I bought an E-scooter for commuting to work about a month ago which cost $2200.
After 180km of use the rear suspension has separated from the frame due to a stripped bolt and retaining pin which looks to be a manufacturing defect and is now unusable.
I submitted a warranty claim to the retailer including photos and videos of the fault and they've replied suggesting that I take it to the nearest service centre (1hrs drive away from me) for an assesment.
I've since had a look on the facebook page run by the manufacturer of this brand of scooter and found several examples of the same failure, with replies from the manufacturer suggesting it's a known issue.
Is it reasonable to ask for the retailer to organise and pay for shipping to the service centre if this is a requirement for their warranty process?
Does a fault like this constitute major failure and allow me to ask for a refund or replacement instead of faffing about waiting for a service centre?
Some of the other examples of this fault I found happened at speed causing injury.
I'd rather not take a ~2hr round trip at my expense to have something diagnosed when the problem has already been identified, how should I best respond to the retailer; and what are my consumer rights in this situation?