Bafang service centre told me in January, that they will heave Service in EU till the end of 2021 if not sooner. They do produce some parts already in Poland so the service will probably also be there ?
Bafang
does have a European center in Wijchen, Holland. They also have a logistics and services depot in Wroclaw, Poland. They are therefore quite capable of providing after-sales service if they really want to.
Unfortunately, their after-sales service policy does not correspond at all to the standards and requirements of European customers.
In reality, their way of dealing with sensitive issues or questions is quite simple: at first they turn a deaf ear and simply do not respond to requests.
Personally, I have tried to contact them 7 times:
- using their official email address for after-sales service: after receiving an automatic acknowledgment of receipt of my email promising me a quick reaction, I never received a response again;
- using their official email address for the sales department: after receiving an automatic acknowledgment of receipt of my email promising me a quick reaction, I never had a response again;
- I then contacted the management of the European center in Wijchen, Holland: no response. I then sent 2 reminders: no response;
- I also tried to contact 2 times a technical manager at their European headquarters in Wijchen, Holland: no response.
It’s a shame that Bafang didn’t understand that their best ambassador to develop their brand and instill confidence in their products like M500 motor in Europe is
us. We are their best ambassadors, we, passionate users, ready to take risks with a very little known motor, we who cover thousands of kilometers with our EMTBs, we who meet many other hikers on weekends, we who are very active on social networks and discussion forums, we who are ready to send Bafang feedback, we who agree to use a motor that Bafang themselves recently recognize as not being at the maximum of its possibilities.
Because frankly, it's a no-brainer, for someone who has had the opportunity to try the Bosch CX Gen4 motor in 85Nm version, or the Shimano EP8 motor in 85Nm, or even the Yamaha PW-X2 in 80 Nm or the Brose in 95 Nm, there is really no picture, the Bafang M500 is significantly less powerful than all these motors ...
The Bafang M500 is weak, it is obvious!
If Bafang wants to expand in Europe and find major bicycle manufacturers who would agree to mount their Bafang M500 motor on their frame, Bafang would do well to take a cue from how Bosch entered the EMTB market, a good ten years ago. From the start, Bosch has had a very flexible after-sales service and warranty policy. Whenever there was the slightest problem or discussion a customer had with the Bosch motor, they would do a standard exchange, free of charge, in up to 10 days. And this, even after the expiration of the two-year legal warranty! I have benefited from it twice. Even today, Bosch continues to apply the warranty with great flexibility.
Bafang proved its worth with the BBS motor which was widely distributed around the world. But there was a big difference. It was a motor with a fully open system. Users could access the software, do developments, and spare parts were very easily accessible.
By completely changing the policy with the M500 and M600 motors, Bafang created a completely closed system, in which it is no longer possible to access the software, even by purchasing the BESST module since Bafang does not accept to give the full codes access to the end user. You have to go through a reseller. This can only work when the
Brand has a very large network of resellers, close to customers and accessible, having the hardware to access the software and make updates (BESST) and obviously well trained to use it! Which is not the case today for Bafang. Good luck finding a reseller in some countries like France or Belgium. In Belgium I found 3 dealers, and none of them want to sell bikes with an M500 motor because they themselves admit that the after-sales service is not satisfactory! They advise choosing an EMTB equipped with another motor! And they obviously refuse to intervene in relation to an M500 motor that they did not sell. Let's not talk about spare parts for these M500 motors, another forum member explained here the difficulties he is having in finding a spare parts controller ...
All of this is a shame. The Bafang M500 motor is very quiet, very pleasant, very natural, but it really lacks power.
Too bad Bafang is not more attentive to its end users, like us, who are ready to help them develop their motor, their notoriety, and their brand image.
In reality, the reverse is true ...
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