BMW Canada has made an enemy
I need to preface this with the following ÔÇô I grew up at a time when companies built reputation on quality product, fair business dealing and sincere service.
In 2007 I shopped around North America for a used BMW F650. As it turns out, the best deal, by almost $1800 was in Bend, Oregon so I bought it, had a nice ride back to my current home in Canada (I am a dual citizen). With one phone call and an ask, BMW Canada was happy to fax me a one pager saying there were no outstanding recalls on the bike and I registered it without a problem.
Fast forward to 2011. I looked around North America, without a country bias, for the best deal on a R1200GS and found one in Cheyenne, Wyoming that was $4300 cheaper than EdmontonÔÇÖs best price. I bought it and had a nice ride home. BMW Canada will not send a free recall letter to the Canadian Government. The original dealer in Wyoming searched the original data base and wrote a nice official letter on letterhead specifying that this US spec. BMW had no outstanding recalls on it. The Import folks would not accept that and said it had to come from a Canadian BMW dealer (who would access the identical data base).
Now the rub. The local BMW shop would have to make the 2 minute phone call but they charged $525.00 for the letter of recall. I asked why and they said it was to force Canadians to buy Canadian motorcycles instead of going south of the border. A $30 service fee would have been fine but not $525. Yes, it is within their rights to do this just as it is within their rights to charge an extra 20% for retail but it is very punitive, very bottom line, not about service or brand loyalty or cultivating a long term relationship. It is also within my rights to put this word out.
It is really none of their business where I buy my bikes unless it is from them. These are used bikes. If I was buying new I would have shopped locally for reasons of warranty, service and dealer loyalty. As it is, I used to spend a lot of money at that dealership on parts. That is over. I am actively avoiding them from now on. I will buy parts on line, from the boneyard or have them shipped inside the US where I will pick them up when on travel.
I like these German bikes quite a lot. I have little use for the Canadian interpretation (This happens at the level of BMW Canada but the local dealers fall right into it too) and marketing of the marquee and materiel.
I vow to actively avoid them to the extent I am able and I will be an advocate against the behaviors I have seen them display. Opportunism, gouging, predatory framing of regulations or non-customer-centered behavior needs to be outed and shown to be unacceptable and the best two ways I know to do this is to not patronize them and encourage others to do likewise.
Ironically, the Canadian dollar was higher than the US but it was still worth $2500 for me to do the deal in the US after all taxes, registrations, and recalls.
Lee
I need to preface this with the following ÔÇô I grew up at a time when companies built reputation on quality product, fair business dealing and sincere service.
In 2007 I shopped around North America for a used BMW F650. As it turns out, the best deal, by almost $1800 was in Bend, Oregon so I bought it, had a nice ride back to my current home in Canada (I am a dual citizen). With one phone call and an ask, BMW Canada was happy to fax me a one pager saying there were no outstanding recalls on the bike and I registered it without a problem.
Fast forward to 2011. I looked around North America, without a country bias, for the best deal on a R1200GS and found one in Cheyenne, Wyoming that was $4300 cheaper than EdmontonÔÇÖs best price. I bought it and had a nice ride home. BMW Canada will not send a free recall letter to the Canadian Government. The original dealer in Wyoming searched the original data base and wrote a nice official letter on letterhead specifying that this US spec. BMW had no outstanding recalls on it. The Import folks would not accept that and said it had to come from a Canadian BMW dealer (who would access the identical data base).
Now the rub. The local BMW shop would have to make the 2 minute phone call but they charged $525.00 for the letter of recall. I asked why and they said it was to force Canadians to buy Canadian motorcycles instead of going south of the border. A $30 service fee would have been fine but not $525. Yes, it is within their rights to do this just as it is within their rights to charge an extra 20% for retail but it is very punitive, very bottom line, not about service or brand loyalty or cultivating a long term relationship. It is also within my rights to put this word out.
It is really none of their business where I buy my bikes unless it is from them. These are used bikes. If I was buying new I would have shopped locally for reasons of warranty, service and dealer loyalty. As it is, I used to spend a lot of money at that dealership on parts. That is over. I am actively avoiding them from now on. I will buy parts on line, from the boneyard or have them shipped inside the US where I will pick them up when on travel.
I like these German bikes quite a lot. I have little use for the Canadian interpretation (This happens at the level of BMW Canada but the local dealers fall right into it too) and marketing of the marquee and materiel.
I vow to actively avoid them to the extent I am able and I will be an advocate against the behaviors I have seen them display. Opportunism, gouging, predatory framing of regulations or non-customer-centered behavior needs to be outed and shown to be unacceptable and the best two ways I know to do this is to not patronize them and encourage others to do likewise.
Ironically, the Canadian dollar was higher than the US but it was still worth $2500 for me to do the deal in the US after all taxes, registrations, and recalls.
Lee
Monaco is a seperate country, but for a lot of the legal and governemental stuff, it relies on France. It could well be that they have the same consumer law as the rest of the EU.
