Newbie - Service info and advice

The number of services per year depends entirely on your mileage.  The annual service can be combined with another service - if you only do 10 000 km in the year, then you do the annual and 10 000 in one go.  During the annual they replace brake and ABS fluids, and this must happen at least once a year, regardless of your mileage.

There are some things you could do yourself, but:

1. all the dealers in the Cape give excellent service at very cost-effective prices, and
2. unless you have a qualified BMW bike mechanic working on your bike (someone like Alf) you are taking a chance and risking your life.

BMW services are not expensive.

Although I don't see a need for the annual service if your bike is out of warranty, it's only essential if you still have the warranty. Like Charles said it can be combined with the usual services.

You can bring down the service costs by doing the small things your self, change air filters, oils, etc.

Could'nt agree more with Charles.  My bike is no longer under warranty, but for me it's also a matter of safety.  I would prefer a qualified BMW mechanic to work on my Baby.  In my opinion you will more likely get better customer service at one of the dealerships as opposed to a private guy. 

My bike is current in for service, and believe me, my quote was waaaay under R4000 - in fact, not even close AND I have to replace my battery.

Expensive is probably a relative term. Harley's are serviced @ R2500 ish every 8-10 000 km. But no annual service I am aware of. Triumph are serviced @ R1800ish every 10 000 or year.

Granted they are not German engineered, however, it seems as if they are less expensive? Anybody have any ideas what Japanese bikes cost to service? Would be good to compare . .

Was this for your 10 000 km service or your anual, or for both? What does an average battery go for these days? I read somewhere they used to cost approx R900 ?

I'd say the average service is less than R2k... and the annual is about R1200... depends on the bike obviously.

Batteries don't need to be replaced often. Most will last years.

The price varies model to model. My last (30 000) service cost a little more than R1400 for a 650 twin. The service prior to that  was R3500, including brake pads AND the annual service.  Why not give any one of the dealers in CT a call, tell them what bike it is, and let them tell you what an average service costs for that model?

I had my 2008 F650GS (same as Jeremy) 30,000km service done at Atlantic for around R1200. 

I originally started contacting all the dealers in my area via email. The response was firstly really slow. And then they all quoted me different prices. One would firstly think that email would be a great tool for quick and effective communication. I am not so sure.( Perhaps ze Germans ar besser  with ze actual machines, no? )

Regardless, I figured it would be a good experiment to find what people thought here. and also bring it to the attention to new users that the same service will cost you a great deal more, or less at different BMW branches, beware. Information like that the annual service and 10 000 km service can be done together(if you can plan it that way) was also omitted even after hinting if this was possible.  

I can understand that they are also running a business, but I find this a but underhanded. Some helpful advice that would save us money would go further in creating a sense of trust, especially to new customers.

I think you are being unfair to the dealers.

Quoting over the phone/ by mail is similar to guessing how long a piece of string is...your bike may have lots of extras which may need removal prior to servicing for example.

As to hinting about the annual being combined with a 40 000 km service....speak straight and clear, the person answering may not be an old hand and not know about this....you may teach them something.

I combined my 40k service with annual at Atlantic Motorad and no problem, they would not have known about when the annual was due, I simply spoke and all sorted....business is about relationships....start a good one with your dealer, and aim for the long term.

The customer is not always right, some of my past customers I would not refer to Mugabe, yet I have many I visit for a chat or have allowed a potential customer into their home to see our work!

I gave the dealers quite a specific piece of string to quote on. Also BMW head office advised me that different prices were applicable to different dealers. Factors like different oils and products also playing a factor. Head office obviously did not give me the specific prices, which is why I contacted them directly.

Padvink - our dealers are special to us and treat us well.  You are asking them to do the impossible:

1. sit at the PC and respond to emails instantly to satisfy the curiousity of non-customers like you when their workshops are full of bikes from paying customers, and there is a collection of customers at the desk having coffee and wanting to talk face to face after having taken the trouble to actually visit the dealer in person,
2. provide a quote for an unknown job on an unseen bike, that you would most likely hold them to when you bring the bike around, and they discover that the main bearing is gone and it is too dangerous to let you ride the bike like that, but they did not include the cost in the quote, and
3. sponsor club events and contribute to the community and website, when it can be a continuous thorn in their side because people like you find it all to easy to lob a criticism over the wall without actually taking up the issue with the dealer principal concerned.

If you want to cruise about on a shiny fancy machine, you cannot also fuss and fart about every single penny and where you can save a few ronts by taking the suppliers to the cleaners over trivia. 

OMG! This is so obvious I don't blame any dealer for not stating it explicitly.  I cannot believe the huge hullabaloo over the annual service.  This is not a new or unique concept.  You yourself stated 'Triumph are serviced @ R1800ish every 10 000 or year.'  Most cars have the same requirement.

Now, I bet you would be the first to complain if BMW changed your brake and ABS fluids at every service, even though it only needs to be changed once a year.  The tradeoff of not changing it every service regardless, is to require an annual service during which these fluids are changed.  It is bleeding obvious that this can be combined with another service (I mean, why should it not??), and quite obvious that the dealer won't know when it is due so you had better tell them.  And before someone asks, the brake fluid won't know if you change it a month or two earlier or later than a year - just so long as you do change it annually.

Ok, rant over.  

And the pot boileth over .  I've only ever dealt with one person at one dealership, (I can't comment on the others, but from what I've personally heard from folks and seen here on the forum, they're also top notch)  namely Shane at Atlantic, and he has ALWAYS been upfront, open and honest with me when it comes to the service. Their service levels are impeccable. If anything out of the ordinary has cropped up, I've received a call from them asking my permission to proceed with replacing a part that was not noticed when the bike was originally brought in.  

As I said earlier, the AVERAGE service for my bike, depending on k's, is between R1000 and R2000. I gladly pay it, knowing the job will be done properly and I have the peace of mind that if something DOES go wrong, I have recourse back to the dealer. I had an instance where some minor work was done on the bike by a "friend"... and he cocked up. The dealer gave me a light rap on the knuckles and repaired the damage anyway on the 30 000 service (free of charge, I might add!!)

It pays in the long run to build a healthy relationship with a dealer.

Gee what a response to a simple question or am I ignorant?

PadVink, a lot depends on the type of bike you ride, is it new or 2nd hand and is it a high mileage unit, does it have a BMW service record?

I ride a 1200 GS and have it serviced @ Atlantic. The first service (1000km) cost about R980-00, the 10K service, from memory was about R1,2 to R1,3K. 20K service including the annual was about R2,6K this was 1 year later. 30K service, January 2010, R1666-00. this included oil and air filter changes and the fitment/ balance of a tyre only. The actual service was only R890-00. Just remember to specify the annual service at the time of your normal service. BTW I change oil every 5000 km, by Atlantic @ about R450-00. that's just me.

The purpose for the annual is that brake fluid is hydroscopic and it is good practice, irespective of vehicle, the hydraulic fluids be changed yearly.

The main reasons I ride a BMW is very simple, Factory represened in RSA, Excellent after sales service (Cape Town) good parts availability ( even for the 1966 model) and "reasonable" prices, "equal" to most of the Japanese makes. And finally a very active, magic club with some of the finest people around. Yes we do have the odd person that is "different" afterall it takes all types to make a world.

Batteries, Thre are good generics around, skwizz this forum.

Should you so wish please do give me a call 083 463 4421 

My mommy always said I was her "special"boy .... maybe that's why I was sent to "special"school?? ;)

Thx for all your responses. My apologies for stepping on some toes too. As stated before I am a newby to BMW. My experiences and opinions are my own. I see some of you are very passionate about your dealers which is great to hear. My intention is not to insult any individuals nor dealers. -

Anyone want some great service in the Gauteng area? BMW Northside (Fourways). Also great prices. (Otherwise move to Cape Town as they seem to be very happy with their dealers there.)

- I really appreciate all the examples you guys have given so far. It really puts things into perspective.

No need to apologise PadVink, however we have had more than a fair number of people joining, and then slating a dealer, without having PROPERLY addressed their issue at said dealer, and ALWAYS the issue was well resolved after their doing so.

I did not think you were trying to insult dealers, but

Buying a bike and riding it IS going to cost money.....

Services on bikes are NOT free......( nor are quotes...)

Money CAN be saved: ride less and ride slower...great savings on tyres, brake pads and fuel...(common whinging topics).

Riding a bike IN traffic IS more risky ( downright dangerous in some riders cases)... save a bundle in repair and medical bills, get trained/ ride with due care!

If hungry, eat bread, an apple and drink water, if however someone wishes for caviar, smoked salmon, oysters truffels and French Champagne.... they ought to be a little manly, and not WHINE about the cost!

By the bike you really wish to ride, no matter if it is slow, or leaks oil, is unreliable, costly to run, if you love it buy it and enjoy, DONT buy a brand or a cost effective thing, buy with YOUR heart,rather than being a trophy hunter, ....got THE Iphone, THE watch, THE car, THE wife and now... THE bike.

Oh! PLEASE DO post a pic or x2 of what you do buy and a few trip reports afterwards, don't worry about NOT posting the running costs!

I keep track of all my expenses and the average cost of my service is R1,600 EXCLUDING extra parts that are needed.

So I can add about R1,200 when I need to change chain and sprocket during the service for example.

Shane at Atlantic always tries to keep my costs down and suggests alternatives where possible.

How many times the dealers have helped me with small things on the house?  I get my bike back from a service and notice little things that have been fixed or replaced at no charge.  Or I phone for a quote and get advice about where to source the equivalent part cheaper, or I take the bike in to fix something I broke while trying to fix it myself, and Shane teaches me how to fix it in future.

I don't know, how many times? And why are they doing things on your house? - My roof needs some work done, I'll give them a buzz immediately! ;)