Servicing costs.

[bikergraham]

I'm not a happy bunny, bear with me while i explain and i would appreciate any feedback if you think i'm being ,um,tight,harsh,or just a grumpy old bugger.Earlier this year,probably 4 months ago i purchased from the main dealer a BMW R1200RT.Happy with that,excellent bike all good.Now,it's come to its service time,the bikes done a tad over 9K miles,so,wanting my bike to be 150% i upgraded to the 12000 mile service,including new front brake pads,all good so far,went in to pick it up and pay,now here comes the moan ,-£ 480,yes Four hundred and eighty pounds,WHAT ! I grudgingly paid took the bike home and studied the bill.£125.90 for a set of front brake pads.Air filter £26.95.Spark plugs £68.06.Taking bike for test ride £21.60.etc etc. Ive been charged £90 / hour labour,i have to say that the bike is running very well but the oil level was to high and i had a screw missing from the fairing and another left loose,that didnt inspire any confidence ,now in my book thats more than a little excessive and i have to say at that price in my opinion BMW are going to price themselves out of the market as i am now looking for a smaller dealer/garage for the future,providing that they can handle the resetting of the service electronics and reading the fault codes in the over safisticated can- bus wiring system.I do wonder if they've got me by the short and curlys or maybe i shouldnt have bothered at all ,and just stuck with my car.Is this a sign of the times !! Is this a government plot !! or am i just getting old ?

[scorcher]

Just sounds like Main Dealer prices to me. You don't get shiny showrooms from charging £35per hour. Find yourself a good Indi and enjoy the savings you make.

[Spug]

I completely agree with the previous statement, if you are not doing the bike yourself the a good independent garage is the way forward, they trade on reputation not smart suits and shiney showrooms so they tend to be much more realistic with prices.
Spug

[bambam]

Ocean BMW by any chance????

[billinom8s]

yeah, have to agree, you will be paying for stuff at main dealers through the nose. all the stuff in the service will have VAT on them and then they will stick VAT on the bill total.

kick off about the missing/loose parts saying you now have zrero confidence on what else they could have /have forgotten to do.

what area are you in ? I'm sure there is someone on here that will know a shop close to you that is trustworthy.

the thing about main dealer stamps is bollocks, so long as you get the shop who does the work to stamp your book you will be fine, keep al bits of paper for the stuff you buy for the bike and stick it in a folder. that'll mean more to any buyer than a load of stamps from a shop that has a bad reputation.

i wouldn't of been happy at that price for such a simple service.

[badgerKDD]

name and shame matey ;) !

[podrick]

Did you not ask for a quote before you had the work done?

[TLS-Moose]

Did you not ask for a quote before you had the work done?

That was my first thought! Surely you asked for a guide price for the cost of a "menu" service? Asked their hourly rate for labour charges? checked what was included in the service fee?

For a full, major service at a main BMW franchised dealer, I can see £4-500 not being considered overly excessive. I would imagine if you took a BMW/Harley/Ducati to Riders, or even a flagship Triumph/Honda/Kwack to Bridge or GT you would be in the same price range?

My only comment on all the figures you have quoted is the cost of brake pads seem a little high.

As said, if it's not a brand new bike, and you're not tied to franchised dealers for warranty purposes, find a trusted local dealer near to you and build up a relationship with them if you aren't inclined to get involved yourself (and not everyone is ... ).

As also noted, where are you, out of interest? others might be able to advise of somewhere to try.

At least you have learned one valuable (if expensive) lesson - if there is any doubt, ask what it's likely to cost prior to comitting

[Andy900]

I also thought How much ?? about the brake pads !!

[Kata]

Was the price JUST for the pads or include fitting and cleaning the brakes?! Hughly expensive if just parts. Might be worth checking how much you can get them for, then if the cost is a lot more, speaking to them about their "mistake". Garages do put a premium on parts but that is steep.

[bikergraham]

Thank you too all that have commented so far.I have considered all your opinions and agree that i perhaps have been a little um' nieve.It's been a few years since i've taken anything into a garage,[ car or bike ] for "work" ,as ive always done it myself save a couple of times for new bikes.I have always been of the opinion that if buying under 5 years old,that a vehicle needs to come with a full service, history preferably main dealer,it just says to me that this has been looked after and worth maybe the extra premium.I for one purposefully seek out low mileage top condition machines with a good history,but thats me.

Let me throw some light on the brake pads.The costing break down is as follows - Brake pads £46.46 x 2 [ twin disks ] fitting charge 10 mins @ £12 then VAT. It soon adds up!! I've just been on ebay and looked at a pair of E.B.C. pads for £21.28 a pair including shipping. Now,i'm not stupid enough to think that the B.M.W. ones were going to be that price but neither did i think i was going to have to pay £111.50 for a set plus fitting.Yes i know i should have asked ,thats ok ,i understand that ,but do i ask for a total breakdown of all material costs,then go on line and compare prices? i do like to get a deal and i would be the first to do a comparison check but really ,i didnt expect to pay nearly 3 times as much as a good quality set,well i spose we never stop learning ,i wont get cought twice !!

Has anyone used Crispys in Plymouth ? does anyone know of a good down to earth engineer with good knowledge and work ethics ? Thanks a lot for all your comments.

[Petstep]

I had the same issue with Bridge in Exeter for a major service on my Vstrom. Only difference is I asked for a quote, got told £550, and thought "sheesh" and went elsewhere, following recommendations on this forum. Did a good job

In future when I buy secondhand bikes I'll probably avoid main dealer stamps - poor quality, high price.

[nitram3]

HI CRISPYS IN PLYMOUTH IS AN HONEST GUY ,I TOOK MY BUSA DOWN TO HIM AND HE DIAGNOSED MY PROBLEM WHICH NO ONE ELSE COULD WELL NOT FOR FREE ANYWAY,SLIPPING DOGS IN GEARBOX, I WOULD TRUST HIM MYSELF NOT TO SKIN YOU AND HES £20 AN HOUR I THINK..

[mikem]

Recently had my zx9 serviced by riders for £150.00. Oil and filter service, general check over and adjusted the chain. Even gave me a ducati monster free for the day as I bought my bike from them a few years sgo. For a main dealer I thought that was not bad. Nice people too.

[AIS]

got my first service (12 months) with Triumph Taunton this week, Ive done a track day and a 10 day tour of the Picos this year, checked my pads on reading this, basically none existent , so changed them, £28 and 5 mins, at least ill have brakes to get to Taunton Now