How an independent maintains your warranty and online service record - A guide

[MotoRevive]

I was asked this question today by a potential customer and it was easier to show him a video that I found on YouTube rather than try to explain it over the phone.

I thought you lot might be interested too. So I've dropped the link in below. It shows how I , and other independents may use the BMW Kasio cloud system to upload your service information to BMW.

Some unscrupulous main dealers will try and con you with the urban legend that you must use them to maintain a warranty. It's simply not true. BMW will only ask that genuine parts are used, the schedule is maintained and a trained mechanic carries out the work and provides an invoice detailing this. This is outlined in your handbook and can be confirmed by BMW customer services.

An independent can go an extra level. It does incur a cost to the provider but BMW have their own systems and software especially for independents. And they seamlessly interact with BMW and main dealers. If an independent uses KASIO, they can upload all the information to BMW's cloud. Main dealers can see this when they scan your key or update their system. And of course so can BMW mission control.

I think this is an EXCELLENT strategy by BMW. And they are really leading the trend with this. It gives their customers freedom and flexibility. Whilst maintaining their standards. Everyone's a winner.

Be informed

 

[casbar]

Think the issue is, do independents have access to software uploads and are they able to carry out work, such as the shaft checks. They can obviously carry out the shaft checks, but what happens if the bike needs a new shaft, does the bike have to be put back together and then taken to a dealer for another check to get the shaft for free? What happens if the bike is still under warranty and something requires changing under warranty, same as above, does the bike then need to be taken to a dealer for them to do the warranty work.

It is not just about servicing to maintain a warranty, for me it is about what happens if the bike is found to need warranty work whilst at the independent!

 

[MotoRevive]

Think the issue is, do independents have access to software uploads and are they able to carry out work, such as the shaft checks. They can obviously carry out the shaft checks, but what happens if the bike needs a new shaft, does the bike have to be put back together and then taken to a dealer for another check to get the shaft for free? What happens if the bike is still under warranty and something requires changing under warranty, same as above, does the bike then need to be taken to a dealer for them to do the warranty work.

It is not just about servicing to maintain a warranty, for me it is about what happens if the bike is found to need warranty work whilst at the independent!

An independent can't do warranty work. Or recalls.

But some (with AOS) can do software updates.

But yes. If there is a problem found, it would have to go back to a dealer for them to them to assess and repair as they fit. But it's at no additional cost to yourself. But I agree,it could be an inconvenience.

The shaft check is a one time recall. You will only get one free shaft. The shaft test is not part of a service. But shaft maintenance is.

In my experience, it's very rare to find warrantable problems on a service.

 

[adventuredon]

I was in Vines on Tuesday. They noted my shaft had been replaced at 16k. they said straight that I get a new shaft after the next 32k. So at 48k it gets another shaft up until 80k.

 

[potman2]

I was asked this question today by a potential customer and it was easier to show him a video that I found on YouTube rather than try to explain it over the phone.

I thought you lot might be interested too. So I've dropped the link in below. It shows how I , and other independents may use the BMW Kasio cloud system to upload your service information to BMW.

Some unscrupulous main dealers will try and con you with the urban legend that you must use them to maintain a warranty. It's simply not true. BMW will only ask that genuine parts are used, the schedule is maintained and a trained mechanic carries out the work and provides an invoice detailing this. This is outlined in your handbook and can be confirmed by BMW customer services.

An independent can go an extra level. It does incur a cost to the provider but BMW have their own systems and software especially for independents. And they seamlessly interact with BMW and main dealers. If an independent uses KASIO, they can upload all the information to BMW's cloud. Main dealers can see this when they scan your key or update their system. And of course so can BMW mission control.

I think this is an EXCELLENT strategy by BMW. And they are really leading the trend with this. It gives their customers freedom and flexibility. Whilst maintaining their standards. Everyone's a winner.

Be informed

I wish you could do some warranty work my SOS has come on again ( updated software August 2024 performed) my local bmw dealer (100 miles round trip) can fit me in 3 weeks time.

 

[MotoRevive]

I was in Vines on Tuesday. They noted my shaft had been replaced at 16k. they said straight that I get a new shaft after the next 32k. So at 48k it gets another shaft up until 80k.

I wish you could do some warranty work my SOS has come on again ( updated software August 2024 performed) my local bmw dealer (100 miles round trip) can fit me in 3 weeks time.

With that, there isn't even a fault. It's just over sensitive. The software update stops the light from coming on. Probably by reducing the hit count for fault creation.

 

[FatAl]

I was in Vines on Tuesday. They noted my shaft had been replaced at 16k. they said straight that I get a new shaft after the next 32k. So at 48k it gets another shaft up until 80k.

WTF a replacement drive shaft every 16,000 miles, am I reading that right? I've had chain and sprocket sets last longer.

 

[MotoRevive]

WTF a replacement drive shaft every 16,000 miles, am I reading that right? I've had chain and sprocket sets last longer.

It's not a recall. It's a campaign.

In a nutshell, BMW have come out and said that the shafts are only really good for 36,000 miles. And need a lot more maintenance than before. Because before, there was absolutely no service schedule for any kind of shaft maintenance. And they were apparently good for life.

But that's not really true. They need cleaning, greasing and a drain fitted into the swingarm. Loads of shafts seize which causes a lot of wear to the knuckles.

But because no one knew that when they bought the bike , BMW have agreed to to test all bikes of certain production date. If the bike passes the test (which is a kind of load test on the shaft with the axel being spun by a power drill (no joke, i did loads of them), they will give you a new shaft.

If you're already over 36,000 miles, you'll get a new shaft automatically.

This only applies to bikes of a certain production date. Not to any new bikes which will already have a swingarm drain and a maintenance schedule for lubricating the shaft.

Now, a drive shaft used to cost a fortune. £800-£1000 IIRC

Now they're £130 for a Genuine part from BMW.

So it's not real big deal to swap one out every 36,000 miles.

 

[FatAl]

Well I'm surprised at that. My old airheads did big mileages without any shaft replacements. Is this because of the paralever set up?

 

[mikeyboy]

Over the years,I’ve rebuilt hundreds of drive shafts.
On airheads,1100,1150,1200.
Someone sent me one from a water cooled bike.
I measured it up,contacted all of the suppliers that I know of,
No chance.
It’s an odd size that ,would appear to be unique to bmw and not available.
This approach is not unusual on the later bikes,parts not available and sub assemblies such as final drives ,built with techniques that make a rebuild infeasible due to parts not offered for retail sale.
This approach to manufacture is akin to “ white goods”, not premium priced motorcycles.
The end game is to not have anyone touching the bike other than the dealer.
The issue is,they don’t want to fix them either,they’d rather sell you a new one.

 

[MotoRevive]

Over the years,I’ve rebuilt hundreds of drive shafts.
On airheads,1100,1150,1200.
Someone sent me one from a water cooled bike.
I measured it up,contacted all of the suppliers that I know of,
No chance.
It’s an odd size that ,would appear to be unique to bmw and not available.
This approach is not unusual on the later bikes,parts not available and sub assemblies such as final drives ,built with techniques that make a rebuild infeasible due to parts not offered for retail sale.
This approach to manufacture is akin to “ white goods”, not premium priced motorcycles.
The end game is to not have anyone touching the bike other than the dealer.
The issue is,they don’t want to fix them either,they’d rather sell you a new one.

Over the years,I’ve rebuilt hundreds of drive shafts.
On airheads,1100,1150,1200.
Someone sent me one from a water cooled bike.
I measured it up,contacted all of the suppliers that I know of,
No chance.
It’s an odd size that ,would appear to be unique to bmw and not available.
This approach is not unusual on the later bikes,parts not available and sub assemblies such as final drives ,built with techniques that make a rebuild infeasible due to parts not offered for retail sale.
This approach to manufacture is akin to “ white goods”, not premium priced motorcycles.
The end game is to not have anyone touching the bike other than the dealer.
The issue is,they don’t want to fix them either,they’d rather sell you a new one.

I'm guessing it wouldn't make sense for you to rebuild a water cooled shaft if you can now buy a new one for £130.00 ?

But you are right. The modern world is planned around replacing factory built units. BMW will give you an entire new engine rather than asking a dealer tech to diagnose and fix a problem. It won't be long before even a motor is factory welded shut. You already can't change the pots on an LC. The cylinder is part of the crankcase.

I think that is mainly because dealers don't really have anyone who can reliably do anything but change parts. There are rarely capable engineers In main agents.

And that's down to the fact that dealer techs are paid less than Aldi shelf stackers. So anyone with any talent or real mechanical ability will not be working in a main dealer.. Not for long anyway.

So if you were BMW. Would you trust a Red bull slurping minimal wage worker with anything more than a part fitting job ?

 

[mikeyboy]

I'm guessing it wouldn't make sense for you to rebuild a water cooled shaft if you can now buy a new one for £130.00 ?

But you are right. The modern world is planned around replacing factory built units. BMW will give you an entire new engine rather than asking a dealer tech to diagnose and fix a problem. It won't be long before even a motor is factory welded shut. You already can't change the pots on an LC. The cylinder is part of the crankcase.

I think that is mainly because dealers don't really have anyone who can reliably do anything but change parts. There are rarely capable engineers In main agents.

And that's down to the fact that dealer techs are paid less than Aldi shelf stackers. So anyone with any talent or real mechanical ability will not be working in a main dealer.. Not for long anyway.

So if you were BMW. Would you trust a Red bull slurping minimal wage worker with anything more than a part fitting job ?

I’m sure there are some pretty good techs in the dealers,
I’m happy to be corrected but my conclusion is more about liability.
If the dealer carries out a repair,on an engine,gearbox or final drive and the repair fails for whatever reason,
They are footing the bill.( same as you or I)
If they have replaced a complete unit,the mothership is warranting it for 2years.
They are only losing out on a proportion of the labour,
And don’t have the logjam of a bike in a million bits whilst the engine / gearbox/ bevel is being worked on.
I don’t think the issue is with the techs,( I know a few and they are enthusiastic and try hard)
The issue is with badly managed businesses,that only want it easy.

 

[casbar]

I'm guessing it wouldn't make sense for you to rebuild a water cooled shaft if you can now buy a new one for £130.00 ?

But you are right. The modern world is planned around replacing factory built units. BMW will give you an entire new engine rather than asking a dealer tech to diagnose and fix a problem. It won't be long before even a motor is factory welded shut. You already can't change the pots on an LC. The cylinder is part of the crankcase.

I think that is mainly because dealers don't really have anyone who can reliably do anything but change parts. There are rarely capable engineers In main agents.

And that's down to the fact that dealer techs are paid less than Aldi shelf stackers. So anyone with any talent or real mechanical ability will not be working in a main dealer.. Not for long anyway.

So if you were BMW. Would you trust a Red bull slurping minimal wage worker with anything more than a part fitting job ?

I have come across some talent less mechanics in independent businesses as well. Last year I contacted an independent about servicing my 1250RT, it turned out the dealer offered a better deal and was closer. If there were any issues with the work, the dealer would have sorted.

 

[Pukmeister]

For me, using a main dealer goes a long way towards getting a good will gesture once out of warranty on a defect or problem.

No disrespect to the Indy out there but its like gaming the system in your favour, just in case you need them.

 

[MotoRevive]

For me, using a main dealer goes a long way towards getting a good will gesture once out of warranty on a defect or problem.

No disrespect to the Indy out there but its like gaming the system in your favour, just in case you need them.

That's the exact mindset main agents spend a lot of time and money developing.

When the rules are in fact extremely black and white. They have absolutely no choice In what they can and what they can not warranty. It's part of their dealer standards.

Good will is the decision of customer services. Not the agent. It's far more likely a customer will get a good will gesture if they persevere with BMW themselves than ask a main agent to do it.

I spent 15 years in that system. I know how it works.

Where you are correct is that main agent can offen push through a claim if a bike hasn't been maintained correctly if you have a good relationship with them.

Which is exactly why I modelled by independent business to follow the book that BMW wrote. To the letter. Which is what this thread is all about. So you don't need to try and game it.

So yes. If you take your new BMW to a random bloke to have a service then then there is a chance that your main agent may reject your warranty claim. But even that is unlikely.

If you use a trained independent that uses the systems that I outline in my post, then there is absolutely no way a main agent can reject a genuine warranty claim. And if they did, it would only take a short phone call to BMW customer services for that to be immediately reversed.

It is of course a free world. And you should use whoever you choose. I'm just trying to clarify the system so you can can make those choices in a more informed manor.