BMW UK, you listening ?

[Timbox]

Looks like this section of the website is all mine.

Some of you may remember from last year of the gearbox trouble I started to have with my newly acquired F800GS, anyway its all fixed now under warranty, new Gear Selector drum, all 3 gear selector forks and rails replaced too, and lovely she is now.

I sent BMW UK an email basically having a moan about this being the second BMW in a row which had developed quite serious issues early on and that I didnt think it good enough and what about all the time/money I had wasted in having to organise collection/pickup etc etc.

I received a lovely condescending reply about them (BMW UK), being sorry about my troubles but that did I realise that my contract was actually with my supplying dealer and in fact it was them I should be moaning at.  I was pretty gob smacked to say the least

[bobtail]

Timbox,
If I were you I would have a chat with a certain Mr SLParry (of this site) when it comes to 'chatting' to Mr BMWMan he is the guru.
Bob

[Phmode]

What, so, like, innit all the dealers fault?

The dealer designed the damn thing?
The dealer out-sourced the damn manufacture of parts (to China) ?
The dealer assembled the (Chinese) bits?
The dealer built the damned thing into a bike?
The dealer did some PDI stuff? Well, OK!
The dealer had the temerity to sell it (them) to you? Hmm?

Brian (who can absolutely see why it is the dealer who Tim sould be shafting, legally correct as that might be)

[Costas]

The devils advocate: The dealers know well in advance what models present issues and they should be more careful protecting their customers especially the returning ones.
Finally the dealer must satisfy, correct all your requests he is paid well for that. Last trip to Majorca Spain organized by Motorrad had exactly this subject to protect and satisfy your customer. presentation of the latest models was a second. For  that reason they had asked for the presence of people interacting with customers and not the mechanics.
Not China gearboxes are made in India (good old Switzerland is no longer a supplier) starting 2013 when the 16 was launched.
Design flaws will become more and more frequent I'm afraid. Don't forget back in 2012 the then Motorrad president had stated:''We now in order to produce faster the newer models and become more competitive manufacture bikes that we aim that they return almost 60% of their value to the company in the form of parts and service bills in the first 5 years after the purchase, fifteen years ago the philosophy was completely different our target back then was 20% and had a time calculation of ten years, so things are changing rapidly, we for this reason need to train better our dealers almost as much as the mechanics if not better''
And of the inside information acquired.

[Phmode]

Christ on a bike! I think I like the sound of Chinese gearboxes rather than Indian ones.

Good to know the inside story, thank your man from all of us.

Brian (so there it is, straight from the horse's mouth, BMW are out to skin us in 5 years rather than 10  )

[Timbox]

Christ on a bike! I think I like the sound of Chinese gearboxes rather than Indian ones.

Good to know the inside story, thank your man from all of us.

Brian (so there it is, straight from the horse's mouth, BMW are out to skin us in 5 years rather than 10  )

Oh no, maybe Ill find a pair of mens underpants in the gearbox, like somebody found in a Chicken Korma in Bristol some years back.

[Teztec]

And I thought this was going to be a thread about how quick we ride our bikes

[Costas]

It is, how quick we ride bikes from dealer to dealer, stealer to stealer for some.

[JackSnipe]

In a similar vain to the sentiments expressed here, how much responsibility do the dealers have to us as customers ? Most I suppose are short term lookers and go for the profit but there is a but ... My big biking bollock was in 2011, when I bought a pre -  registered VFR1200 from my local dealer. The chaps that own the shop knew what a dog the bike is and would never choose to ride one themselves (Only found out after I purchased same) so I returned bike to them 2000 miles later at a loss,(VFR is like a whale on turn in and fueling is a pile of shite) I figured I would loose a whole lot more when more bikers found out this bike was a bummer so I got rid quick, however I do buy quite a bit of bike gear for me and my wife and I have taken that business elsewhere plus the first was the last time I buy a bike from this dealer. Also once the penny drops with the buying public that there are better bikes than Honda out there (Kawasaki IMHO rather than BM for most tastes) it will hit this dealer in the pocket. Look at Honda's car sales, on their knees.

JS

[Phmode]

A couple of years ago I happened to be travelling the world and calculated that my bike would have to have its 24k service way late, or, big intake of breath, I could have it serviced abroad somewhere; you know, little village blacksmith's shop in rural Transylvania, the local coach depot in Prague or, perhaps, the local BMW dealer in downtown......well, no names, no pack drill eh!

The bike was booked in on the advice of a very wise local man who frequented a forum to which I used to belong.

It was a revelation! Great welcome even though we arrived unexpectedly the evening before it was booked in and the service manager was about to leave to visit his sick father in hospital. Nothing was too much trouble.

Firstly, he sat me down with a coffee and asked me about the bike! What? He wanted to know its history, both official and unofficial. What did I use it for? How did I ride it? What the fuck? Of the three dealers I have used in UK, none have ever asked about the bike, or me, or how I ride!

I was convinced on the ride down that my ball-joints were going, again! He took me out to the bike and showed me how to check for sure; and he declared the joints A1. He also showed me how the judder I could feel was attributed to the floating discs chattering under hard braking.

The next day when I went to collect the bike, he went throught everything and also said that the bike battery test that he ran the evening before (when he was meant to visiting his sick father in hospital mind) showed some odd results so he left it on the car tester overnight. This is apparently more thorough and sensitive. Apart from the fact that the fluids were more expensive than in UK, the whole thing was amazingly cheap and thorough. When I commented favourably on the service, he explained that the BMW training put great emphasis on one thing with which he disagreed!

THE CUSTOMERS ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS, THEY ARE CUSTOMERS!

His attitude was a breath of fresh air and if it wasn't a three day ride and 1200 miles away, my bike would be going back there every time, and not just for the prices.

Brian (who thinks the attitudes of some marques will come back to bite them on the bum)

[bobtail]

Yep Brian there are some good, honest folks left out there but it's getting increasingly difficult to find them. The days of the independent who could just look at your bike and then make a professional judgement seem to be on the wain. I imagine that when we all started on our 'biking' adventures we all knew a place such as you have described. Which is a great shame.

Bob who is now feeling quite depressed.

[Phmode]

....and yet this was a BMW main dealer in a very large and cosmopolitan European city!

Brian (who thinks stranger things have happened at sea  )

[Costas]

Who is now also the main dealer for Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles too, hosting those facilities in the building next door, with an excellent head mechanic there too.

[midlife crisis]

reading between the lines is this a chance for a ride to Greece

Graham

[Phmode]

This is how the last one started!

Brian (who is saying nothing)