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Warranty Policy Question


Mike T

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I just purchased a new (used) 2006 R12RT that has two years of warranty left on it. The bike has 6.5K miles and recently had the 6K service done at the dealer. I'm used to doing all my own work on my bikes so want to know what BMW's policy is on doing your own maintenance on a bike that is under warranty. Do you void the warranty?

 

Thanks

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My understanding is that so long as you can document that you performed the service (receipts for parts, lubricants, etc.)according to the recommended schedule you should be OK. Lots of people do their own work while under warranty.

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the magnason-moss act bars manufacturers from requiring service only at their location. as stated above, keep receipts.

 

tom collins

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That's not the entire story.

Most dealers don't mind if you change your filter & lubricants, HOWEVER, if you adjust your own valves, as well as other adjustments, & you have a valve problem later on. guess what? You are on your own!

Granted, some dealers may help you on this, however they are not obligated to do so.

The same goes with the expensive brake flush & fill.

If something goes wrong with the ABS & associated components, good luck if you did the flushing.

I already went through this years ago with my 1994 R1100RS.

This prevented me from purchasing a 2004 R1150RT, because the owner did his own valve adjustment at 1k miles, & did'nt take it to the dealer for the 6K service, which includes the valve adjustment. Add to the fact that the bike had 9K miles without the dealer adjustment, & the dealer told me that they would not honor the warranty if there were any problems with the valves, & anything else that he performed.

 

Good Luck

grin.gif

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That's not the entire story.

Most dealers don't mind if you change your filter & lubricants, HOWEVER, if you adjust your own valves, as well as other adjustments, & you have a valve problem later on. guess what? You are on your own!

Granted, some dealers may help you on this, however they are not obligated to do so.

The same goes with the expensive brake flush & fill.

If something goes wrong with the ABS & associated components, good luck if you did the flushing.

I already went through this years ago with my 1994 R1100RS.

This prevented me from purchasing a 2004 R1150RT, because the owner did his own valve adjustment at 1k miles, & did'nt take it to the dealer for the 6K service, which includes the valve adjustment. Add to the fact that the bike had 9K miles without the dealer adjustment, & the dealer told me that they would not honor the warranty if there were any problems with the valves, & anything else that he performed.

 

Good Luck

grin.gif

 

Refer to the entire act listed above.

 

It is incumbant on the manufacturer/dealer to PROVE your maintanance, or lack of it, caused the damage that you want fixed under waranty.

 

Not such an easy thing to do.

 

Some dealers will try scare tactics to get you to have your work done there, but it is a farce and bad business to try it.

 

If your dealer says that they wont cover it, get another dealer, or show them the relevant statute proving they cannot do this.

 

Jim cool.gif

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If you buy a new bike, & the dealer does NOT do the 1K , or the 6K maintenance, even though you have receipts for filters, fluids, etc. AND you do the valve adjustment & the dealer has never checked the valves since the initial pre-delivery set up when new, I guarantee you that if you develope valve problems, the dealer will more than likely NOT honor your warranty.

Don't believe me, call them up & check, as I called numerous dealers who told me the same thing.

frown.gif

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Mike--

 

The answer to your question lies not in "BMW's policy," but in what is legally required. The federal law that governs this is explained on this FTC web page.

 

The law does not permit any provider of a warranty to require you to buy their products or services (like servicing your BMW at a BMW dealer) as a condition of honoring its warranty. However, if you use parts or procedures that lead to damage, the law lets the manufacturer off the hook, and this is where disputes often arise. If your dealer gives you a hassle about warranty coverage, there are internal procedures to dispute a denial of coverage, and if you "lose" in this process, you have the right to sue the manufacturer.

 

The bottom line is, yes, you can do your own maintenance and not affect your warranty. However, I'd suggest that you always use BMW parts or parts of equal or better quality, follow BMW checklists and procedures, fully document your maintenance in a written log, and keep your receipts for the parts you use in servicing your bike.

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The other item you failed to mention, is that you will have to prove to the dealer that you are capable to adjust the valves or any other adjustments & replacement of parts.

Basically, they want a certified mechanic performing the work, even if it's not an autorized BMW factory dealer.

So long as it's a qualified shop with certified mechanics, it doesn,t matter who performed the work.

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Hundreds of us do our own svc. after the initial 600 mi. I know of 1 case where this has been a problem in the past 6 years. None of my bikes has ever seen a dealer after the first svc. I avg. about 30k miles per year. No, I have never had an engine problem. You either know some tough dealers or you scare easily.

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No, I don't scare easily.

I am telling you that I did some of my maintenance on my old 1994 R1100RS, such as the flushing of the brake fluid, etc. When the master cylinder failed, I got the run around from all of the local dealers because I did that particular work.

To make a long story short, the dealer paid half of what the bill cost for customer relations.

I have been working on cars & motorcycles for over 40 years & know exactly what I am doing.

This is strictly up to the individual dealer, & no they don't HAVE to honor your warranty if you are not a certified mechanic.

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When I purchased my new BMW last week, they were trying to sell me a service warranty. I told the manager that I did alot of the service myself. He told me that it was OK if I did it, but that if something went wrong and it could be proved that it happend becuase of what I did then the warranty would be void. I did not buy the service warranty, but I did buy a 4 year extended warranty, so that I have 7 years of warranty on the bike. One of his selling points on the service warranty was that if someone came in to the shop with their bike (and they had the service warranty) when mine was there being serviced they would stop work on mine and fix the guys bike that had

the service warranty first. I still didn't buy the service warranty.

 

Jimster frown.gif

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Just to clear up things, it is not the dealer who honors the warranty but BMWNA. The dealer presents the defect with the neccesary documentation to BMWNA. BMWNA may or may not ask questions about maintenance records. It can depend a lot on how the dealer acts as a intermediary between customer and BMWNA.

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When I purchased my new BMW last week, they were trying to sell me a service warranty. I told the manager that I did alot of the service myself. He told me that it was OK if I did it, but that if something went wrong and it could be proved that it happend becuase of what I did then the warranty would be void. I did not buy the service warranty, but I did buy a 4 year extended warranty, so that I have 7 years of warranty on the bike. One of his selling points on the service warranty was that if someone came in to the shop with their bike (and they had the service warranty) when mine was there being serviced they would stop work on mine and fix the guys bike that had

the service warranty first. I still didn't buy the service warranty.

 

Jimster frown.gif

 

Boy, that's a sure way to impress new customers: not lmao.gif

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One of his selling points on the service warranty was that if someone came in to the shop with their bike (and they had the service warranty) when mine was there being serviced they would stop work on mine and fix the guys bike that had the service warranty first. I still didn't buy the service warranty.
Given that policy I wonder why you even bought the bike. smirk.gif
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The other item you failed to mention, is that you will have to prove to the dealer that you are capable to adjust the valves or any other adjustments & replacement of parts.

Basically, they want a certified mechanic performing the work, even if it's not an autorized BMW factory dealer.

So long as it's a qualified shop with certified mechanics, it doesn,t matter who performed the work.

 

Not. You still have it backwards. They have to prove that the maintenance you performed was the cause of the problem. Not prove you were not qualified.

 

The law states that the burdon of proof for culpability is on the manufacturer.

 

That means that the dealer/BMWNA has to prove that me performing my own maintanance is the reason for the failure, and why they will not fix it under waranty!

 

Jim cool.gif

 

PS IF all this is too much for you, by all means, have the dealer do your work. My dealer know's I am capable, and never gives me a hard time on waranty repair. 4 issues so far without a problem.

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Thanks everyone for the lively discussion on this subject and the excellent input. Based on this input, I plan on doing my own fluid changes (except brake fluid) and will let the dealer do the 12K service when it comes due. After that I'll do my own work and document it well and take my chances.

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I called numerous dealers who told me the same thing.
Well of course a dealer is going to sing that song, they're trying to sell you service. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is quite clear. Unless a dealer can prove the current issue was specifically caused by someone else's action, the current issue is cover under warranty.

 

It's how the 'quick-lube' places of the world even can exists. They know that they changing the oil in vehicles instead of a manufacturer's authorized representative doing it can't void a warranty.

 

As a matter of fact if you never do ANY maintenance on a vehicle and there is a problem, the manufacture still must prove that the lack of maintenance cause the specific problem. Even proving that the maintenance wasn't done isn't enough. They have to show that lack of it caused the specific problem at hand. It's one of the key reasons many suave (and tightwad!) people never bother getting their oil changed at all. They know manufacturers can almost never successfully prove that dirty oil was the cause of an engine problem. Lack of oil yes, but just dirty, no. 'couse it also shows they don't give a _rap about they're vehicles, the environment and a lot of other things, but that's a different discussion!

 

But it's your bike. If you want only BMW warranty authorized dealers to do your maintenance, I'm sure they will welcome you with open arms.

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Just to clear up things, it is not the dealer who honors the warranty but BMWNA. The dealer presents the defect with the neccesary documentation to BMWNA. BMWNA may or may not ask questions about maintenance records. It can depend a lot on how the dealer acts as a intermediary between customer and BMWNA.

+1

Do your own work.

Document.

Ride.

Repeat.

Add aftermarket goodies. They can void BMW warranty ONLY if the aftermerket part caused the problem.

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The real problem with self Maintenance comes in after the "Warranty Period" ends. the dealer/manufacturer has no obligation after the three years or 36 thousand miles occurs. However, if there are extenuating circumstances, the manufacturer can extend that warranty to facilitate repair.

 

On my 2000 1100RT, the final drive failed. Upon removal, the dealer found that the trans was leaking. Upon that tear down, they found two bent shift forks and the 4th to 5th shift dogs were rounded off. this was at 30K miles on the bike - a totally unacceptable failure on what was suppose to be a bullet proof drive line. I approached BMW requesting assistance with the repair and without going into all the details (basically, I was not permitted to escalate), I was told "you don't have a service relationship with your dealer, therefore, we will not assist with the repair in any way". I had all receipts for BMW material but performed all of my own service.

 

The only reason I have a new BMW is because it is the only Sport Tourer that fits me well. Watch how fast I change brands when the new Concourse hits the street...

 

btw - I still do all of my own maintenance beyond the brake flush and warranty repairs I have needed. Every time the bike has been in the shop, I have had to clean up the mess, reroute the trashed wiring, etc. to get the bike back to where it was prior to the repair. This type of work is from two different shops. Part of why I do my own work is that I am a lot better at it than they are. I know that sounds arrogant but it's not a skill thing, its about the details and the time to perform the task.

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I was told "you don't have a service relationship with your dealer, therefore, we will not assist with the repair in any way".
You know, I see that sort of comment come up often in these threads but I don't understand why it's much of a factor. Is it meant to imply that if one spends money at the dealership for maintenance that they could just as easily do themselves (and yes, often do a superior job of it) then in return you are buying some kind of nebulous extended warranty at BMW's discretion? That's a kind of absurd proposition. If one wants an extended warranty then take the money that you would have spent on an unnecessary 'service relationship' and use it to buy a real in-writing extended warranty. You will probably be better off in terms of both dollar savings and protection.
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Just to clear up things, it is not the dealer who honors the warranty but BMWNA. The dealer presents the defect with the neccesary documentation to BMWNA. BMWNA may or may not ask questions about maintenance records. It can depend a lot on how the dealer acts as a intermediary between customer and BMWNA.

 

Paul--

 

That's an important point to remember. In my admittedly limited experience, those who typically get jerked around are young kids, who, after having put an aftermarket shift knob on their Subaru are told by a dealer that they're not covered for their transmission failure (an exaggeration, but you get the drift). While there's a lot of hand-wringing about warranties being "voided," I haven't heard of it being a problem with BMW Motorrad. You can bet that if there was a widespread problem, it would have been talked about at length on BMWST.com.

 

Dealers have dual obligations when it comes to warranty claims: first, to see that their customers are covered for needed repairs when a warranteed item fails; and, second, to protect the interests of the manufacturer against fraudulent claims or claims arising out of customer abuse or negligence. I imagine that there are instances where the dealer's walking a tightrope, but it doesn't seem to be a big problem for BMW owners.

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The real problem with self Maintenance comes in after the "Warranty Period" ends. the dealer/manufacturer has no obligation after the three years or 36 thousand miles occurs. However, if there are extenuating circumstances, the manufacturer can extend that warranty to facilitate repair.
Well of course that's true. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act ends (on BMW bikes) at 36,000.1 miles. Anything done by the manufacture beyond that is just good will efforts. Whether or not attempting to bias the likelihood of being a benefactor of that good will at some time in future when making self-service or not decisions now, is a call everyone has to make on their own.

 

Personally for me it's not worth it. If my engine shells at 36,000.2 miles I may be PO'ed about it, but wouldn't expect BMW to necessarily do anything about it. The deal's the deal when I bought it. And spending high dollars for service now on the off chance that I might get an out of warranty repair covered later just isn't worth it to me. YMMV.

 

But the OP's point was that a dealer was telling him the warranty would be void for self-servicing the bike, and in the U.S. at any rate, that's just plain a lie.

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So what's a "certified" mechanic? BMW certified? I'm a "certified" Aircraft Mechanic, and I know for sure the BMW "certified" mechanics don't have the training I do. I know for sure they don't take the time I will to get it perfect.

Trust me, I can handle it, my 77 RS has over 300,000 miles on it and it's only seen a dealer from the parking lot. My 03 R, never saw a dealer and neither will my ST, and neither did any of the other 15 or so BMW's I've owned over the last 25 years.

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