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505 Posts
OK the short version is that IMHO BMWOR has poor customer service, they are unknowledgeable about my BMW bike and that they are ridiculously expensive with regard to service. I guess they feel that now that Portland Motorcycle is gone, they can do whatever they want and charge whatever they like. If you have the time, the following rant is why I feel the way I do.
A while back, I was in BMW Motorcycles of Western Oregon and asked them about an upcoming service for my K1200R. A number of six hundred and some dollars was quoted and I have to say I was a little shocked. Similar service at Portland Motorcycle had been considerably less than one half of that amount.
I am now in need of that service, so I called South Sound BMW and ask for a quote for a standard 30K service on my 2006 K1200R. I was given a firm quote of $250 for a full 30K Service. This was consistent with past service receipts and I felt it was reasonable.
I next called Salem Honda BMW. They were also very friendly and gave me a quote of $250 - $300. As both quotes were in the same ball park, I began to wonder how BMWOR could possibly be so high. There must have been a mistake, I thought.
I called BMWOR (Tigard) yesterday to get to the bottom of this. I asked for the Service Department and was promptly put on hold. I waited for over 20 minutes until I gave up. Real nice customer service I thought.
Today I tried to reach the Service Department again and lucked out this time as Doug, the Service Manager answered the phone. I asked for a new quote on my 2006 K1200R and sure enough, there had been a mistake. The cost wasn’t six hundred and some, it was $845!!! I asked Doug why they were so much more than other dealers. I got a lot of negative comments about other dealers and he basically said that they weren’t offering a full service.
After I got off of the phone I looked up the maintenance schedule for the K1200R and decided to give Doug a call back. I politely asked what all was included in their 30K service. Doug stated a number of items that were not on the schedule including that the final drive fluid needed to be replaced. He stated that the final drive required maintenance every 12K. I told him that per schedule, it had been changed recently, so I was told I could deduct $100. Next, he stated that the gear box oil needed to be changed and a new seal installed. I asked what he meant by gear box and he said he was referring to the transmission. I told him that an engine oil change included the transmission oil in a 2006 K1200R; that they were the same. Doug began to argue with me stating that the fluid in the transmission was different and that it had to be changed. The conversation went downhill from there. Doug commented that other dealers have lower labor rates, but that they must be in the business of going out of business. He gloated that this is what happened to Portland Motorcycle. I realized at this point that I was arguing with someone that was completely unknowledgeable about my bike and whose goal was to charge me as much as possible (even for some things that are impossible).
Needless to say, I will be making a little ride down to Salem on Tuesday. I’ll report back on how it goes. I’ll bet they will get a good laugh about BMWOR’s insistence that the gearbox must be serviced.
A while back, I was in BMW Motorcycles of Western Oregon and asked them about an upcoming service for my K1200R. A number of six hundred and some dollars was quoted and I have to say I was a little shocked. Similar service at Portland Motorcycle had been considerably less than one half of that amount.
I am now in need of that service, so I called South Sound BMW and ask for a quote for a standard 30K service on my 2006 K1200R. I was given a firm quote of $250 for a full 30K Service. This was consistent with past service receipts and I felt it was reasonable.
I next called Salem Honda BMW. They were also very friendly and gave me a quote of $250 - $300. As both quotes were in the same ball park, I began to wonder how BMWOR could possibly be so high. There must have been a mistake, I thought.
I called BMWOR (Tigard) yesterday to get to the bottom of this. I asked for the Service Department and was promptly put on hold. I waited for over 20 minutes until I gave up. Real nice customer service I thought.
Today I tried to reach the Service Department again and lucked out this time as Doug, the Service Manager answered the phone. I asked for a new quote on my 2006 K1200R and sure enough, there had been a mistake. The cost wasn’t six hundred and some, it was $845!!! I asked Doug why they were so much more than other dealers. I got a lot of negative comments about other dealers and he basically said that they weren’t offering a full service.
After I got off of the phone I looked up the maintenance schedule for the K1200R and decided to give Doug a call back. I politely asked what all was included in their 30K service. Doug stated a number of items that were not on the schedule including that the final drive fluid needed to be replaced. He stated that the final drive required maintenance every 12K. I told him that per schedule, it had been changed recently, so I was told I could deduct $100. Next, he stated that the gear box oil needed to be changed and a new seal installed. I asked what he meant by gear box and he said he was referring to the transmission. I told him that an engine oil change included the transmission oil in a 2006 K1200R; that they were the same. Doug began to argue with me stating that the fluid in the transmission was different and that it had to be changed. The conversation went downhill from there. Doug commented that other dealers have lower labor rates, but that they must be in the business of going out of business. He gloated that this is what happened to Portland Motorcycle. I realized at this point that I was arguing with someone that was completely unknowledgeable about my bike and whose goal was to charge me as much as possible (even for some things that are impossible).
Needless to say, I will be making a little ride down to Salem on Tuesday. I’ll report back on how it goes. I’ll bet they will get a good laugh about BMWOR’s insistence that the gearbox must be serviced.
