Second Annual Service

[Mick753]

Well i dropped mine off this morning at my local dealer having fortunately hit the 6000 mile point over the weekend too, left it with them and got a phone call letting me know that it was ready at lunchtime.

However, it would appear that my 2014 bike has one of the dodgy sumps that I have read plenty about that has corroded that badly around the sump plug that it needs replacing........

Naturally my first comment on that is "oh well, at least the bike is still under warranty until November" to which I am told "ah well unfortunately the sump doesn't really fall under the warranty"

Obviously the next comments are all about how on earth a 2 year old bike that has been cared for and cleaned meticulously can need a sump replacement due to corrosion for anything other than it being a defective part, it certainly isn't wear and tear and by the service guy's own admission this happened to quite a few bikes, that fortunately let me straight into wanting to take it to BMW customer service who apparently he has a friend at that would sort it all out for me anyway.

So you have BMW one hand saying that it isn't a warranty fix even though they acknowledge (and it's all over the internet) that is a known issue, and then BMW customer service who seemingly "just hit some buttons" and there will be a new sump being fitted to the bike tomorrow along with new bolts, and new sump plug.

Straight away that tells me that BMW whilst not officially listing it as a warranty issue (probably because they would then have to either issue a recall of get their hand in their pocket for anyone that may not have noticed it) are quite happy to just sort the problem quietly, if that is the case i have no idea why the service guy didn't just sort it out instead of giving me the impression that I may have to pay for it

Which i certainly won't be!

Apparently my head bearings need nipping up as it was intimated to me that i may have been having a bit too much fun with the front end, bizarre given that I know how to check head bearings more than adequately and felt absolutely no free play or movement in them whatsoever, but i'll give them that one.

They did spot my brake pads being in need of replacing shortly however but that is a 5 minute job for me to do and not a half hour labour charge for them

 

[soofsayer]

Hi Mick,

BMW have an unofficial goodwill fund for every bike.

When a well mannered owner who looks after his bike and has it serviced by the dealership has a problem BMW uk can choose to make a financial contribution to help with a fix. The customer's relationship with the dealer, and the dealers relationship with the mothership are key to this. It's about politics and reasonableness. Not everyone gets the same outcome due to the variables mentioned above.

You are right about your sump and because you look after your bike and the dealer gets on with you (I presume you are a top bloke as you are a forum premier member lol) you get a good result, and rightly so.

Those who don't look after their bikes, shout and stamp their feet and avoid dealers for any work whenever possible to save money often find the goodwill is not forthcoming. And a dealer that isn't prepared to fight your corner for you will not help much either.

I base my comments above on personal experiences with BMW bikes since 2009. It may seem unfair and it is, but that's life .

 

[Mick753]

My only concern is not the possibility of a pitched battle with them when i go back down to collect my bike and find the bill having possibly gone up, it's the fact that a 2yr old bike which is spotless in practically every area can have a sump that is so badly corroded that they feel the need to replace it and yet it wouldn't be automatically covered under the BMW warranty given that there is a raft of evidence all across the web about this being a problem on all years of bike certainly up until the 3rd Gen, it's not even an expensive part seemingly either at around ?88 plus all the bolts that get changed with it (think there is something like 13 of them which probably bump the price up considerably ).

I was fairly optimistic of the result if i had need to go down the customer service route as there seems to be plenty of success stories on the web regarding this issue, but within a warranty period it shouldn't need to be an issue at all, it is not wear and tear after all.

I can understand it being an owners responsibility outside of the warranty

 

[DL84]

sounds like you got a result mick, I think they would be hard pushed to charge you now , as Jimmy said stick your ground tell them to get to if they start about money..... really surprised this isn't a recall never heard such nonsense sumps are not a consumable item, I have used my bike right trough the winter and sump seems fine? might check it agian to be sure, will they let you see the damaged one? mabey get some pics?

 

[Mick753]

Positive experience in the end as having picked up my bike this morning I am feeling that they looked after both me and my bike, ?246 in the end for a 6000 service including the brake fluid change which in all fairness likely wasn't done by the previous dealer last year and they replaced under warranty the sump and all the accompanying bits as well as the head bearings having found them to be a little notchy (I couldn't feel that though but seemingly the damper was hiding it well).

And I got the bacon roll and coffee which is customary down there on a Saturday morning.

A little higher than some places charge but it would have been ?200 without the brake fluid change