Digtlartst
DigtlArtst
Agreed -- and it is better for a dealer to discover a manufacturing error than it is for you perhaps NOT to find it!
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Any good reason to have dealer do the 600 mile service ??
- Thread starter mosrrt
- Start date
Agreed -- and it is better for a dealer to discover a manufacturing error than it is for you perhaps NOT to find it!
bmwdean
BMW MOA co-founder
Yes.
flyhi2cfar
#102452 Sometimes Hangared... But Always Aimed Out
There you have it...
...the Dean has spoken! I'll add; every new owners last words to the dealer sales professional should be: "if you cover the 600mi service I'll take the deal"
"travel'n' john
...the Dean has spoken! I'll add; every new owners last words to the dealer sales professional should be: "if you cover the 600mi service I'll take the deal"
"travel'n' john
alancoles
Dress for fall & avoid it
Agreed, it is something that we often mean to do but sometimes forget.
I've previously in this thread stated that I think the dealer should do the 600 mile work, but am surprised that this is still going on and people are saying that they are good at this work themselves and wouldn't hand their bike over to anyone else because they've had bad work done in the past. My only comment to that is that they perhaps need to improve their selection process and admit that they may have been partially at fault in making a poor decision on who to have do the work.
To my mind, there is absolutely no substitute for having the dealer do the initial 600 mile service.
I started tearing car engines apart and rebuilding them (387ci Tri-Power GTO) in the late 1960's and motorcycle engines in the early 70's (Norton Commandos). I've owned, raced and wrenched on motorcycles at the club level and cars at the National level and for my 2 cents, to suggest that because one has a good grasp of vehicle mechanics that they should do the initial scheduled service is forgetting that we don't and can't know as much as a good factory tech about what should and shouldn't be going on, about what the factory TSBs, etc. are saying, etc., etc., etc., until we've built up a body of experience with these specific bikes and seeing as the 600 mile service is the initial one, how would we have done that?
I can certainly appreciate the frustrations of those above who have had a bad service tech mess something up, but, we do have to take some responsibility for what we do. I would not, and will not, give my bike or other vehicle to any mechanic/tech that I haven't vetted.
- Check these things out in advance, before you need work done
- Ask friends and others who are competent in the field of BMW motorcycle mechanical work who they think is the best tech in your area to trust your bike to
- Meet that tech in person and introduce yourself to them so there is a bit of a personal connection
- Identify to the Service Manager that there is only one person authorized to work on your bike and it is/becomes the Service Manager's responsibility to ensure that happens
- When you make the service appointment request that specific tech and insist that if they will not be able to do the work you be notified and that no work be started
This is a simple process to go through and one that I have practiced for the past 30+ years with very good results.
We have to recognize that motorcycles are like most vehicles in that their incidence of issues typically runs on a reverse bell-curve with the greatest likelihood of major issues occurring during the very first part of it's life and at the very end of it. This is another important reason to have the very first service of any vehicle, and most especially a new design, performed by someone who should have far more experience and exposure to this specific bike than any of us could ever hope to and therefore, will be far better positioned to find and identify something that is perhaps within spec, but not what it should be for a bike with only 600 miles on it.
I'm certainly not arrogant enough to think that I'll know more about a bike that is completely new to me versus a competent, quality factory tech who has seen perhaps one of these per week for the past 1-2 years, and I'm not brave enough to hand my bike over to someone I don't know. YMMV
600 mile Service
Had mine done at Max BMW in CT. a week ago on my RT, $250.00. A co-worker and I did maintenance on my 2000RT which was a dinosaur compared to my new RT. This bike is a computer on two wheels and I'll let BMW handle maintenance from now on. They told me to come back in one year or 6000 mi. for an oil change and that's it. 12,000 they'll change plugs, adjust valves and change fluids.
HSVPhil
AlaBeemer_Prez
Not a Common Problem - BUT, Mrs K's original F800ST went into the shop for an initial service, and they found pieces of bearings in the drained oil at Morton's BMW. Do-Do Happens sometimes. It took awhile for the warranty to be resolved, but it all got Fixed w/o significant issues.
Just do it right, for Pete's sake! It's money well spent.
Ciao! HSV-Phil & HSV-Karen
Just do it right, for Pete's sake! It's money well spent.
Ciao! HSV-Phil & HSV-Karen
exgman
Active member
Good Relations with Service Manager
Looking through this thread today, brought me to Alan Coles response (#24). He emphasizes doing some background work on the service facilities available to you.
My experience gained from 12 years as a BMW CCA Ombudsman and 1.5 years as BMW MOA Consumer Liaison is that a good relationship with the Service Manager at a BMW dealer (car or motorcycle) is probably the most important relationship any BMW owner can develop. As we all know, there are many grey areas when it comes to vehicle maintenance and repair, and a positive, and long-term relationship can tip the balance in a difficult situation.
Looking through this thread today, brought me to Alan Coles response (#24). He emphasizes doing some background work on the service facilities available to you.
My experience gained from 12 years as a BMW CCA Ombudsman and 1.5 years as BMW MOA Consumer Liaison is that a good relationship with the Service Manager at a BMW dealer (car or motorcycle) is probably the most important relationship any BMW owner can develop. As we all know, there are many grey areas when it comes to vehicle maintenance and repair, and a positive, and long-term relationship can tip the balance in a difficult situation.
It was different in the old days when the initial service consisted of torquing the cylinder heads and head bearing, setting valves, balancing throttle cables, setting idle rpm, changing engine, transmission, and final drive oil, etc.
Personally in this day and age I think it's time for these 600 mile initial services to go away and given what little is called for they almost have. My dealer is 2 1/2 hours away and the 600 mile service is basically an engine oil change along with a lot of little "checks". The oil change and all the checks take maybe 30-40 minutes so I just did it myself using the filter I bought from the dealership when I bought the bike. Could you imagine if buyers of Toyota, Ford, or BMW cars, were told they had to schedule to take the car back after just 600 miles and pay someone $100+ per hour to just do a bunch of checks?
Personally in this day and age I think it's time for these 600 mile initial services to go away and given what little is called for they almost have. My dealer is 2 1/2 hours away and the 600 mile service is basically an engine oil change along with a lot of little "checks". The oil change and all the checks take maybe 30-40 minutes so I just did it myself using the filter I bought from the dealership when I bought the bike. Could you imagine if buyers of Toyota, Ford, or BMW cars, were told they had to schedule to take the car back after just 600 miles and pay someone $100+ per hour to just do a bunch of checks?
Since this is an older thread....... and many don’t go back to the beginning, I still recommend this.
OM
gsinnc
Well-known member
I absolutely agree 100% with this post! I am lucky to not only have one of the best dealers in the country but also one of the best service managers I’ve ever experienced in my 20 years of riding a BMW. And having a very good relationship with the service manager the technicians and the dealership in general has totally been a huge benefit to me. As noted in the original post there are many times when there’s a gray area and its up to the dealer and service team to go to bat for you or not. I also always remember the service manager the technicians and all the key people I deal with at the dealership at Christmas time. Trust me a little appreciation pays off many times more in return.
In response to the original question on the 600 mile service, even though my service manager knows I do my own oil changes and final drive on my new bikes he’s requested that I please let them do the original 600 service as they really want to look at the oil and look at the final drive fluid when it comes out of the bike. And I’ve always respected that request and let them do the initial 600 service
I did it on mine but is draining the FD fluid even part of BMW's initial service on wetheads?
exgman
Active member
Final drive fluid change is part of the 600-mile service.
gsinnc
Well-known member
Yes as already stated final drive is absolutely part of the 600 mile service and I believe oil and filter
pappy35
New member
I'm a do it myself kinda guy but if I dropped that much money on a brand new BMW I think I would let the dealer do the first one. They have the experience to check for things I might not notice on a brand-new bike. That's just me though. I'm not into paying people to do what I can do myself but I also trust my dealer's techs and so I see value in letting them look at it after I've ridden it a bit just to make sure the thing is still bolted together like it should be. After that, it's all me...
gsinnc
Well-known member
And THAT is pretty much why my dealer asked me to please let them do the 600 mile service.
Ed, won't your dealer get just as good a "feel" if you take a sample of used motor oil and rear fluid in for him to inspect? Or do they actually stand and watch each quart/ounce of fluid exit the bike? And that makes a difference?
gsinnc
Well-known member
Actually that was the back up that my dealer suggested if I really insisted on doing it myself. But he very nicely just requested I let them do it so they could see ALL the fluid that drained and any particles and to inspect the drain plug and filter. In addition to go over the entire bike and just do a check. They absolutely did not insist but just asked I let them do the 600. It made sense to me and that's why I did it.
$400 for an oil change buys a LOT of popcorn, even at $5 a bag!
pglaves
#13338
If the dealership does everything it is supposed to do then the price is a bit more reasonable and includes more than just an than an oil change. It is supposed to include observing a whole bunch of things to make sure the factory QC was adequate. That said, the price does seem high, but so do the hourly rates I've seen lately.
