servicing & warranty dilemma

[ihandyman247]

Not Again

Page 20 of the extended warranty booklet:-

Under "WHAT MUST I DO TO KEEP THE WARRANTY VALID"

Point 1 No Less

"When servicing your motorcycle,.......all service and warranty work must be carried out by an authorised BMW Dealer or BMW Service Authorised Workshop"

For that reason I would go with Option A, with summer coming up you will soon have it due another service and in the hands of Steptoe.

In the meantime for the hundred(ish) quid you save an FD failure or such like could cost a load more - and your tempting the laws of Murphy and Sod.

I would also change the FD oil yourself, mine was like sludge despite it supposedly having been changed twice by "Authorisded BMW dealers" and I am never surprised when I read about stealers not doing work they charge for. Since changing the FD oil myself (each tyre change) it comes out pretty clean and I am certain the robbing B'stards had never bothered.

Also check all your nuts and bolts are properly torqued afterwards, I have had mates whose bikes have had sump plugs fall out and calipers drop off and start waving around on the end of the hose (one of them a BMW, on the way home from his "Authorised" dealer after a service) and on my last bike the stealer monkey pushed a nut inside my airbox (on the intake side) which could have wrecked the engine or killed me - never mind he probably got an extra tenners efficiency bonus for not bothering to retrieve it (and many here may argue that is actually more than my life is worth)

Come renewal just throw the £325 fee in the "just in case pot" and take it to someone who gives a shit about how good a job they do and how safe the bike is when it leaves their hands (That probably rules out most "authorised dealers")

Well that it is not a very good advice , just becouse you had one bad experience !
I had once a bad experience myself for over charging but I didn't mind paying , I knew that is a business not a charity and yes a mint cost a mint .
I am pretty sure that poor Steptoe can not cop with all this bikes
A service at the BMW will cost you £180 plus vat but you get a bike for the day , coffe and biscuits , little advice, free wi-fi etc. just live the warranty to have his chemical reaction that's why is out there , to save your money and life!!

 

[jwpzx9r]

Well from London to Wien is 1000M
I live London Central London at 10pm and in the morning 10am I am in Wien ! Having breckfast at Marriott and around 2pm lunch in Budapest !!
With my previously munched loved R1150GSA fully loded !
I do this every year ! Except last year when I didn't had a bike but now I have a brand new paka 1200 TB GSA and I will do that again .
And yes that thanks to Vines that looked after my bike !

You are even more amazing than the last man averaging 84 mph for that trip! Chapeau to you as well. I just don't know where people get the stamina to hold those speeds continuously for that lenghth of time! I think if you think logically that time for fuel and a piss from time to time must use an hour out of your twelve before you know it you are now averaging 90mph. I really do doff the old hat to anybody who can jump on a bike and only allow 15 mins in every 3 hour shift for fuel leg stretching etc. Do you have a standard seat? I find my seat unbearable after a couple of hours constant riding, anyway travelling at those sort of speeds constantly will focus your mind on not nodding off eh?

 

[fatgser]

go for B
and theres no way he would try to flog you his coutersy bikes
as BMW would
top man

 

[wust588]

Go for "b" and dare I say it, have a bit more faith in your bike.

 

[STUBBS]

option b

 

[ihandyman247]

You are even more amazing than the last man averaging 84 mph for that trip! Chapeau to you as well. I just don't know where people get the stamina to hold those speeds continuously for that lenghth of time! I think if you think logically that time for fuel and a piss from time to time must use an hour out of your twelve before you know it you are now averaging 90mph. I really do doff the old hat to anybody who can jump on a bike and only allow 15 mins in every 3 hour shift for fuel leg stretching etc. Do you have a standard seat? I find my seat unbearable after a couple of hours constant riding, anyway travelling at those sort of speeds constantly will focus your mind on not nodding off eh?

Well , I do not ride all the time and it builds up on me a extremely big energy and the sooner the time is approaching to take the bike out the bigger the excitement grows on me , I can not sleep , I can not eat , all that is in my mind is to be out from England and hit the big open endless roads of beautiful Europe .
I sleep all afternoon , no food ! Just coffe , cigarets and red bull . I only stop to top up the bike and ride full open throttle until the red light comes on, I ride crussing at 90Mph , I have a emergency 2x5L Jerry canister's and that is a big back up .
Never Brock down , never had a problem not even a flat tire!

 

[Rasher]

Well that it is not a very good advice , just becouse you had one bad experience !

A service at the BMW will cost you £180 plus vat but you get a bike for the day , coffe and biscuits , little advice, free wi-fi etc.!

I have had several bad experiences with dealer servicing, as have many of my friends, when paying a full time professional you should expect an excellent job 99% of the time, with a 1% margin for the odd genuine mistake, not routine corner cutting encouraged by the dealer with efficiency bonuses and unrealistic work targets that ensure any competent mechanic trying to do a proper job will probably never make a decent living (or find himself fired)

And I have no idea where you get a BMW serviced for £180, my 12k Service was nearly £400 and the next one (18k - same as 6k) is going to set me back £250.

Would almost be worth it if it was not that I have to bring it home, check that the wheels / brakes / sump plug are all properly torqued and not about to fall off, clean the brake pistons and caliper pins, top up clutch / brake fluid, replace the FD oil and all the other things they either don't do (not part of schedule) claim to have done (But not bothered to as you cannot easily see they skipped it) or just have not done properly.

 

[Toshi]

Thanks for all the replies.

Regarding whether independent servicing would invalidate the warranty - I was under the impression that it would. My understanding was that this is not the case with the manufacturers warranty that comes with a new bike, but this was a years additional warranty on a used 3 year old bike sold by a Motorad dealer. I have checked the wording on the policy and in T&Cs it says:

"All service work must be carried out by an authorized BMW Bike Dealer using only Genuine BMW Parts"

The fact is that I have far more confidence in Steptoe than I do a BMW main agent, and if there was only a little warranty left it would be a no-brainer. As it is I was expecting most to suggest the remaining warranty was worth the extra cost of the service but this has given me food for thought.

 

[Wapping]

As it is I was expecting most to suggest the remaining warranty was worth the extra cost of the service but this has given me food for thought.

The other thought for you to chew over, is that many of the replies maybe do not really give a stuff what you do.... They just picked a letter or went for the cheapest option, just to pass the time of day.

If the wheels do come off. Comfort yourself that you probably won't hear from them again. Or, if you do it will be the usual: 'Sorry to hear about your problems, mate. Hope you get it fixed OK', coupled to a comment on the parentage of warranty insurers, BMW's build quality or the weather that morning.

 

[Toshi]

The other thought for you to chew over, is that many of the replies maybe do not really give a stuff what you do.... They just picked a letter or went for the cheapest option, just to pass the time of day.

If the wheels do come off. Comfort yourself that you probably won't hear from them again. Or, if you do it will be the usual: 'Sorry to hear about your problems, mate. Hope you get it fixed OK', coupled to a comment on the parentage of warranty insurers, BMW's build quality or the weather that morning.

Oh, don't worry, I am not expecting joint responsibility to be taken. I understand what I'm opening myself up for if I go with option (b)

 

[Wapping]

I understand what I'm opening myself up for if I go with option (b)

Well do it then (or go for option a, if you are happier) and stop chewing, you'll wear your finger nails out.

 

[(RIP) Johno23]

Thanks for all the replies.

Regarding whether independent servicing would invalidate the warranty - I was under the impression that it would. My understanding was that this is not the case with the manufacturers warranty that comes with a new bike, but this was a years additional warranty on a used 3 year old bike sold by a Motorad dealer. I have checked the wording on the policy and in T&Cs it says:

"All service work must be carried out by an authorized BMW Bike Dealer using only Genuine BMW Parts"

The fact is that I have far more confidence in Steptoe than I do a BMW main agent, and if there was only a little warranty left it would be a no-brainer. As it is I was expecting most to suggest the remaining warranty was worth the extra cost of the service but this has given me food for thought.

You are quite correct

I thought your choice was the best too, stick with the T's&C's of your current warranty then use Steptoe after.

 

[Steptoe]

Yeah - everyone should avoid the main dealers ...................

Then when there are none left in a 200 mile radius of your house - you'll be complaining bitterly - and won't see the connection ............

Al

Not Again

Page 20 of the extended warranty booklet:-

Under "WHAT MUST I DO TO KEEP THE WARRANTY VALID"

Point 1 No Less

One small detail you should both know - theoneandonly ( a friend of mine for 26 years) is part owner of a main dealership

And another thing - i've told plenty of people who've wanted me to service their bikes while still in the manufactures warranty to use a main dealer - because no matter what you're told, if you have main dealer stamps and a good relationship with your dealer you will get any warranty problems sorted out a lot easier and without any grief than if an independent (that includes myself) had done the work.
And what a lot of independents won't tell you is that officially any new bmw parts fitted are only warranted by bmw if fitted by bmw main dealers (although they can be flexible on this depending on what parts) .
Of course, once it's out of the manufacturers warranty it's a different story plus the high warranty costs come into the equation.

but you get a bike for the day ,

Loan bikes are nothing special - even i have loan bikes (free of charge).

Well from London to Wien is 1000M
I live London Central London at 10pm and in the morning 10am I am in Wien ! Having breckfast at Marriott and around 2pm lunch in Budapest !!
With my previously munched loved R1150GSA fully loded !
I do this every year ! Except last year when I didn't had a bike but now I have a brand new paka 1200 TB GSA and I will do that again .
And yes that thanks to Vines that looked after my bike !

An a overhead cam 1200ADV i prepped last year for the globebusters south american tour was the only one that didn't break down or have any problems.
I'm not saying it was just all down to my work just the luck of the draw , but when you do long distances yourself on these bikes you know what particular areas need attention.

You're not the only one to ride long distances - I've done many trips through france and spain to morrocco and back in a week. Leaving london saturday morning, riding through france and spain and on the 9am ferry to morrocco on the monday morning, i could get the sunday evening ferry if i wanted)

 

[(RIP) Johno23]

And what a lot of independents won't tell you is that officially any new bmw parts fitted are only warranted by bmw if fitted by bmw main dealers (although they can be flexible on this depending on what parts) .

But Steptoe, surely if you fitted genuine BMW parts on a bike and they failed prematurely, technically you'd be the customer, and Im sure as a BMW independent buying a fair amount of parts off them, they (BMW) are going to honour that warranty.If they didn't you'd almost be obliged to honour it yourself, as you wouldn't want to let your customers down.

 

[Blackal]

One small detail you should both know - theoneandonly ( a friend of mine for 26 years) is part owner of a main dealership

I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me?

Al

 

[Steptoe]

I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me?

Al

Look at it as what he said as being from the horses mouth, so to speak.

 

[Steptoe]

But Steptoe, surely if you fitted genuine BMW parts on a bike and they failed prematurely, technically you'd be the customer, and Im sure as a BMW independent buying a fair amount of parts off them, they (BMW) are going to honour that warranty.If they didn't you'd almost be obliged to honour it yourself, as you wouldn't want to let your customers down.

As i said, they can be flexible and depends on what part.
But i would honour any work and parts that i supplied.

What i wouldn't honour is any used parts supplied by the customer. i.e. if a gearbox supplied by a customer (that he may have bought off ebay for instance) for me to fit was no good i wouldn't fit another one free of any labour charge.

 

[IJGser]

I envy you.
Youve the opportunity to have your bike looked after by Steptoe for the rest of its natural life!
Forget the warranty,and leave it in the hands of the best independent in the country.

Problem may be steptoes natural life could come a lot sooner or are 1200 so sh1t Steptoe is going to be around long after there all gone

 

[IJGser]

Forgot to say.....

I would go plan a) then when warranty is up plan b)

 

[Mad Mac]

Just reading some old threads and had to respond......£180 for a 12k service?! Outrageous....Chester Motorrad did mine for £160....of course if you have low mileAge then you get out of step on brake fluid changes which knocks off a little.....but even taking this into account I was quoted £175......be prepared to haggle and don't accept first price. I was first quoted £237, but insisted they could call me when they were quiet....only had to wait a month! Winter service offer.....free oil....saves £60 at dealer prices. Live and learn!