The Importance of Elliptical Trainer Warranties

One of the best indicators of the quality of an elliptical trainer is the extent of the warranty. The warranty lets you get beyond the hype and reveals the degree of confidence an elliptical manufacturer has for their products.

Here is an example. Weslo elliptical trainers come with a 90 parts and labor warranty. What does that warranty say about the quality of the product? That the manufacturer is not very confident the machine will hold up beyond that 90 day period.

In contrast Sole Fitness offers 5 year parts and 2 year labor warranty on most of their ellipticals. What does that say about Sole ellipticals. It would suggest that their machines are well engineered and made with quality components. And that the machines are made to hold up under normal conditions. If that isn't the case than they are very stupid and will eventually go broke repairing faulty equipment over the next several years. I would believe they are confident about the durability of their machines.

You may be able to disguise mediocre components with fancy labels like, Super Conductor Drive System, In-step Access, ErgoFlow Geometry and SmartBoard console, but if the elliptical has a whimpy warranty there is no hiding from that fact.

So what is an acceptable elliptical trainer warranty?

First, we recommend that you spend at least $1,000 for an elliptical. That starts to get you into the mid-range models. Below $1,000 you are taking a chance getting inferior quality with a machine that has questionable durability. At the $1,000+ plus range an acceptable warranty is at least 2 years parts and one year labor.

There are a number of other factors to consider when purchasing an elliptical trainer, but the warranty can be very revealing in determining the quality of the machine. Of course, hand in hand with the warranty is the company reputation to stand behind the warranty. Some companies are very attentive to service, while others can make a service request a nightmare. Epinions.com is a good source to find out customer's experiences with a manufacturer.

Click here to review all the warranties of the elliptical manufacturers reviewed on this site.