Warranty - Change of ownership

[tophog]

On a 2007 RT1200 ...I'm assuming the warranty is tied to the bike's VIN? On change of ownership is any paperwork, etc. need to be filed for new owner to transfer the warranty?

[Paul Mihalka]

The warranty is on the bike, independent of the current owner. When a dealer files a warranty claim, all he needs is the VIN.

[hopz]

You do not need to file any paperwork for the warranty to be honored. If there is warranty work to be done, just show up and the service writer will take note of the VIN and there you go.

 

But, if it were me, I would take a ride over to a BMW shop and visit with the service manager any way. Ask him about the warranty as a way of introducing yourself. Ask him to look on the big computer in the sky and tell you if there are any open recalls or service bulletins that may apply to your bike.

 

Doing all this will confirm you are in the system and may reveal some tweaks that are available for the bike, plus the bonus of getting to know the service facility.

[tophog]

Thanks for the input. Actually I am the seller and the buyer wanted to know about the specifics of the warranty transfer.

 

Thanks.

[Switz]

The BMW factory warranty continues from the in service date for 36 months or 36,000 total miles on the odometer, which ever comes first. Whoever is leading the horse when the music stops, ends up with the dead pony. If there was an additional extended warranty policy in effect before the factory warranty expired, then one would need to go to the appropriate folks to register the new owner's name and usually pay a transfer fee.

 

It would be wise for the second (or later) owner to stop by a local BMW dealer and get his/her name on the factory records. That helps in the event of theft or notifications in the case of recalls.

 

My experience with expensive toys (cars, bikes, planes) is that being a regular service customer during the warranty period seems to enable cooperation on warranty issues that occur just around the Cinderella date as the item turns into a pumpkin.

 

For those that put on miles versus months to utilize the warranty period, it is wise to get the odometer checked to make sure it is recording actual miles, not inflated miles like the speed on the odometer which on my BMWs tells me I am at 70 and the GPS says it is 65. If you get that accurate record of actual versus displayed miles on file, then your warranty mileage would be extended by the fudge factor:

 

In my case, 70 divided by 65 times 36,000 equals 38,769 miles on the odometer display to be actually 36,000 on the bike. Mr. Honda lost that debate in a class action law suit that added either time or miles as required in close time call issues.

 

There is now case law to support that point at the federal level.

 

 

 

[Paul Mihalka]

Note: Speedometer deviation and odometer deviation are independent from each other. The speedometer needle is not a firm mechanical connection to the instrument drive. I understand that by DOT or whatever regulation the speed indication has to be between 0% and +10% deviation of real speed. So they all err on the + side. The odometer can be precise, with some variation due to tire wear. A 10% over speedometer does not mean a 10% over odometer.

[tallman]

Paul, my odometer and GPS are almost exactly in synch.

Speedo about 2-3 mph dif.