Warranty repair loan bike surprise

[Old Gregg]

As I posted earlier this week my 2008 1200GS had a problem with it's clutch which eventially failed in a big cloud of foul smelling smoke on the M621 in Leeds on Monday night.
Being too late to go to a dealer both the bike and I were recovered home. They came yesterday to take the bike to Alan Jeffries for repair. Since the bike is barely 18 months old and has covered 10.5k, the service guys at AJ say that, (as I assumed), will almost certainly be a warranty job since I can't wheelie, (on purpose at least), and I'm too mean to be wearing out tyres doing burnouts.

Anyway the shocker came when they said it could be mid July before they can look at it for me! As it happens I booked it in for a service about 3 weeks ago and the earliest date they had was the 22nd of June so they should be able to look at it for me then. They did say that while the service would be done then they couldn't guarantee how long they'd have to keep it. They said that if they got any free time between now and the service they would try to look at it for me but tbh I'm not holding my breath.

I use the bike every day to commute in and out of Leeds so I asked for a loan bike while mine was sitting for weeks in their workshop. They said they couldn't because you could only get a loan bike for a day; 2 at the most. I was a bit annoyed but I resigned myself to it.

Last night I was thinking about it and got a bit annoyed about the situation. I bought a BMW so it would be reliable enough to use every day in any weather. It has a problem which will be fixed under warranty and they were leaving me without wheels for an indefinite period of time. That's pretty shitty customer service in my book and I was surprised to find it at Alan Jeffries. They'd always been good in the past.
I phoned BMW Motorrad customer services this morning to querie it ad they said that they couldn't do anything for me since only the dealer could sort it out. They did say that it shouldn't be a problem for the dealer unless there were no bikes available. Armed with this info I phoned AJ again and after some discussion they told me they had an F800S I could have until my bike was fixed. I was happy with that; as long as it has 2 wheels I'd have taken it.

Unfortunately my satisfied smile faltered when they told me that I had to take one of two insurance options. The first is paying £15 per day and the second is the dealer insurance which is free but comes with a £1000 excess if the worst happens.

WTF?!

Surely when I'm left without my own bike because of a problem with either a leaking gearbox seal or a dodgy clutch I shouldn't have to fork out £15 a day or gamble on whether some nugget will pull out on me or I hit a patch of diesel on a wet roundabout?

Has anyone else encountered these conditions if you've had a loan bike while your own is having a repair done under warranty? How about that probable minimum 2 week wait for them to look at it? It seems like taking the piss as far as I'm concerned. Obviously things can happen with staff which is beyond their control but come on! It's supposed to be summer so I want my bike!!

 

[BBB61]

If you are insured through the BMW Motorrad insurance scheme then you should be able to get it covered via them. If you are insured with another insurer then it might be worth contacting them to see if you can get the bike covered on your own policy.

 

[Yellow Peril]

Last time mine was kept for any time BMW Mottarrad supllied me with a loan car from Eurocar so I would push BMW UK.

 

[John Armstrong]

Words from the BM tech who I called out a year or so ago was that you get 3 days hire car / bike and then you're on your own.

Why not buy a cheap bike for while yours is being fixed, hopefully sell it for less than a cost of £15 a day afterwards?

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Last time mine was kept for any time BMW Mottarrad supllied me with a loan car from Eurocar so I would push BMW UK.

Yep and they can keep extending (on a 24 hour basis) the hire of the replacement vehicle for as long as it takes the dealer to repair your bike

The 3 day window is there for the dealer to get the vehicles fault diagnosed/repaired and decide wether it is warranty or not

Speak to BMW Assist and ask them where your replacement vehicle is but be aware that whilst the first three days is free if the repair isn't warranty then you could be liable for any additional hire costs if you decide to keep the replacement vehicle. Your dealer should also be asking you for authority to look at the fault "subject to warranty"

If you do get a replacement vehicle via BMW Assist both they and BMW will be putting pressure on the dealer on a daily basis to get the repair done as it's BMW who will (if it's covered under warranty) be picking up the total bill

If all else fails go with the hire bike but like Bob says put it on your insurance .... If you're insured with BMW Motorrad then a hire/courtesy bike can be put on your insurance FOC whilst your bike is in for repairs or servicing

 

[vtr1000sp1]

I could be wrong but I think the £15 a day is specific to AJ’s. As you’re in Halifax you could always give Rainbow a call and see their lead time/courtesy bike policy as warranty issues can be done at any BMW dealer.
Cheers
Phil

 

[Account removed]

£35

BMW will pay you £35 a day to cover your costs up to 48 hrs.

Now that is BMW not the dealer so you could use the money to cover you for two days, you will the call out number that they give you when you call them out.

Hope that helps

 

[Drofsereb]

If you are insured through the BMW Motorrad insurance scheme then you should be able to get it covered via them. If you are insured with another insurer then it might be worth contacting them to see if you can get the bike covered on your own policy.

Agreed - It might be easier and cheaper to have your own policy changed to cover the loan bike meantime, although your broker might charge for changing the certificate details?? Worth a call though.

 

[red1]

I lost my front brakes on the RT in March whilst in Spain. Called BMW Assist, they sent a truck and took me and bike to San Juan. Dealer too busy that day so paid for taxi into Alicante and a VW Golf hire car was waiting for me. Had it until repair completed, just had to fill tank on return.

PS: Should've gone to Rainbow Never been charged for a loaner.

 

[skywalker]

As I posted earlier this week my 2008 1200GS had a problem with it's clutch which eventially failed in a big cloud of foul smelling smoke on the M621 in Leeds on Monday night.
Being too late to go to a dealer both the bike and I were recovered home. They came yesterday to take the bike to Alan Jeffries for repair. Since the bike is barely 18 months old and has covered 10.5k, the service guys at AJ say that, (as I assumed), will almost certainly be a warranty job since I can't wheelie, (on purpose at least), and I'm too mean to be wearing out tyres doing burnouts.

Anyway the shocker came when they said it could be mid July before they can look at it for me! As it happens I booked it in for a service about 3 weeks ago and the earliest date they had was the 22nd of June so they should be able to look at it for me then. They did say that while the service would be done then they couldn't guarantee how long they'd have to keep it. They said that if they got any free time between now and the service they would try to look at it for me but tbh I'm not holding my breath.

I use the bike every day to commute in and out of Leeds so I asked for a loan bike while mine was sitting for weeks in their workshop. They said they couldn't because you could only get a loan bike for a day; 2 at the most. I was a bit annoyed but I resigned myself to it.

Last night I was thinking about it and got a bit annoyed about the situation. I bought a BMW so it would be reliable enough to use every day in any weather. It has a problem which will be fixed under warranty and they were leaving me without wheels for an indefinite period of time. That's pretty shitty customer service in my book and I was surprised to find it at Alan Jeffries. They'd always been good in the past.
I phoned BMW Motorrad customer services this morning to querie it ad they said that they couldn't do anything for me since only the dealer could sort it out. They did say that it shouldn't be a problem for the dealer unless there were no bikes available. Armed with this info I phoned AJ again and after some discussion they told me they had an F800S I could have until my bike was fixed. I was happy with that; as long as it has 2 wheels I'd have taken it.

Unfortunately my satisfied smile faltered when they told me that I had to take one of two insurance options. The first is paying £15 per day and the second is the dealer insurance which is free but comes with a £1000 excess if the worst happens.

WTF?!

Surely when I'm left without my own bike because of a problem with either a leaking gearbox seal or a dodgy clutch I shouldn't have to fork out £15 a day or gamble on whether some nugget will pull out on me or I hit a patch of diesel on a wet roundabout?

Has anyone else encountered these conditions if you've had a loan bike while your own is having a repair done under warranty? How about that probable minimum 2 week wait for them to look at it? It seems like taking the piss as far as I'm concerned. Obviously things can happen with staff which is beyond their control but come on! It's supposed to be summer so I want my bike!!

God you don't want much do you! Would you like them to put petrol in for you as well?

 

[tommygun]

I guess its down to the dealer tbh. When my Caponord was down and out, the dealer gave me a bike for 6 weeks while repairs were done FOC. Ok - it was nothing great but it had two wheels and was quite fun to ride. You'd expect a bit more from BMW.

 

[wobber]

Good service that is Rainbow

All i can say should have gone to Rainbows my 08 1200 gsa has been in for repair for 4 weeks now (warranty work) never even had to ask for a bike they just asked what would i like even gave me a new 2010 gsa for a long weekend trip of 2000 miles (end 2 end) been running round on a 1200gs at no charge now that's service well done Rainbow

 

[Old Gregg]

God you don't want much do you! Would you like them to put petrol in for you as well?

So you'd be quite happy to have your 18 month old bike away for a minimum of 2 weeks for a warranty repair on a well known fault would you?

All I want is a loan bike so I can continue to travel to work as intended when I forked out the cash for it. Is that asking too much? I don't care if it's a 650; just whatever they can give me. why should I have to pay for it? I'm already paying for a bike that by definition of a warranty defect is not fit for purpose so I want a bike that is.

If I'd binned my bike then fine but when it's a warranty issue it is down to BMW.

 

[Old Gregg]

Thanks for the advice, (most of you).

I tried my insurance and they will not cover a loan bike. It did cross my mind to have the bike taken to Rainbow but it's too late now.

I'm off to AJ tomorrow morning to pick up a loan bike. I will argue the toss about the insurance face to face to see what can be done. Perhaps I can pay a fee to have the dealer insurance excess reduced from £1000.
I've had BMW cars before and the service has always been nothing short of excellent. I guess I expected their Motorrad wing to do likewise. With a bit of luck I'll have my own bike back soon.

 

[blobcat]

I've had BMW cars before and the service has always been nothing short of excellent. I guess I expected their Motorrad wing to do likewise. With a bit of luck I'll have my own bike back soon.

A friend at work had a blow out in his 1 yr old 525TD last week, it will be two weeks before he gets his car back as BM cannot source a tyre in France...

 

[Old Gregg]

Well I must take my hat off to the guys at Alan Jeffries and eat a large slice of humble pie. I went to AJ on Saturday morning and though I had to wait an hour and a half for it I was given an HP2 Sport until Monday night!
I'll get either a 1200GS or F800S from then until mine is fixed.

The HP2 Sport is unbelievable. I like sportsbikes and have owned a few ranging from a ZZR600 and ZX6-R to a 2006 R1. I've ridden gixxer thou's and gixxer 750's and nothing comes close to the HP2 Sport. It doesn't have the speed of the litre bikes but the grunt is still incredible. You'd barely believe that it shares an engine with the GS, (I know it's twin cam and can be found in the 2010 GS but it has a completely different character), given the grunt it's got. It is fully draped in gorgeous carbon fibre including carbon fibre heads and structural carbon seat unit, radial Brembos, Ohlins front and rear and the most glorious exhaust noise ever. It has a carbon mounted MotoGP style dash which looks awesome.
I had a word with the salesman who crunched the numbers and it could be mine for only £45 more than I'm paying for my GS! I've done well over 200 miles on it between picking it up yesterday lunchtime and now; 2.00 on Sunday. I'm just not sure it's the sort of bike you could use every day no matter what the weather. I'm getting divorced so the lack of a pillion seat isn't an issue but hopefully I'll bag myself a nice lady soon and it would be difficult. Having said all that it is without doubt the best bike I have ever ridden. It almost feels like it was made just for me.

I WANT ONE SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!

 

[GSmonkey]

........well the £1000 xs wouldn't go far on one of those. Isn't the belly pad £1,500 or something daft.

 

[Old Gregg]

........well the £1000 xs wouldn't go far on one of those. Isn't the belly pad £1,500 or something daft.

They did their £15 a day insurance for £15 for 3 days for me so all was well.

It is a thing of beauty.It's the perfectbike IMO. Unfortunately if it fell off the sidestand you'd probably have to remortgage your house. Carbon fibre heads, (not just covers), carbon fibre everything; no plastic anywhere except the screen. It's light as a feather and goes exactly where you want it to. If I didn't need a bike for everyday, all weather travel I'd have phoned the dealer at 9am this morning and bought it. It would be sacreligious to use that for commuting.

I'm gonna be disappointed when I get my GS back