proof of purchase or filling out warranty cards when I bought the frames, the problems were warrantied no questions asked. I will never hesitate to buy from either of those companies again.
So yes you are correct, Merlin has every right to stick with their terms if they choose to (although I don't seem to remember the warranty reading so strongly in terms of the conditions back when I bought the frame, but it is definitely possible that I didn't pay much attantion because after all it is a titanium frame, and as they say in multiple places on the website, a titanium frame will last a lifetime). But if they stick to their conditions to the letter, they aren't exactly going to be fostering a lifetime consumer in me, rather quite the opposite. 
But this post wasn't meant to bash Merlin, like I said I haven't even given them a chance yet to warranty this, it was simply an inquiry to find out if anyone else has been where I am, and if they had a happy ending.


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## DavidC (Feb 14, 2006)

We will honor the warranty if you or your shop have a copy of the original recept. We have to stick to the contract of the warranty to avoid getting worked ourselves. Please feel free to call me at 888.563.7546 with any questions or you can email me at [email protected] 

Thanks 

David Cash 
Merlin


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## psycleridr (Jul 21, 2005)

If you bought it from your LBS take it to them. If you bought it online then you must have a reciept. I have a warranty frame from Merlin and had no issues other than it taking a bit longer than i would have liked (6weeks). But since i worked through my LBS I was given a loaner Litespeed to ride. All in all a good experience for a crappy situation which is any time you have to give up your bike.


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