A Waste of a Warranty

I have been a lifelong Scott fan, and in May 2024 I finally bought my dream bike, the Scott Spark 910. Initially I loved it so much, that after a week I lost my mind and bought my wife a Contessa Spark 920, even though her existing Merida was still perfectly functional.

3 weeks later, while washing the bike, I discovered a crack on the main downtube, which I referred to Scott. As I had not been riding much for around 18 months, the rides I had don at that point were all very mild gravel rides with no aggressive, technical elements, and I did not fall at any point. The bike was transported using a very well-padded tailgate carrier, and each time I used the carrier my wife's bike was transported at the same time. The use of the tailgate carrier did lead to some light scuffing on both bike frames due to the frame rubbing against the padding.

When the matter was referred to Scott, they stated that the marks were indicative of an impact or compression, and as such no warranty claim would be entertained. My only option available to me was to replace the front triangle, which I am currently waiting for.

Given how gently I have ridden and transported the bike, and given that the carrier is the only item that could have exerted any force on the bike, and given that my wife's bike has been subjected to the same treatment, has the same slight scuffing, but is wholly crack free, I find the explanations offered highly implausible. If the carrier was indeed the cause, then the bike is beyond flimsy for a R100k. The supplier of the bike carrier also owns several carbon bikes, including heavy e-bikes, and has experienced no problems (arguably because his bikes are not Scotts).

On the whole, the warranty offered on the Scott does not seem to be worth whatever paper it is written on. If you are in the market for a Scott, I would suggest you think carefully and do your research before going down that path. I for one will never buy a Scott product again.