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Any Experience with Countryside BMW? or Grassroots BMW?

217don

Member
I'm looking at a new R1200RT but will have to travel to a BMW dealer. Anybody have any experience, good or bad, with Countryside outside Chicago? How about GrassRoots? Thanks.
 
I'm looking at a new R1200RT but will have to travel to a BMW dealer. Anybody have any experience, good or bad, with Countryside outside Chicago? How about GrassRoots? Thanks.

Grassroots is an excellent dealership.
 
I second P Glaves two thumbs up for Grassroots BMW. But closer to Chicago would be Gateway BMW in St. Louis. I highly recommend either dealership though, as you are dealing with solid folks who won't try to sell you more than you need or want.....
 
Dealer near Chicago

Another dealer in the Chicago area is Cycle Werks of Barrington. I've bought several bikes there and have been happy with the deals and the treatment by everyone there. Good people to deal with.
 
There is a dealer in Urbana, IL that has taken on the BMW brand and has been doing a great job.
They are providing great service and they have a nice selection of bikes for a not so big dealership.
I have been dealing with them for the past 3 years and have always had good experiences.
The owner Sam is a delightful guy.
http://www.sportlandmotorsports.com
 
There is a dealer in Urbana, IL that has taken on the BMW brand and has been doing a great job.
They are providing great service and they have a nice selection of bikes for a not so big dealership.
I have been dealing with them for the past 3 years and have always had good experiences.
The owner Sam is a delightful guy.
http://www.sportlandmotorsports.com

Just bought a new GS from them. Best deal out of Countryside, Indianapolis and GrandRapids, Mi. Have had service work completed by Sportsland, they were more economical and did fine work...this was on an RT. Gateway has quite an assortment of accessories IN STOCK. Mike Abt at Countryside is a good guy to work with...might want to get last price bid from him. I think he would have beat Sportsland on price, but it came down to logistics.
 
I bought a used (buyback) 2014 R1200RT from Countryside earlier this year. The salesman, Bob Clark, was friendly, helpful, and not at all pushy. All things considered--and remember that I've been riding well over 40 years--it was the easiest purchase transaction that I've experienced. Bob is a genuinely nice guy who's a true enthusiast; I can't recommend him highly enough.
 
grassroots bmw

Have heard good things about grassroots BMW but closer to gateway BMW so I go their however have worked and played a lot in area of Illinois by grassroots lots of fun areas from cape go east to rout 3 go north to state forest drive and go first to La rue pine hills and look around good G S road hills curves bad pavement gravel nice overlooks water crossings great place to get lost might end up back on route 3 or may by the cross at bald knob get real lost may by giant city state park good wpa lodge their good restaurant also. Go on past la ru pine hills road to trail of tears state forest 2 good loops there not far away in Jonesboro Dixie barbecue good eats . If you get tired of west side of Shawnee go to east side see garden of the gods cave in rock cross the Ohio river on the free ferry at cave in rock ride up a not very straight road to Marion ky stop and see many Amish places on way
 
Just bought a 2016 R1200RT from Countryside

I just bought a 2016 R1200RT from Countryside. I dealt with Mike Abt and did it all over email. I haven't checked lately but if you are in the market for a 2016 they are really willing to deal because they have a lot of 2016's in stock and the 2017's are starting to roll in. There is a factory rebate not advertised for 3250, I got another 1000 off in addition, and they threw in a Gen 5 navigation. They were easy to work with, my only complaint is that they flew threw the intro to the bike. I had a F800GT before this so it's a huge step up in the accessory dept to the R1200RT, so I would have liked a bit more of tutorial on that. No big deal though, I'll play with it and n my own and hopefully not get to frustrated t
 
I had a F800GT before this so it's a huge step up in the accessory dept to the R1200RT, so I would have liked a bit more of tutorial on that. No big deal though, I'll play with it and n my own and hopefully not get to frustrated t

You'll find that most features become pretty obvious quickly on the RT LC. There are some annoying little bits in the display (like the upshift arrow) which you can turn off. The manual is pretty helpful with most things, though.

BTW, welcome to the MOA Forums!
 
I'm looking at a new R1200RT but will have to travel to a BMW dealer. Anybody have any experience, good or bad, with Countryside outside Chicago? How about GrassRoots? Thanks.

Bought my r1200rs from Cycle Werks in Barrington. Really good guys, but I moved out of state right after purchase...
 
Bought from Bob Clark at Countryside and was a great experience. Nice guy and no pressure sale. Seem to have a good stock of new and used bikes. Bike currently in for service and can't say I'm impressed with service department as a general manager in auto repairs for 30 years the customer follow up and ability of service to keep customers updated to progress and completion date/time has been lacking. I had to call and check after a day and half and then 24 hours later to get updates and delays to an apparent slow email system between the dealer and BMW to approve warranty parts seems odd and disappointing. Not sure if this is just the way BMW handles customers post sales or I'm not getting the full story. Also had very long delay and some lack of communications when ordering a part previously so my initial great impression of the sales has been clouded by the unimpressive (so far) parts and service here. As a premium brand you would hope to see and feel premium customer service all around.


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Another thumbs up for Gateway BMW. Bob Honz and all the folks there do a great job. I've moved around the country, worked with a number of BMW dealers and they're top notch.
 
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