Warranty issues but BMW does the right thing

[scottie_boy]

After 30,000 miles and almost three years of service, I noticed that my RT had a little play in the rear wheel. So I took it to BMW Motorcycles of Atlanta to have the rear pivot bearings adjusted.

While the mechanic had the bike on the lift, he noticed that the F/D pinion seal was starting to leak a little. I told him to go ahead and replace it since the bike's warranty was going to expire in a few months. So he pulled the F/D to gain access to the seal and noticed that you could just barely feel some wear on one of the driveshaft's U-joints. Well crap! I guess it's only going to get worse so I'm glad that we caught it now.

Since the bike was going to be out of commission for a while I called the wife to come and pick me up. While I was sitting there waiting for her to show up, the service manager came out and told me that the bike was no longer under warranty. "What do you mean? The bike has a three year or 36,000 mile warranty doesn't it?"

After a little investigation, they determined that my bike's warranty had expired in May because it had been a demo and the clock starts ticking 60 days after it had been put into service as a demonstrator.

Needless to say I had not been told of this when I bought the bike from a different dealer . In essence the bike came with a 2 1/2 year warranty. I was very angry because I felt that I had been misled by the original dealer.

The owner of BMW Atlanta was very sympathetic and immediately went to BMW corporate on my behalf. Long story short, three weeks later I get a call this morning saying that my bike was ready to be picked up. BMW paid for the parts and I had to pay for the labor. Which meant I had to pay $263 out of an almost $900 repair bill. I feel that this was a very fair compromise. Plus now my final drive is covered for an additional two years from the date of the repair.

The moral of this story is be sure you know when your bike was put into service if you buy a demo bike because that determines when the warranty starts. Also I owe BMW Atlanta a very big thank you for fighting for me on this issue.

[EffBee]

BMW of Atlanta are good folks. Very competent and very dedicated to their customers. And when approached with reason and logic (and usually a bit of patience), BMWNA will do the right thing 99% of the time.

[NEOHMark]

If your selling dealer did not inform you of the fact your bike had only the 'remainder of the Manufacturer's warranty', then they broke Federal laws. Probably what happened, is that they had you sign some sort of 'standard form' acknowledging that you were buying the bike 'as-is' from the dealer with a 'remainder of mfr's warranty'. I'd bet it was a de-emphasized 'standard paperwork' form executed during delivery of the bike - with little/no discussion offered about it.

 

If you still have all your paperwork, you'll probably find some sort of disclaimer you signed regarding this. If you were dilligent about keeping your delivery paperwork and don;t have it, your original dealer may be guilty of fraud - and you might actually have a case against them. Check through your paperwork. IMHO - even having to pay for labor is a bad deal if the original dealership committed fraud.

 

Take this info for what it's worth - but I worked in Auto sales for 4 years back in the 80s. The laws regarding paperwork have remained pretty darn consistent ever since.

[scottie_boy]

I have the receipt for every quart of oil I bought for this bike and I couldn't find any sort of documentation stating that I had a limited warranty when I purchased the motorcycle. Obviously, I would have preferred to have gotten the labor covered as well but right now I'm just glad to have my bike back and call the whole thing a life lesson.

This wasn't my first bad experience with my previous dealer and I can guarantee that they won't ever get another cent from me.

[Willie]

Still wouldn't hurt to make a call to the original dealer and see what they have to say. If they don't want to hook you up with cash for your troubles, maybe they can hook you up with some free services or something.

[steve404]

First reading of your experience, I felt that perhaps you were somewhat shafted.

I once had a discussion with a BMW dealer concerning a demo bike. I remember hearing "you get the same warranty as if buying new". Of course I never read the ticker tape warranty info printed on the sales agreement. And BMW of Santa Cruz did take good care of me through-out the warranty period, which I assumed would end at 36,000 BMW miles.

I never thought of it in limits of time.

Glad BMW paid for most of your repairs. Ride and enjoy.

[KDeline]

bought Obviously, I would have preferred to have gotten the labor covered as well but right now I'm just glad to have my bike back and call the whole thing a life lesson.

 

Glad YOU are happy, I would be out for blood. Go after the selling dealer, he did you wrong.

[scottie_boy]

Right now I'm so busy that I don't have the time or energy to pursue it. Also in a strange way they did me a favor. If I had been told that the warranty had expired in May then the parts for the repair wouldn't have been covered.