BMW warranty - what's my chances?

[MIKE R]

What they might be prepared to do is to give you a "Used bike warranty". AFAIK this covers the bike, but not all the recovery/accommodation facilities of the initial warranty.

When I took the '06 GS on a three year lease last year, the dealer agreed to underwrite a 3rd year warranty on the terms above.

As you say, if you don't ask, you'll never know.....

Friend of mine totalled his GS near Granada a couple of years ago. That had a used warranty. BMW paid for the re-patronization of the bike, car hire, medical expenses, flight home etc without argument. Very good service IMHO.

Mike

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Warranty????

Mike

I would hazard a guess that all your friends costs, repatriation etc from Granada were covered by his insurance policy and not his used bike warranty.

Warranty only covers vehice failure which is a completely different thing and their liability is to get the bike fixed. If the bike had failed with say a gearbox or engine siezure and wasn`t easily fixed locally, the warranty may have covered the repatriation of the bike but probably not any more than that.

I`m certainley not aware of any warranty company I have ever dealt with (and I`ve dealt with a few) covering accidental damage although I stand to be corrected

 

[AndyW]

Andy Glad to hear that the leg is getting better and how much are you gong to miss that cage round your leg????
Having worked for a major truck manufacturer for 8 years, we used 3rd party warranties and to be perfectly blunt and honest, they are not worth the paper they are written on........................

Thanks for the kind wishes Chris........and I see nothing's changed then with time. If I have to buy cover think I will stick with BMW

Brian......thanks again for your comments.

Psycho & bustupbiker.........thanks. Despite comments above I will check up on Warranty Works. Anyone any claim experience with Warranty Works or other third party warranty co'y?

Mike R - I'll be interested to hear if that was indeed the case or whether Chris may be right. Thanks

EVERYONE - really appreciate the thoughts and comments. Many thanks

............any more??

 

[buzz]

Hi
Try pidcocks of long eaton they offer a third year warrenty of their own i think it is £250 but it does not include vehicle recovery,but this can be purchaced cheaply from most insurance companys these days.

 

[AndyW]

Thanks for that buzz

 

[Dee Tee]

Andy,i'm glad you're getting better.I agree with your sentiments regarding your extended warranty and hope you get a result.As i only do limited mileage on my GS (I have 2 other bikes and don't do wet weather) i think the idea put forward by Eng (2 Years or 20,000 Mile) is a valid one which would give Lightweight,Fair-Weather riders and Year Round riders the same cover.But in the Real World,i'm more likely to be struck by Lightning !!

 

[AndyW]

Thanks DT..........yes I agree that the warranty should be mileage related afterall that's standard with cars.........

..........equal rights for bikers!

 

[GSmonkey]

...yes I agree that the warranty should be mileage related afterall that's standard with cars.........

No its not. Normally x years or y miles whichever comes first.

Nobody in their right mind would offer a warranty on useage only, too open ended. The bike could still be "at risk" after 20yrs!!!

Personally, I'd just like to see an exteded BMW warranty offered for sensible money. Current offer of £700 is such that you might as well put the cash in the bank and take on the risk yourself. Like Bilco I'm also dubious about insurance based warranty.

 

[AndyW]

"whichever comes first"...................doh! Of course

But..........car warranties are often 3 or more years

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No more points of view, comments, suggestions from anyone else?..............or a vote in the Poll at least.

 

[Paul Wakefield]

"whichever comes first"...................doh! Of course

But..........car warranties are often 3 or more years

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No more points of view, comments, suggestions from anyone else?..............or a vote in the Poll at least.

BMW bikes are 3 years in the US (though I think they don't get the recovery thrown in - perhaps one of our US contributors could comment).

Paul

 

[AndyW]

......as usual preferential treatment for the yanks!



Voting in the Poll still slow

 

[Brian ROSEN]

How many years?

I notice that Kia offer a SEVEN year guarantee on some of their cars now! I can see the logic of that - cars are so reliable now and they are produced in such huge quantities that R & D can be pretty extensive. The way I see some motorbikes (and scooers as well) driven around these parts I would not think anyone would want to guarantee them (or the lives of the riders) for more than about 7 weeks!
Why do I get 10 times the mileage from a set of tyres on my Ford than my GS? ( No, I don't want sensible answers - i know it is not a fair question.)

 

[AndyW]

14 days since my letter was posted (1st Class Recorded!) - disappointing that they can't get a response of any sort to me in that time
Not even an acknowledgement of receiving my letter - bit poor

 

[Brian ROSEN]

A reasonable request?

".............. keep on with the BMW route. You may find they are receptive to your request because it is made in a reasonable and non demanding way and it may be good PR."
It IS a very reasonable request and I doubt if anyone can be found to turn it down - but it seems equally difficult to find someone to actually say 'yes' !
Nobody, in my experience, is too keen to respond to letters sent by recorded delivery - one immediately hesitates to answer without legal advice!
I would have thought that a personal visit to the 'boss' of the dealer from where the bike came would be the best step & an unofficial reassurance would be the likely outcome;
You could write a personal letter to Conrad Parker who, according to this month's M/C S & L is responsible for BMW's after sales service and activities and sonds like a good bloke - but again he would probably be reluctant to agree anything in writing.
I know that this has become something of a crusade for you - but my third year on my GS is nearly up and it feels beeter than new! (touch wood)
Bon rétablissement.

 

[AndyW]

Thanks for your input again Brian....more good ideas

Not a crusade really (not yet anyway LOL) just a point of view that's arisen from my unusual circumstances and my concernes over the many mechanical issues that are ocurring with some 1200s.
I guess I'm in a kind of ever decreasing circles situation - I can't ride the bike and get the satisfaction and enjoyment from it that would push any doubts to the back of my mind and of course if I were able to ride, the more trouble free miles done all the better for confidence in it being a good 'un.
At the same time, not being able to ride (and being stuck at home) I sit and read the tales of woe here and on other forums Ok, I'm realistic, I know it's only a small percentage of bikes that have the major failures (gear box, final drive etc) but all the same far too many failures are being reported.

Phoned BMW Warranty early this afternoon to politely enquire if my letter was receiving attention. Told that a reply went out on the 6th July!
Asked for them to post another copy and meantime also fax a copy to me..............no fax arrived

 

[AndyW]

Reply from BMW today...

Thank you for your letter dated July 3, 2007. I am very sorry to hear about your accident and am pleased to hear that you hope to be riding again within the next few weeks.
have spoken to a BMW Motorrad Customer Services Manager about this case and regret to advise you that while BMW Motorrad appreciate the difficulty of your situation we are unable to offer you a one year free extended warranty as these can only be offered in the event of a manufacturing fault with a bike.
However, in acknowledgement of the care and consideration you have given your bike I would like to offer you £100.00 credit which can be used at any Approved BMW Motorrad Dealership or servicing, maintenance or accessories, To take advantage of this credit please take a copy of your email and present it at time of payment to ensure that this amount is reduced off of your invoice.
I am sorry that this is not the response that you had hoped for and trust that this credit will assist you when you get back on the road.
Yours sincerely

Helen Murphy
Customer Service Department

Well, as Helen says, not the response I'd hoped for but not such a bad start
I will reply and suggest that they may reconsider on the revised terms of a 'used bike warranty' (thanks for the suggestion whoever that was - I've been too knackered (in pain) to think about a response yet after a long session with the physioterrorists earlier today!

Meantime, couple of observations/comments:
# This letter is dated 17/07 - I was told on the phone yesterday that they replied 06/07 (promised fax never materialised either)
# £100 credit - nice gesture.........good start towards the cost of used bike cover?
# Who is Helen Murphy?!...........hate people not stating their job title/position
# Another pet hate...........replies not from the person you write too

Your comments, suggestions and advice awaited

 

[princec]

Well, it's a jolly nice gesture, offset against paying for something if it goes wrong... which it might well not go wrong. In fact probably won't. So really it's not a bad deal at all.

Cas

 

[skyenet]

Personally I find that a low key personal approach often works better when trying to obtain a favour from a company. I quite understand your case and think your reasoning is fair but by making the whole thing so public then BMW, by agreeing to your request, could open the flood gates on other worthy cases trying to obtain extended warranties. I am therefore not surprised by their response and at least you are £100 better off.

However you have now played your card and BMW have responded which means that if you do have some sort of mechanical problem in the near future that they may ignore any request for help with it. They do seem quite reasonable about helping in some out of warranty problems going by posts on here but may feel you have had your money and that is the end of the matter. Who knows you may end up £100 better off at the end of a year.

Hope the pain gets better soon and that your GS keeps healthy as well.

 

[Brian ROSEN]

"Personally I find that a low key personal approach often works better when trying to obtain a favour from a company. I quite understand your case and think your reasoning is fair but by making the whole thing so public then BMW, by agreeing to your request, could open the flood gates on other worthy cases trying to obtain extended warranties. I am therefore not surprised by their response and at least you are £100 better off."
I agree with this entirely. I think that (as I have said before) a quiet word with the dealer is the best course of action when you are at all concerned about your bike - whether it is the way it is running (or not!) or any othrer matter. A good dealer will hope to sell you a new bike some day - but in any case a good relationship with a client will also give him a source of income from maintenance, extras, clothing etc; that is why he is in business. There is a continual dialogue between dealers and BMW, believe it or not. Having had 8 BMW's over 30 years (half my motorcycling 'career') I cannot remember a single instance when a long term guarantee would have been worth paying for.

 

[AndyW]

skyenet - good points, thanks. And having given this some more thought I think I will follow your/Brian's line of thinking from here on in and get up to Bristol Motorrad and have a chat.

...but by making the whole thing so public....

I didn't say anything to BMW to indicate that I'd posted anything here and I doubt BMW Warranty trawl the site?

Hope the pain gets better soon and that your GS keeps healthy as well.

Thanks, looking like I'll loose the frame soon (posted updates here)