There is a nice saying in Austria: "If you buy cheap, you buy twice."
In this article, we want to explain whether this saying also applies to world travelers based on our personal experiences.
In the first part, we will briefly look at the general validity of the saying and then specifically at our experiences with individual products and companies.
On the one hand, people buy expensive products because of their outstanding quality, unique designs, durability or the manufacturer's service promise.
For us, robustness, durability, and quality play a major role and service is also a big bonus, as even the best product can break down with constant use.
Unfortunately, we have found that most of the products we use are not designed for continuous operation but are manufactured for the standard consumer. If the manufacturer assumes that the product will be used 20 times a year, it is easy to give a 10-year guarantee. This is also the first problem for world travelers. We have already used many things 200 times in less than a year. And by then, many things are already broken or showing the first signs of deterioration.
Many things are manufactured using the latest technology, the best materials or complicated techniques in order to offer customers the best experience for their money. And that's a good thing. But not if you are traveling in areas where the manufacturer/retailer is available but there are no spare parts or someone who is familiar with it or can repair it.
For premium products, you also pay for the promise of help in the event of a problem. You can either have it repaired within the warranty period or get a replacement. Many manufacturers also proudly offer an unlimited or limited lifetime warranty. The manufacturers are also well remunerated for this. However, in the event of a problem, many of these manufacturers no longer want to know about it or refer to the fine print, which makes such a guarantee useless for world travelers.
Some companies also offer a repair service as part of this guarantee. This may sound nice and Mosko Moto, for example, even bears all the costs for the return shipment. But the cost alone of sending something to Europe or the USA for repair, customs in both directions and then processing times of several weeks or months make the whole thing a pointless undertaking. In all fairnes Mosko proposed a more practical solution to the problem with our seams.
Revit
At the end of October 2023, Andreas bought new Revit gloves in Panama. Lets buy some quality stuff which will hold the rest of our journey. After just one month of use, the first seams were disintegrated. An email to Revit support provided more information about Revit's great warranty policy. As I bought the gloves from a local dealer, it is not Revit's problem. Legally this is true, but it also shows how much this brand stands behind its product quality - namely not at all.
BMW
We have already written about the incompetence or negligent behavior of BMW in several articles. Spare parts that are in stock in Germany take weeks to months before they can be delivered – not to the middle of nowhere but to the USA. Prices are often double or more than in Austria, mechanics who forget to tighten screws, have no idea what a tire with a tube is, proudly want to sell parts with the wrong part number, blame me after unsuccessful repairs because I moved the bike. What does BMW say? BMW USA has not responded at all and we received a nice email from BMW Germany saying that this is not the case and that BMW is great.
Leatt
After buying two Leatt protector shirts, the first seams came undone on both of them after just two weeks. We sewed the first seam but in the following weeks more and more of them opened. So we sent an email to Leatt USA (where we had bought the shirts) and asked what could be done. The answer was: that’s not a warranty claim because we had already done something. As if we like to spend our time sewing something. A few nasty emails later, the next option was to send the shirts back to Leatt and we would get a replacements to the original address. Sorry, we don´t live there anymore. A few more nasty emails later stating that we were already in Mexico and this process would leave us defenseless for weeks - exactly what Leatt doesn't stand for - there was the final solution. Mercifully they send an exchange to a US address of our choosing and we don't have to send the others back. Great, what do we do with a protector shirt in the USA?
Touratech
Build for Adventure? But only as long as you don't need service or spare parts. As satisfied as we are with our shocks, we would not buy them again - as already described in article xx - due to the lack of after-sales support.
Wolfman
But there are also positive examples: Just one month after purchase, all of our 20 L bags were no longer waterproof. As much as it annoys us, it can happen. With four emails, everything was sorted out and Wolfman refunded our money without any discussions, and we were even allowed to keep the bags.
Summary
As great as many companies and their products may be in Europe or North America. Unfortunately, on a trip around the world, the wheat quickly separates from the chaff and you ask yourself what you have spent your money on.
Unfortunately, there is very little wheat left at the end of the day.
What are your experiences in this regard?
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