[grayfeather]

I've owned BMW motorcycles for several years. I'll keep the ones I have but I'll not be purchasing another and here's why;

BMW customer service stinks. The shop in my area could care less if they sell you a bike or repair the bike. Quality of BMW has gone down considerably. It used to be made right,and with care. Now it's as if BMW really could care less. My next motorcycle will be a Honda or Yamaha. BMW you were great at once, but until you wake up and smell the coffee, you can go fly a kite.

 

[andyc]

Don't write of BMW becuase of one bad dealer.

I bought my FIRST BMW 18 months ago, after a string of Jap and British bikes and my dealer has been second to none.

The sales experience was great, felt like a valued customer as soon as I entered the showroom, and they have since been efficient and very friendly, no problems with servicing and the few guarantee problems have been sorted without fuss.

When I wanted a satnav and visited the showroom prepared to spend £1000 on a BMW Navigator, I was shown the system and it was explained that I could get a better system, a lot cheaper, by buying Garmin. That sort of honesty gives you confidence.

They have occasional rideouts, free barbeques at the dealers, drinks at Christmas and my wife and I joined staff and other customers for a great night out at a local restaurant. Our normal stop-off on a weekend ride is the dealer's coffee bar where we can get decent espresso, a sandwich and a chat.

My GS is great but I must admit to a few quality niggles, no worse than any Jap bike but when I have commented that, for example, I did not expect the disc bolts to rust the response has been `book it in, we'll change them under guarantee'. When the top box came adrift and was damaged I expected `couldn't have fitted properly' but no, they did not ask, just changed the box and all the fittings on the bike for free.

The dealer is South London Motorcycles but I have found BMW service good overall. In Germany my bike had a brake problem so I phone the UK help telephone number at 11:30 PM expecting an `opening hours' message. The phone was answered straight away and arrangements were made to get the bike fixed the next day. I was back on the road by 10:00.

A phone call to the helpline at my home, when I had a small problem with alarm resulted in a BMW Rescue car outside my house in less than 15 minutes. It could not be fixed at home but it only took another 30 minutes for a truck to take it to the dealers to fix it. Then it was brought back to my house.

The bike is great, the dealer is great and the rescue serive is great. I doubt if I will be looking elsewhere.

 

[grayfeather]

Hey Bloke, I don't know if it occured to you but I don't live in England. BMW USA sucks! They continue to shoot themselves in the arse over here. I'm glad you have had a good experience, that is great.
In the USA BMW treats it's dealerships terribly, and several have had to shut down. There is one dealership in Memphis,Tennessee that is the arm pit of dealerships ie. poor service, old run down building, mechanics are terrible. But for some reason BMW USA keeps them up. I just do not understand it.
I'll continue to enjoy my R1100S but it will be the last BMW for me.
Ride safe and have fun.

 

[mortalez]

I have riding buddies with bmw's and they have no problem but they did not get there bikes at BMW dealers, but I'm in north tx so most motorcycle dealers sell more than one brand. you can get a brand new bmw, yamaha, or kawasaki at the same dealership. the exeption being the harley & victory shops.

 

[extro90vert]

I've had a K100, K1100, K12RS, two R1100S. I've always had good service at Gina's BMW in Iowa City, although sometimes the service manager has been a pain at times. If you have trouble with a dealer, find a new one. The bikes are fantastic, but the depreciation kills me. I buy 3 yr old cream puffs now and ride 'em to death for a couple of years.

Of course, it helps that my son is MMI grad and one of the best wrenches in the area.

At least everybody with a line of credit hasn't picked up on BMW. When clowns in sandals and cut offs start riding them I'll sell out and move on to Ducati.

 

[Jethrol]

Hey Bloke, I don't know if it occured to you but I don't live in England. BMW USA sucks! They continue to shoot themselves in the arse over here. I'm glad you have had a good experience, that is great.
In the USA BMW treats it's dealerships terribly, and several have had to shut down. There is one dealership in Memphis,Tennessee that is the arm pit of dealerships ie. poor service, old run down building, mechanics are terrible. But for some reason BMW USA keeps them up. I just do not understand it.
I'll continue to enjoy my R1100S but it will be the last BMW for me.
Ride safe and have fun.

They aren't all like that.

BMW of Oklahoma City ROX!! Very clean and new building, lots of motorcycles, great repair shop and very friendly people. I have actually gone there to just hang out and chat. They have always been helpful and friendly to me.

My only complaint, when I bought my helmet, I had to pay up front before they'd order it and I wasn't sure it would fit. Would have rather tried it before I bought it but oh well.

 

[Guest]

BMW support

In defence of the dealer...

Many years ago my BMW/Honda dealer dropped the BMW line, not because of the quality of the MC, but because of the trouble dealing with the factory/company.

This was when BMW was probably one of two top quality Motorcycles. My dealer experienced slow response from BMW (parts, motorcycle delivery, payment/reimbursement), was made to do outrageous amounts of paper work, and supply absurd proof that warranty work was valid, etc, etc.

They finally decided it just was not worth it to continue with the brand, and risk their customer ire and damage their overall reputation for both their BMW and Honda service because of BMWs business practices.

PS. I have never owned a BMW

Ride safe & long,
Colorado Fats

 

[jhawk]

BMW dealers....



FYI - If you are ever in the Kansas City area, an excellent BMW & Triumph dealer is Engle Motors. They have been in the same location and owned by the same family since 1956. I've bought my last 3 bikes there, as well as lots of gear over the years.

 

[FlyRide]

Just finished to read the thread. What comes to my mind is this:

• BMW is actually taking very seriously its image, especially now when they try to expand their customer base with all those new models.
• BMW has a reputation of service and quality, at a high price yes but nothing's free in this world.
• BMW do want to know about bad customer relationship, as they will change that. In Europe a bad dealership really gets his butt kicked by the headquarters when there are customer complaints.

Bottom line, send an email to BMW Motorrad in Germany, you'll see the effect. We paid top money for those bikes, top service is expected and BMW exec see it the same way... they like too much the profits!

And my story on the subject:
I'm from France but spend 10 years in Montreal, Canada. I got there my first BMW, the entry level F650GS. Been serviced for three years at Moto Internationale in Montreal, they never made me feel a "small" customer because on my cheapest choice. Then I moved back to Europe and got the big sister, the R1200GS in Lyon, France. Top rated service too at Euro-Motos, nothing to say about it but praises. Always got a rebate on the BMW clothes and accessories, even outside of the sales promotion times. Now, I'm in Stockholm, Sweden and it's winter. No biking (gasp!) but I couldn't resist a visit to the local dealership in Solna. Even if he knew I wasn't going to buy a bike really soon since I told them I would bring my GS next spring, we chatted a long time about the way to ride in Sweden. They talked about the roads, bikers habits and the like. Made me confident that they will to the scheduled maintenance properly when they will be due.

Drive safely and have a lot of fun, this is what it's about anyways

 

[cecilbdml]

I would think about Beemers (the styling is really retro/futurist cool), but have to stay off bikes with single-sided swingarms. They have a habit of chewing up the final drive when I try to test ride them. One actually had the rear wheel almost come fully off after a short, GENTLE trip around the block.

Guess us bigger types need to stick with something a little more conventional, even if it is harder to remove the rear wheel.

 

[Hooligan]

I'll continue to enjoy my R1100S

Good move and a gr8 bike. BTW I live near NYC and travel about 150 miles to go to a dealer I like, Max BMW. It is all about finding the right dealer.

 

[gatogato]

I will tell you one thing, the new BMW motorcycles are not made to hold up like the old ones. The modern 1200 gs´s have driveshafts that will fail every 50,000 miles according to the BMW master mechanic I just met.

 

[gatogato]

Also, I am riding on my 2001 F650 to Ushaia, Argentina right now. There is no way that I would have chosen this bike over again because it is simply to hard to find parts, tools, and qualified people to work on it.

I do still like my bike a lot though and I personally feel that there have been times where it has saved me from an accident.

 

[Ninor]

Have to concur with the others...my dealer in Greensboro NC absolutely rocks. They have gone out of their way repeatedly to make sure I've been happy...and their other customers report the same.

In fact they're so good I eschew the dealer in my home town and ride to G'boro to get anything I need.

 

[Ringo]

I've owned BMW motorcycles for several years. I'll keep the ones I have but I'll not be purchasing another and here's why;

BMW customer service stinks. The shop in my area could care less if they sell you a bike or repair the bike. Quality of BMW has gone down considerably. It used to be made right,and with care. Now it's as if BMW really could care less. My next motorcycle will be a Honda or Yamaha. BMW you were great at once, but until you wake up and smell the coffee, you can go fly a kite.

Bike service depends on the individual Dealer, BMW, Honda, Kawasaki etc… it does not matter what brand of bike it is, I do 100% of my own maintenance and 75% of my own repairs as do most after warranty BMW riders and I suspect most motorcyclists period, they are ridiculously easy to work on provided you have a manual and tools. As far as quality goes I’ve ridden Jap bikes all my live and they are the best bang for the money; however, my 05 Boxer is built like a tank and will outlast any Jap bike made. Don’t get me wrong I love all bikes; it’s just that having owned several Jap bikes and gone over my Buddy’s Harley “with a fine tooth comb” (where the hell did that phrase come from any way?) I can say with all due respect that the Beemer is designed better and built to last a lot longer. To say that Beamers suck just because your Dealer is a Wanker does the brand a disservice.

 

[soupandmicrobrews]

Im with Ringo on that one, i have a friend that rides 200 miles to my dealer because the one near him sucks, just get on with it and find a better dealer, p.s. dont kill the bike because of a bad experience with your dealer.

 

[Aerospacemaniac]

I too agree with Mr. Starr. Don't let a bad dealer color your perception of the brand in general. The guys at BMW Orlando were more than happy to take my money when they serviced my R1100S and treated me very well. I don't know about how they act when trying to sell a bike since I got mine from its first owner. But for the record, he was a very nice guy too.

 

[cloudrider69]

The dealer here in St Louis is great. They have treated me well, helped when I needed technical advice and found parts for my old K100 that no one else could. I have a feeling it is not BMW but the mind set of the people owning the shop. I agree that you should document the problems you have been having and send it to the BMW head office in Germany.

 

[aircap]

I've heard good things about the Kansas City BMW guys.

 

[mnrider]

I would echo Ringo, having nearly no mechanical experience, I find my BMW R100 fairly intuitive in maintaining. Anything beyond my capabilities, I can depend on a well known BMW mechanic; Charlie Johnson in MN..