Warranty Renewal - Should I??

[Rasher]

Problem is we still buy the bikes, with all the Ewan McBoorman publicity, sales have gone though the roof, BMW will not do anything until sales drop significantly..

...by which time the bikes reputation could be like that of an 1970's Skoda and it will take them 20 years of building excellent bikes to regain any sort of credibility.

When first talking to people about thinking of buying a BMW I had loads of tales of them being complete dogshit, mainly from bikers who had never ridden them, but a couple of ex GS owners warned me I would regret buying one, nobody reckoned them to be reliable.

Regardless of how reliable they really are, the general perception is that they are awful, 20 years ago even those that hated BM's would grudgingly admit the reliability was pretty impressive with 100k being easily achieveable when most jap bikes would be pretty tired / blown up by half that.

The GS is a low power bike, twice the size of a Jap 600 with about 25% less power, it should last forever, R6's reliably get beyond 60k these days, I know of several ZZR's that have topped 100k, and GS models are having major failures at under 10k and loads of electrical gremlins leaving broken down GS models littering the coutryside like errant crisp packets.

Not just the GS either, the California Superbike School are running the new 1000's in the US and have already blown several up, in the UK they have been running R1's for ten years with very few problems and have certainly not had any con-rods coming out to say hello.

BMW need to up their standards before it is too late, although perhaps it already is

 

[Wapping]

Oh how I wish I had taken out a warranty..... £2000 buys a lot of xmas presents. A new ABS unit and final drive was not on my xmas list.

That is probably true. But your real loss was not two grand. It was two grand, less the cost of the warranty itself, less the difference in the cost of avoiding dealer based services. That much lower net figure is then spread over the two years (or whatever it was).

It is the sudden painful hit of a two grand or more bill that warranty insurance lessens. It does not prevent the event itself occurring, nor does it cover everything. You gambled and lost, that is all. Lloyd's of London makes the same unlucky calls every day. Had the event not happened (or the coin landed the other way up) you would have been quids in, for sure.

 

[Wapping]

As stated if nothing goes wrong I have wasted my money,

That is a bad way to look at insurance based products, which are contracts of indemnity not one of investment. Unlike life insurance (and a fruit machine) there is no certainty of any percentage return at all.

, but if I spend £300 and never have a problem for the year I will be happy enough

Is a much better way to look at it.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Problem is we still buy the bikes, with all the Ewan McBoorman publicity, sales have gone though the roof, BMW will not do anything until sales drop significantly..

Regardless of how reliable they really are, the general perception is that they are awful, 20 years ago even those that hated BM's would grudgingly admit the reliability was pretty impressive with 100k being easily achieveable when most Jap bikes would be pretty tired / blown up by half that.

BMW need to up their standards before it is too late, although perhaps it already is

You bought the wrong GS.....................simples

 

[cookie]

Problem is we still buy the bikes, with all the Ewan McBoorman publicity, sales have gone though the roof, BMW will not do anything until sales drop significantly..

...by which time the bikes reputation could be like that of an 1970's Skoda and it will take them 20 years of building excellent bikes to regain any sort of credibility.

When first talking to people about thinking of buying a BMW I had loads of tales of them being complete dogshit, mainly from bikers who had never ridden them, but a couple of ex GS owners warned me I would regret buying one, nobody reckoned them to be reliable.

Regardless of how reliable they really are, the general perception is that they are awful, 20 years ago even those that hated BM's would grudgingly admit the reliability was pretty impressive with 100k being easily achieveable when most jap bikes would be pretty tired / blown up by half that.

The GS is a low power bike, twice the size of a Jap 600 with about 25% less power, it should last forever, R6's reliably get beyond 60k these days, I know of several ZZR's that have topped 100k, and GS models are having major failures at under 10k and loads of electrical gremlins leaving broken down GS models littering the coutryside like errant crisp packets.

Not just the GS either, the California Superbike School are running the new 1000's in the US and have already blown several up, in the UK they have been running R1's for ten years with very few problems and have certainly not had any con-rods coming out to say hello.

BMW need to up their standards before it is too late, although perhaps it already is

how come, in the face of such compelling evidence, you were still dumb enough to buy one?

someone who goes into such a massive tailspin of worry as you seem to have done, maybe should have bought a honda, or perhaps stayed at home with the curtains drawn and the doors locked?

 

[BBB61]

I bought the wrong GS.....................simples

corrected for you Johnny

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Warranty Direct quoted me £248 year which includes 25% discount off the usual price of £330. Does not include breakdown cover, but I am with the RAC.

BMW cover £283 + £100 excess, no breakdown in that price.

WD are cheaper but which is best for overall service, are they about the same?

I'd stick with the BuMW offering. The servicing cost should be fairly small between a decent dealer and Joe Bloggs on the corner and BuMW will look much more positively at a warranty claim using their policy.

In my experience, insurance backed warranties don't offer the same service and will squirm like feck to avoid paying at all.

 

[wreck diver]

how come, in the face of such compelling evidence, you were still dumb enough to buy one?

someone who goes into such a massive tailspin of worry as you seem to have done, maybe should have bought a honda, or perhaps stayed at home with the curtains drawn and the doors locked?

Probably the same reason you are dumb enough to miss the point here.
Rasher hasnt said he doesnt like the bike,just the fact that we are all being short changed on the build quality front.
I have owned many BM,s over 30 years and a couple of Triumphs.
I havent found a bike i like more than the GSA ,but i still think BMW can and should do more to get the basics right.

 

[cookie]

Probably the same reason you are dumb enough to miss the point here.
Rasher hasnt said he doesnt like the bike,just the fact that we are all being short changed on the build quality front.
I have owned many BM,s over 30 years and a couple of Triumphs.
I havent found a bike i like more than the GSA ,but i still think BMW can and should do more to get the basics right.

did i say he didn't like it? i don't think so. never said reliability couldn't be improved either.

neither did i miss the point.

rasher has stated that he had been informed of bmw's apparently widely known shortcomings before purchase, yet still went ahead and bought one. fair enough, but over the course of several threads has expressed a lot of concerns about the bike. hardly unexpected when he says himself:

"When first talking to people about thinking of buying a BMW I had loads of tales of them being complete dogshit, mainly from bikers who had never ridden them, but a couple of ex GS owners warned me I would regret buying one, nobody reckoned them to be reliable.

Regardless of how reliable they really are, the general perception is that they are awful"

the point is why go ahead, if you're the kind of person that is going to worry afterwards? the advice he received was hardly ambiguous, was it?

in a couple of related threads, i have tried to reassure rasher regarding the issue, but i think it's rather fallen on deaf ears.

 

[Wapping]

As this thread proves, the great thing about extended warranty is that punters can play underwriter.

They can assess the risk in the three classic areas of exposure:

Frequency. How often will breakdown of component XYZ occur over the next 12 months?

Severity. What will happen? Will the component be easy or difficult to mend? How long will it take to complete?

Cost. What is the likely financial implication of the repair of component XYZ?

Just like any other underwriter at Lloyd's, punters can pit their wits against the market and compare their estimation of the three measures against, say, BuMW's estimation.

BuMW extended warranty estimate the premium for the exposure at £300 (or near enough) a year, so less than a pound a day.

If the punter estimates it at more, then they should consider buying it.

If they estimate it at less - or believe that BuMW should not sell crap motorcycles in the first place (a failing which should push the exposure and hence the price of warranty premium up, not down, for everyone) - then they should think about not buying it (or the motorcycle) at all.

 

[Rasher]

I bought a bike I really liked, if Honda made a decent competitor I would have bought it, ditto any other manufacturer, in fact a Tiger narrowly lost out due to feeling a bit cramped.

I think BMW are relying on no-one having a bike so rounded these days, I think Ducati have come close for anyone who does not want any proper off-road ability, but somehow can't see that being any more reliable and certianly not cheaper to run.

Lots of great things bring worry, bungee jumping, parachuting, Scuba Diving, Rock Climbing are all great fun, but potentially dangerous, it is a case of risk Vs reward.

I am concerned, but have tried to mitigate risks with getting a tidy, low mileage model with a years warranty, does not mean I am gonna bleat on about how great BMW are because it is obvious standards have slipped.

But if they had not had the FPC / EWS issues and the FD's typically lasted at least 50k the bikes would probably be classed as indestructible, just like they once were and I would have been happy to pay the premium for BMW ownership and probably been as smug as BMW owners of days gone by.

 

[bod]

All I know is my choosing to not take an extended warranty has saved me £900 so far - so a biggie in the future is already paid for!

No ABS or Electrical "Dynamic Pack" crap to worry about. Final drive rebuild for about £300, spare FPC & immobiliser workaround under the seat . . .

. . . I'm chilled about the whole thing!:cool

I don't know why Rasher ever got a 1200 either? He's been banging on about how shite they are forever - You'll give yourself an ulcer fella!

I only ever buy compulsory insurance!

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

corrected for you Johnny

Nope...............you sir are entirely mistaken

I am very happy now with my choice of GS, having had every model of the boxer GS range and given them thorough scrutiny, I have evaluated them and made my choice

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

I bought a bike I really liked, if Honda made a decent competitor I would have bought it, ditto any other manufacturer, in fact a Tiger narrowly lost out due to feeling a bit cramped.

I think BMW are relying on no-one having a bike so rounded these days, I think Ducati have come close for anyone who does not want any proper off-road ability, but somehow can't see that being any more reliable and certianly not cheaper to run.

Lots of great things bring worry, bungee jumping, parachuting, Scuba Diving, Rock Climbing are all great fun, but potentially dangerous, it is a case of risk Vs reward.

I am concerned, but have tried to mitigate risks with getting a tidy, low mileage model with a years warranty, does not mean I am gonna bleat on about how great BMW are because it is obvious standards have slipped.

But if they had not had the FPC / EWS issues and the FD's typically lasted at least 50k the bikes would probably be classed as indestructible, just like they once were and I would have been happy to pay the premium for BMW ownership and probably been as smug as BMW owners of days gone by.

Rasher, you're obviously not cut out for BMWs...........

You fell for the marketing hype

You very obviously bought the wrong bike

It's something that is hard to explain..................but I'll try

15 years ago, all I bought was Triumph and Jap bikes previously

I bought a new R11GS

It was slower and less powerful than all of the other similar bikes around

BUT...................it was the sum of the parts, that made it a great bike - I kept it 3 years and had zero warranty claims in 36,000 miles (the most I'd ever used a bike - I used to be a typical Jap owner who did 3k per year) - I couldn't stop riding it and loved it

I was hooked.....................BMWs were so much more advanced than other bikes in ergonomics, function and design............they had stepped out of the horsepower race

No more oily chains, no more unadjustable bikes

BMW produce something which I could tailor to me

Plus BMWs had soul, lacking in a lot of other offerings

As long as it's a BMW...................I don't care if it's a 1100/1150/1200 variant of RT Tourer, a Roadster, a Cruiser, a S Sports Tourer......................they are all great bikes in their own right

Hard to explain.......................but you have to understand the Motorrad breed............to love them

You sound like a typical 1200GS owner who bought it just because of the marketing hype and will sell it just as quickly

I doubt you'll be here....................12 months from today's date

 

[Rasher]

You sound like a typical 1200GS owner who bought it just because of the marketing hype and will sell it just as quickly

Oh you know me so well, no hold on, I don't think we have ever met, perhaps you have some mystical powers, um, no not that either, you must be one of them "know-it-all" types then.

What marketing hype? I did not read any, certainly don't fall for such guff myself, never have, I buy what I want and when I want and keep it as long as I want.

So far I love riding the GS, I am no fashion victim, if I still like it in 12 months I will keep it, maybe for several years, I have kept bikes for years in the past.

The reason I bought it was my mate Ninja biker told me how great they were so I thought I better ride one just so I could tell him he was a moron, which I could not do without actually riding one as I am not a know-it-all lucky enough to have been born knwoing everything.

I also have the ability to admit when I am wrong (or misinformed as I prefer to call it) riding the GS was great, I tried a Multistrada and Tiger but as you do rightly point out the GS is actually far more than the sum of it's parts and unreliable as some of those parts may be, they do form a rather remarkable motorcycle, hence I parted with my hard earned.

Now if you can be so kind as to provide me with this coming weekends lottery numbers I promise I will have one in twelve months and possibly buy you a new one as well

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Good day for

 

[mark2jag]

Just my 2pence worth, but....

Just had my 12000 miles service and my 2 year warranty is up. The bike has had a faulty ring antenna, tyre pressure gauge in the wheels, and rear disc but thats it. Bike rides well and looks new. The extended warranty for one more year is £310 or £29 month.

Just would like to know the general consensus about this please?

OK this is my opinion. this is a forum, and generally anyone who has a fault with their bike lets everyone know about it on here (AND HOW!!!!!) Of all the maybe hundreds and thousands maybe of GS's that are sold what %age do you think develop serious faults, out of warranty.......... ERR yeah good point go get the extended warranty, and do it now!!!!!

No, but seriously, there are literally thousands of GSes running round some with high mileage on that havent needed such a warranty,so whats the real world chances of it going tits up, ......................

I think i've talked myself out of the "Nah mate she'll be right"!!! argument


BUGGER!!!!!

 

[karnevil]

I like my GS.
The 1200 model was my first and only expierience with BMW.
Yes I did buy my first in 2004 when the hype with Boorman/McGregor was at its height and yes I was aware of it and yes I do confess to enjoying said programs.
Did that/those series/Celebs influence my purchase?No.
I had always had a sneaky liking for the GS since the 1100 and I just loved that lime green.
In 2000 I had a Doctor induced heart attack which clearly was gonna lead to compensation.A new bike,which I could tour on travel less well used tracks on etc and which didn't show me as "Here's me head.me arse is comming" is what I wanted.
ZX12R,Tiger,TDM,and BMW GS were my short list bikes.
Although I knew I would get the cash I did not know when.
The payout coincided with the release of the 1200 I liked the look,I liked the feel,I liked the accessories most of all I liked the dealer(SSB).
So I bought one,CASH.
It went wrong ALL the time.Very dissapointing to say the least but the support from SSB was great.
BMW exchanged the bike,for the one I have now,and it has been relativley OK a few issues but has always been sorted on warranty.
I chose the extended warranty.I'm into my third year with it and am still ahead (about a years premium)due to having servo/abs unit replaced.
I look at it like this £7.00 week and no excess to pay means 2 pints a week less over the social club which I find an OK exchange.
I know I have to have it dealer serviced but I had already promised myself I would have the bike dealer serviced when I bought it and the intention was to keep it,so I am gonna discount those figures.
I dont have a load of cash to splash and I know it can be argued that the warranty is dead money but drippy,drippy I can afford it,a major breakdown,engine,geabox FD,etc and that for me is a show stopper plain and simple.To repair would mean a loan and that would mean interest which would be even more money.
I'm sticking with my GS and my warranty.

 

[Beemerman59]

Everyone has there own way of looking at these things. I don't take out extended warranty on anything I buy be it TV's, washing machines, HiFi's etc etc., and including the GSA. By now I'm thousands of pounds better off. Some you lose but most times I have won on the deal. I'm saving anywhere between £600 and £800 per year by not having the extended warranty and doing my own servicing. I'm lucky in that I have another bike I can use and being reasonably competent at home wrenching I feel I can tackle most things if I have to. But more importantly than the money, for me, the pleasure I get out of working on my bike is the main reason for doing it - it's part of the reason I ride bikes. Many of my friends are happy to put their bikes in for dealer servicing etc and thats fine. They prefer to pay someone else to service their bikes and cover it in ACF50 and thats fine to. I prefer to do it myself, partly because it saves me money but mostly from the enjoyment of doing it. This isn't a decision over the right way or the wrong way of doing something because neither applies. Thats why these threads always go on for so long because there isn't a definitive right or wrong answer.

 

[haydw]

That is probably true. But your real loss was not two grand. It was two grand, less the cost of the warranty itself, less the difference in the cost of avoiding dealer based services. That much lower net figure is then spread over the two years (or whatever it was).

It is the sudden painful hit of a two grand or more bill that warranty insurance lessens. It does not prevent the event itself occurring, nor does it cover everything. You gambled and lost, that is all. Lloyd's of London makes the same unlucky calls every day. Had the event not happened (or the coin landed the other way up) you would have been quids in, for sure.

True. I decided to buy a bike private sale, service it myself, and have been stung by unreliability. Given a choice I would rather spend the £2k a little at a time rather than all at once though.

Not a gambling man, but at shortened odds of 12/1 to win, Wagner looked like he was a novelty joke act. Those who backed him at 100/1 might have the last laugh yet just to p*ss off Simon Cowell as a protest against the inane rubbish that masquerades as music these days..... just shows how sometimes a gamble works in your favour and sometimes it doesn't.