Warranty and After-Sales Service for Electric Scooters: What is covered, and what is not
An electric scooter purchased new from a professional retailer benefits from two guarantees provided by law: the legal guarantee of conformity and the guarantee against hidden defects. In addition, a commercial guarantee from the manufacturer is usually included. These guarantees cover defects in the machine itself, but not normal wear and tear, falls, or modifications. Understanding what each covers helps to avoid misunderstandings. Here's how they work, and how we apply them in our workshop.
The essentials
- Purchase from a professional: Two-year legal warranty of conformity from the date of delivery, for new products.
- Warranty for hidden defects: Two years from the discovery of the defect, including for transactions between private individuals.
- The manufacturer's warranty is in addition to the legal warranties and has its own specific terms and conditions.
- Wear and tear, accidents, competition use, unlocking, and modifications generally void commercial warranties.
- Keep the invoice and describe the defect with photos or a video.
The statutory warranty for conformity
This applies when a consumer purchases from a professional seller. According to service-public.gouv.fr, the buyer has two years from the date of delivery to take action. For a new product, any defect that appears within these two years is presumed to have existed from the time of purchase: the buyer does not have to prove that the defect was present from the beginning. For a used product sold by a professional, this presumption is limited to one year.
In practice, the consumer can request the repair or replacement of the product, and the company must respond within thirty days of the request. If this is impossible or takes too long, the consumer may be entitled to a price reduction or a refund. This warranty does not apply to transactions between private individuals. The relevant articles are L. 217-3 and following articles of the Consumer Code, which can be consulted on the Légifrance website.
The warranty for hidden defects
It protects against a hidden defect present at the time of purchase, which already existed during the sale and renders the machine unusable or significantly reduces its functionality. This applies even between private individuals, which is important for used machines. The timeframe to take action is two years from the discovery of the defect, but the buyer must prove the defect, for example, with an expert opinion or quotes. See our guide for buying a used electric scooter.
The manufacturer's commercial warranty
Manufacturers also offer a commercial warranty, the terms of which vary. This typically covers the frame and electrical components, often with a shorter duration for the battery, and excludes consumable items. For a machine purchased from us, Rage Mechanics handles the warranty process with the manufacturer, acting as a reseller. The time required for diagnosis and parts procurement depends on the manufacturer.
The parts we design or manufacture (titanium columns and adapters, handlebars, motors, batteries) have our own commercial warranty of two years against defects in materials or workmanship, including labor at our workshop in Lyon. On a Titanium Edition, the manufacturer's warranty remains valid for everything we don't modify, and the steering system is guaranteed by us.
What is not covered:
Commercial warranties generally exclude:
- Normal wear and tear: tires, inner tubes, brake pads, rotors, bearings, cables, grips, and normal battery capacity degradation;
- **Falls, impacts, accidents, and jumps**, and use in competition;
- Usage beyond specifications: exceeding the manufacturer's recommended limits for battery charge, speed, or terrain
- Excess water: Immersion, pressure washer, salt;
- Modifications: Unlocking, battery replacement, controller or software changes, non-compliant assembly or wiring;
- Maintenance deficiencies: Uncontrolled tightening, failure to follow charging and storage instructions.
Variations in range due to cold weather, terrain, rider weight, or the normal aging of the battery are also not considered defects. Our terms and conditions of sale detail these points.
How to claim the warranty
- Find the invoice and the machine's serial number.
- Please describe the defect in detail: When does it occur? Under what conditions? Please provide photos or a video if possible.
- Contact the seller. With us, please use the contact page and include your order number.
- Please wait for approval before shipping anything back: lithium batteries must be shipped in a specific way.
Outside of the warranty period, a diagnostic at our workshop is based on our hourly labor rate.
Workshop tip
Do not disassemble a malfunctioning machine while it is still under warranty, and do not have it modified before the warranty expires if you want to keep the warranty valid. Replacing a controller or battery with a third-party component often voids the commercial warranty. If you are unsure about anything, please contact us before making any changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the battery covered by the same warranty as the scooter itself?
Not always. Manufacturers often specify a shorter lifespan for the battery in their commercial warranties. The legal warranty of conformity, on the other hand, covers defects in the battery, just like any other component, but does not cover the normal loss of capacity due to aging.
Does unlocking (or modifying) the device void the warranty?
It generally voids the manufacturer's commercial warranty and can complicate the legal warranty if the defect is related to the modification. Please remember: on public roads, an electric scooter must remain limited to 25 km/h.
Who pays for the transportation costs in the event of a breakdown covered by the warranty?
For the legal warranty of conformity, any necessary repairs or replacements to bring the product into compliance must be carried out free of charge to the consumer. For a commercial warranty, this depends on its specific terms and conditions: please read them before shipping the product.
I purchased it from a private individual: does that mean I have a warranty?
The warranty covers only hidden defects, for a period of two years from the discovery of the defect, provided that it can be proven that the defect was hidden and existed prior to the sale.
Is a flat tire covered under the warranty?
No, a flat tire is considered normal wear and tear and is subject to the unpredictable conditions of the road, not a manufacturing defect.