New BMW Stores?

Let me ask a question. How much support do we take from our dealerships when we service our own bikes?

How much does a simple 3,000 mile oil change cost at a dealership?

I can get oil filters for $7.50, and oil for $5 a quart, and use pipe thread tape instead of a $1.25 crush washer. Since I am not at the dealership I am not tempted to buy anything else. So for less than $30 I have my oil changed.

DarkCloud said:

Let me ask a question. How much support do we take from our dealerships when we service our own bikes?

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What is the question?
I don't get it.

"Exclusivity" was mentioned as part of the BMW experience. Maybe for some but not for me- it is much more of a negative than a positive.

I had been out of bikes for a few years after selling a Honda and bought a BMW only because I could not find what I wanted in a J-brand. Specifically I wanted a sport tourer that was not water cooled, not excessively heavy and shaft drive. I hate being blasted by hot air off a rad fan (didn't mind it when I lived in the NE), for fun light is always better, and chains are the very worst part of any motorcycle especially if used daily. Ditched chains in the early 80s and won't go back that direction unless I add a crotch rocket or dirt bike to the garage. RT is in my garage because it is the only one I found meeting the required spec. Took me a while to get used to the way it looks.

What I would rate as positive for the "BMW Experience" is that although the nearest dealership is sparsely manned, folks are friendly and competent (used to sell Triumph and Piaggio also, not sure if they still do). Their mechanics have good reputations with local owners, also- haven't run into complaints about botched jobs or bad diagnosis- but they don't work on mine-too far away. Mostly its "BMW Non-Experience" for me except for factory fluids and that because Spectro makes good bike oils, not the "warranty"thing.

Excellent web forums are a welcome part of ownership but have nothing to do with BMW corporate. The brand seems to attract folks who really ride, many who are techically inclined and can write, so fast and reliable advice/info is only a few keystrokes away. Specifically BMWMOA, BMW Sport Touring and BMW Luxury Touring all have useful info. Wish I read German better- takes me too long to do much cruising. If there's a good Brit site I haven't found it yet- most of the UK stuff I see looks like it was written after spending too much time at the pub and the level of their technical discussion is below pitiful much of the time.

Like some of the sensible aftermarket stuff - eg the GS-911 and some good metal and plastic bits. There ought to be user affordable code readers/service set tools for all modern bikes but there aren't. And the factory service disc loadable onto a pc is also a helpful reference though perhaps a bit obtuse to those without adequate mechanical experience compared to the manuals for J-brand bikes I've owned.

Don't appreciate BMW forcing out small local dealers which is exactly what they have been doing - it doesn't improve service and parts access or sales and does me only inconvenience or damage as an owner- maybe it does something for BMW but its not obvious what that might be when a stronger dealer doesn't fill the void. Surely the cost of keeping a low volume dealer on the books is minimal. The former nearest one folded after being told they had to make a capital investment that was way beyond their means though they had been surviving on small sales including some other low volume brands, and service.

Actually the answer is that the service is the profit center. Without that, the parts sales over the counter come next, and probably the bike sales help little...except to get them out on the street wearing out tires and oil, etc.

Trickster said:

What is the question?
I don't get it.

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That's financial support. How much money would they have made if they had done the oil change opposing to doing it yourself with supplies not bought at a BMW dealership.

the last time I priced oil at the BMW dealership it was about $19 a liter, and a filter was over $20. That's a hundred bucks just for supplies. Add in labor and shop supplies, how much does the bill come to?

The same thing with tires and tune ups. Once you run off your shop's "bread and butter business" The shop has to survive on repair work and warranty work. Since you have got the motorcycle owners doing their own work, they will continue to do more involved mechanical work. Currently BMW wants over $3200 for a rebuilt transmission for an R1100. If you have it installed at a dealership, You are talking a days labor, a rear main engine seal, throw out bearing and a clutch plate. So in reality the bike probably isn't worth repairing. But, you can get a used transmission for under a grand and install it yourself. Most shops won't put in used parts.

Thats just the shop side of it, which also helps support the parts business.

I know the old adage, "If you can't afford toys then why do you want them"?

Really like the BMWON, they ask us to support their advertisers.

Jon, a true bottom feeder

There seems to be some intense pride in getting value without giving back.

The old adage I like is the one where "If you have to ask, you can't afford it".

PGlaves said:

Where any individual chooses to shop is their personal decision. But it is the height of hypocricy when the same individual gripes about how few dealers there are and how far away they are and then hypes the great deals they can find from some far-away big warehouse that sells everything from chinese tires to Belarussian chrome.

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I tend to agree but like Wally World and other box stores the big parts warehouses are like a turtle on a fence post - They did not get there by on their own. Someone is shopping there. Why do people buy at a motorcycle parts warehouse instead of their "local" (where ever that may be) BMW dealer? When looking for my bike the first BMW dealership I went to I vowed I would never set foot in again. I tend to be curious so I looked futher and found other dealers ranging from OK to very good. Maybe people get too much of the BMW experience and not look elsewhere. The dealer I presently go to, a BMW only dealer by the way, gets some flack on the BMW sites basicly I think for being successful. I never get an email or mailing from the dealer where I bought the bike and had it serviced for three years. The dealer I presently frequent is very proactive with promotional material, service, and events. I think some of the dealers crying foul just need to perhaps work their market a little more. Loyalty is a two way street give most folks a good reason to shop at your store and they will.

BMW is part of the blame here.

some of the common service parts prices are unreasonable.

Now i like to support my dealer, I have them do the annual, and I buy parts from them.

However, $16.00 or more for an oil filter, and almost $20.00 a quart for oil is excessive. I do not play at that price. I could live with Mobil 1 at $9.00 and BMW at $12, I could live with oil filter at $10.00, even $12.00 but....

some sanity is needed.

Rod

I guess I have always been the "oddball" when it comes to motorcycles. Sure I have had Yamaha's, Honda's and Kawasaki but my last few bikes have included Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and now BMW so I am used to driving for hours to get to a dealer. I will be taking my RT to Gina's in May for a brake fluid change and Gina's is about 100 miles from my house.