Replacement Parts Sticker Shock

GTRider said:

Extended warranties from a manufacturer can be a good thing; from aftermarket companies not so much. Companies come and go, dealers will accept some 3rd-party warranties and not others, etc. If you buy a 3rd-party warranty make sure it is one your dealer accepts and ask how long the warranty company has been in business, how long the dealer has been working with the warranty company, and the warranty company’s requirements WRT routine service.
IMHO.

Best,
DG

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Yep ...have bought all of mine from MY dealer where I know THEY have a relationship with the vendor. They have been great and for about $1000 for 5 years for ME it is money well spent. I DO realize not everyone feels the need to spend the $$ and I totally understand and appreciate their desire to "self insure". Just a personal choice and as always YMMV.

Digtlartst said:

BMW itself doesn't offer an extended warranty on bikes. Some dealers offer 3rd party extended repair insurance/warrantees as an option. I've had great luck with Zurich extended warrantees on two bikes and I recommend them. Zurich's been around for 100 years. They work well with dealers on repairs, in my experience. Their warranty is transferrable when selling the bike or if unused during its term you can cancel it anytime for a prorated refund of your premium.

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+1 for Zurich and I have them on my 2012 GSA and prior to that on my '06 RT.

On the RTW I went with RPM One at the suggestion of my dealer and at the time they were the only ones offering 5 years added to the 3 year factory. In addition to the points you mention an extended warranty can be a good selling point should you be selling prior to the warranty expiring.

pappy35 said:

Extended warranty? There's another thing I didn't know was an option. I know the price will vary by market but about how much are we talking about here? Is dealer-servicing a prerequisite? I do all the regular (and some irregular) maintenance on my rides.

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Prices vary and in my experience it helps to buy it at the time you buy the bike as you can negotiate a pretty good deal. I would expect to pay about $250 +/- for each year you are extending. But again you can negotiate better when you are buying the bike. You do not need to have the dealer do all of your maintenance but I would suggest you have them do the periodic checks (where they plug in and check for codes, etc.). But you can certainly do all the fluid changes and maintenance items. Just use approved parts and fluids, save all of the receipts and have good documentation. I do about 80% of my own maintenance and have never had any issue whatsoever. Of course have only ever used the extended warranty twice in about 17 years.

Personally, I am just very glad I have an exclusive-BMW-motorcycle dealer I trust available to me when I need or want it.

bmwdean said:

Personally, I am just very glad I have an exclusive-BMW-motorcycle dealer I trust available to me when I need or want it.

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Yep ... I too am really blessed with a dealer that understands long term relationships and where I trust the owner, Service team, Parts team and the BMW manager. They are all great folks and treat me like I was their only customer.

Dis ussion on replacement parts cost

My 3 BMWs are 16, 14 & 12 years old, ridden a combined 150,000+ miles & never had the need to replace a shock yet.

BMW = Busted My Wallet

This forum is a good place to start when researching where to buy things at a more reasonable price. My limited experience is one 14 mm bolt priced a $8.95, oil filter at $30. I bought ten bolts at a supplier for less than one BMW bolt. I found a supplier where I can buy genuine Mahle oil filters for $8.95 and if you check you BMW oil filter, mine says Mahle on it. Oil is a contentious issue but if it meets all the BMW requirements then it should be fine in a BMW.
Research has shown that a BMW car costs more to maintain than just about any other so take it from there.

mojoman said:

This forum is a good place to start when researching where to buy things at a more reasonable price. My limited experience is one 14 mm bolt priced a $8.95, oil filter at $30. I bought ten bolts at a supplier for less than one BMW bolt. I found a supplier where I can buy genuine Mahle oil filters for $8.95 and if you check you BMW oil filter, mine says Mahle on it. Oil is a contentious issue but if it meets all the BMW requirements then it should be fine in a BMW.
Research has shown that a BMW car costs more to maintain than just about any other so take it from there.

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Oil is a personal choice and don't want to start THAT debate but I use this Castrol that meets all BMW specs and is actually sold at some BMW dealers!

You can get it on Amazon for about $8.50 / bottle and many times they have a 20% off deal where it is about $7/ bottle! I am sure there are others as well that meet all BMW specs.

mojoman said:

This forum is a good place to start when researching where to buy things at a more reasonable price. My limited experience is one 14 mm bolt priced a $8.95, oil filter at $30. I bought ten bolts at a supplier for less than one BMW bolt. I found a supplier where I can buy genuine Mahle oil filters for $8.95 and if you check you BMW oil filter, mine says Mahle on it. Oil is a contentious issue but if it meets all the BMW requirements then it should be fine in a BMW.
Research has shown that a BMW car costs more to maintain than just about any other so take it from there.

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We should all go buy Kawasakis I guess. They are cheap.

PGlaves said:

We should all go buy Kawasakis I guess. They are cheap.

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OK, what oil should I use in my Kawasaki?

azgman said:

OK, what oil should I use in my Kawasaki?

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Any over-changed BMW oil, freshly drained will work.
OM

Oh dear God, someone brought up OIL! NO MORE OIL COMMENTS!!!!

My old sailboat racing quip

In saiboat racing when others complained about the cost of this or that, I'd say "If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch!" Or, " big hat, no cattle!"

BMW Motorrad Advantec 5W-40 Motor Oil is only $15/liter on Amazon! ($8 of that must be for the logo on the bottle)

markmacrae said:

In saiboat racing when others complained about the cost of this or that, I'd say "If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch!" Or, " big hat, no cattle!"

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That's a classy response.

Chris

Try to build a bike,car, airplane etc buy purchasing individual parts, the cost in most cases will be 1000% greater
someone priced out a popular car many years ago, could be purchased for $25k, buying each individual piece cost went to $150k

azgman said:

OK, what oil should I use in my Kawasaki?

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Kawasakis love a good rice bran oil--$28/gallon can't beat it!

pappy35 said:

Oh dear God, someone brought up OIL! NO MORE OIL COMMENTS!!!!

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Yeah no kidding. My point was simply there are less expensive alternatives to OEM products that significantly help reduce the maintanance costs of BMW motorcycles, or or any other brand for that matter. Sorry for taking us down the oil rabbit hole.

patm said:

There is a good reason for that ...

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In actuality those reasons include ...

Cost of maintaining a spare parts system ... purchasing and storing the parts, paying salaries of those that move them around and ship them, paying those that maintain the illustrated parts breakdowns, including updating them for changes, etc.

Cost of shipping them from Germany ... recall that Germany is a country that has a better economy than the USA ... when I last visited in 2006 a McDonald's Big Mac was $8

... the notion that the parts sector is meant to be a profit center just as all other aspects of the business---there is no moral imperative to provide this service for free or even at break-even

Same applies at your dealer, i.e. the parts personnel get their salaries paid from the margin and the owner pays the rent for that part of the facility from the same margin, and keeps some as profit, too.

Costs related to the fact that BMW are low-volume, upmarket vehicles and NOT generic high volume stuff ... you can pay way more than $2800 for a single brake rotor for a Porsche--do you see your BMW bike closer to a VW than a Porsche? Think again.

You can rationalize all you want regarding motorcycles as economical, saving the environment, "sustainable" (?) etc., but in reality and especially at the top end where BMW sells they are simply nothing but expensive toys, part of an expensive hobby. If you have to ask the price ... it gets boring. Pay to play.

lkchris said:

You can rationalize all you want regarding motorcycles as economical, saving the environment, "sustainable" (?) etc., but in reality and especially at the top end where BMW sells they are simply nothing but expensive toys, part of an expensive hobby. If you have to ask the price ... it gets boring. Pay to play.

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Which is why among our several BMWs the newest one is ten years old and I personally do 99% of the maintenance.