You couldn't make it up...

Hey all, posting this mostly for a laugh, cause if I don't laugh I will cry haha

So you may remember I had a thread a while back as I was considering rejecting my 1250GSA due to the engine problems, then the problems with the new engine and so forth. COVID struck and after debating I decided "Paul, it's fixed now, it's got warranty, just ride the damn thing and enjoy it, if it breaks, it's under warranty still".

So as travel restrictions eased myself and my wife booked a trip to the Alps for 8th August partly to get away and also cause I was so happy to be finally keeping the bike and generally happy. I ended up buying the full luggage set and some other bits and bobs and was generally a happy chappy.

One problem that has been niggling is a bluetooth issue with the TFT, I know alot of people complain about various headset/phone combos about music quality and dropouts etc, but I hadn't intended to use it for that just yet, mainly to record my rides on the app and also the SOS feature which was one of the many reasons for buying the bike etc.

Anyway, my issue is more fundamental, the bike is forgetting it's paired devices almost everytime I turn the bike on and I have to go through the whole pairing process everytime. If I forget, the ride isn't recorded and the SOS feature won't work. Booked it into Williams BMW 2 and a half weeks ago to be looked at ahead of our impendng trip figuring it would probably be a software update/reflash or at worst a TFT dash replacement.

They were able to consistently replicate the issue, with multiple phones/headsets, BMW Technical got involved and I got a call on Monday from the After Sales Manager at Williams saying that BMW Technical have been talking to BMW Germany, they have been aware of this issue on a small number of bikes for some time now, there is no point swapping the dash as it won't fix it. There is no fix and it currently cannot be rectified. BMW Technical recommended I go to the supplying retailer (Marshall) for a replacement bike Apparently BMW UK will fully support this.

Apparently this issue is so fundamental that there is no part that can replaced to fix the issue. I'm flabbergasted to say the least. So I rang Marshall who said the current bike has to be rejected to begin the process, ring BMW FS and they need to take 3-5 days in order to even assign someone to decide "if I have grounds to reject". Marshall can't really do much and apparently I cannot obviously increase the mileage on the bike and go on my impending trip to the Alps if I want to pursue replacing it.

Basically I'm being forced to choose, either forget my trip, lose a shed load of money and get the bike replaced, or accept that the bluetooth is never gonna work and just take it. I know some will say "It's f*cking bluetooth just ride the thing and forget it" but for me now it's the principal of it.

Ugh.

My take is that if you have been told BMW will support the replacement then the rejection process has already begun at their initiation

Speak to someone at BMW ( not the dealer ) explain the situation and let them move the earth for you as they should

I dont understand why Williams cant get involved and do the swap after all its BMW that are bearing the cost

Wow, to quote Martin Brundle “if you didn’t have bad luck you’d have no luck at all”. Did / can Williams give you something in writing from BMW, or can you get a contact there? There’s no great incentive for Marshall’s to help, especially after it was another dealer who has been dealing with it, but if you can put direct pressure on BMW yourself then you might manage to make progress. Shouldn’t be that hard to find a new bike in a day or two given the size of BMW.

Good luck with this, it will be interesting to see how you get on.

At the very least, a suitable loan bike should be made available to you so that you don't lose your trip.

RedRick Esq. said:

My take is that if you have been told BMW will support the replacement then the rejection process has already begun at their initiation

Speak to someone at BMW ( not the dealer ) explain the situation and let them move the earth for you as they should

I dont understand why Williams cant get involved and do the swap after all its BMW that are bearing the cost

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Apparently because BMW FS "own" the bike they have to initiate it and "investigate" the validity of the request. Williams can't get involved because my contract of sale is with Marshall. Basically noone seems to want to do anything more than the bear minimum to help me.

GreatScot said:

At the very least, a suitable loan bike should be made available to you so that you don't lose your trip.

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Loan bikes can't be taken abroad apparently...

Tricuspid said:

Wow, to quote Martin Brundle “if you didn’t have bad luck you’d have no luck at all”. Did / can Williams give you something in writing from BMW, or can you get a contact there? There’s no great incentive for Marshall’s to help, especially after it was another dealer who has been dealing with it, but if you can put direct pressure on BMW yourself then you might manage to make progress. Shouldn’t be that hard to find a new bike in a day or two given the size of BMW.

Good luck with this, it will be interesting to see how you get on.

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My friend said "Paul, if you fell into a bucket of t1ts you'd come up sucking your thumb".

Why can't you just do your trip and, when you get back, raise the issue again and say you want it fixed now, citing the previous report.
If BMW say "there's still no way to fix it" then your in the same position, just a few weeks and and enjoyable trip later.

It's not like your warranty is going to run out while you're away, and I can't see how anyone could claim that riding the bike a few hundred miles would exacerbate a bluetooth issue...

SPL said:

Why can't you just do your trip and, when you get back, raise the issue again and say you want it fixed now, citing the previous report.
If BMW say "there's still no way to fix it" then your in the same position, just a few weeks and and enjoyable trip later.

It's not like your warranty is going to run out while you're away, and I can't see how anyone could claim that riding the bike a few hundred miles would exacerbate a bluetooth issue...

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Fsir point and something I floated the idea of. Apparently because I've been told that the issue cannot be fixed and that the recommended course of action is to replace it needs to be done now, with the bike having 2400 miles, if I go on my trip and return with it having 5000 miles on it, then the inference is that I'll just have to accept that until a fix is found (maybe never) that the replacement option is off the cards.

peejay1977 said:

Loan bikes can't be taken abroad apparently...

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Yes they can. I've taken BMW loan bikes to France before, without issue. It's at the dealers discretion.

peejay1977 said:

Fsir point and something I floated the idea of. Apparently because I've been told that the issue cannot be fixed and that the recommended course of action is to replace it needs to be done now, with the bike having 2400 miles, if I go on my trip and return with it having 5000 miles on it, then the inference is that I'll just have to accept that until a fix is found (maybe never) that the replacement option is off the cards.

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Their words are "it needs to be replaced now" so tell them to bloody well get on with it then.

Ask for a refund of your money and then go and buy a proper bike, you know the sort, one that works as described in order to get YOU to become separated with your money, seems they need to be reminded of this in a rather spectacular way.

Maybe go to other dealer explain situation, get another bike from other dealer no cash to pay, and leave your broken bike as guarantee for BMW to deal with, and refund goes to new dealer, my thinks.

The Nutty Duke said:

Yes they can. I've taken BMW loan bikes to France before, without issue. It's at the dealers discretion.

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As Nutty said , you can as I too have taken one all the way to Spain , it only had 350 miles on it when they dropped it off.

I feel your pain - this was me, 2014, only with a 2012 K1600GT (front damper, then gearbox)

I couldn't manage to spring a loan bike either - apparently the mother-ship usually can provide though, but press fleet demo stock was all out on the road due to the RT recall back then. So there was little option but to use my old Electraglide instead & the old bus didn't miss a beat, even with some K16 style demanding legs & high mountain pass routes.

The trouble is, you know that if you don't reject the bike, you will never be happy. Once my K16 was fixed, after a 3 months wait, £8k of warranty work & £500 compo, it just had to go - I just grew to hate the sight of the fekker, such was the level of disappointment, so I switched to an FJR1300AE instead, which has proven utterly reliable & fault free.

Why not get down & dirty with BMW CS - they must have referenced the case, so reject the bike through Marshall as a formality & let them do some legwork to get a bike underneath you urgently for the upcoming trip.

Thanks for the comments all, it seems that with this 6 way conversation (Me, Williams, Marshall, BMWFS, BMW UK, BMW Germany) that everyone is standing there citing the "process" and noones willing to bend over backwards. Not a single suggestion of a resolution has been made despite me making suggestions of my own.

It seems noone at BMW (at any level) has any desire to make this anything short of as painful and time consuming as possible, which sadly is the ongoing theme since buying the bike. The dealers themselves have always been pleasant to deal with but it seems that noone is willing to go out on a limb to offer help.

I've been in contact with BMW CS online and on the phone and I just get fobbed off by being told it needs to wait for BMW FS to make a decision and this will take "some time to complete".

What??????????

My rejection was started on 10 March 2020 (initiated by dealer) and agreed with BMW UK on 12 March 2020.

My understanding is BMN FS are a separate company and all they want is the finance to be settled. The rejected bike is valued and usually bought by a dealer(usually the dealer involved) and then BMW UK stump up the shortfall to BMW FS and return the customer monies ie. deposit and instalments made on the PCP.

Stevie900 said:

My rejection was started on 10 March 2020 (initiated by dealer) and agreed with BMW UK on 12 March 2020.

My understanding is BMN FS are a separate company and all they want is the finance to be settled. The rejected bike is valued and usually bought by a dealer(usually the dealer involved) and then BMW UK stump up the shortfall to BMW FS and return the customer monies ie. deposit and instalments made on the PCP.

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Thanks for that info!

I've been told that if there is a shortfall it's for me to fund, also I've been told that if a like for like replacement cannot be found and a new bike has to be supplied, I will also need to fund the difference.

peejay1977 said:

Thanks for that info!

I've been told that if there is a shortfall it's for me to fund, also I've been told that if a like for like replacement cannot be found and a new bike has to be supplied, I will also need to fund the difference.

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I think that is bollocks !

RedRick Esq. said:

I think that is bollocks !

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I'm inclined to agree! I don't see why I should have to fund a rejection/replacement of a bike that cannot be fixed and has been agreed it cannot be fixed, even by BMW Germany lol

Also noone seems to care that in 8 months of ownership I've been without the use of the bike for 8 weeks.