I try to support the dealer where I bought my bike, but sometimes I think I'm being taken advantage of, at least to some degree.
A specific example I can discuss is with tire replacement. I had two Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT's put on the bike last spring and was charged (with taxes) $800 by my dealer. Looking at the invoice, it seemed to me that the dealer had marked up the two tires by a total of around $150 over what I would pay for the tires if I bought them elsewhere.
I need tires again now, so I contacted all of the BMW dealers in the area (I'm lucky enough to have access to 5!) to get quotes and they all came in in the same ball park (+/- $75).
But, I've now found a non-BMW service shop with a great reputation, who have a BMW certified master mechanic, and they are doing them for me for $600. I spoke to the guy at the non BMW shop and he knows his stuff.
Am I expected to pay a $200 surcharge to support my dealer?
I have a similar issue with some of the basic service visits (oil changes with a few other simple tasks) seem to run $300 or more. I'm still going to the dealer for those because the bike is still under warranty, but I'm strongly leaning to going with non-dealer servicing once the warranty is up - at least for the things I would consider simple.
What do you guys think?
A specific example I can discuss is with tire replacement. I had two Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT's put on the bike last spring and was charged (with taxes) $800 by my dealer. Looking at the invoice, it seemed to me that the dealer had marked up the two tires by a total of around $150 over what I would pay for the tires if I bought them elsewhere.
I need tires again now, so I contacted all of the BMW dealers in the area (I'm lucky enough to have access to 5!) to get quotes and they all came in in the same ball park (+/- $75).
But, I've now found a non-BMW service shop with a great reputation, who have a BMW certified master mechanic, and they are doing them for me for $600. I spoke to the guy at the non BMW shop and he knows his stuff.
Am I expected to pay a $200 surcharge to support my dealer?
I have a similar issue with some of the basic service visits (oil changes with a few other simple tasks) seem to run $300 or more. I'm still going to the dealer for those because the bike is still under warranty, but I'm strongly leaning to going with non-dealer servicing once the warranty is up - at least for the things I would consider simple.
What do you guys think?