[Hammam]

I have this friend who rides an R1150 R. Recently, he went to his dealer's for a 40,000 kms service, with the clock actually showing 50,000kms. Apparently, one bolt of the plate underneath the fuel tank (which they need to remove to change the fuel filter) was rusted, and the mechanic broke it trying to unscreww it. Just one bolt but the damage is costly, because they have to drill the bolt out and what not: $950. The problem is that they want my friend to pay for it. Which he strongly disputes, because THEY broke the bolt, not him. They claim he neglected his bike, not having it served at 40,000kms (which is true), and they even accuse him of letting his bike sleep outside over the winter (which is absolutely not true.)

My friend fails to see how having done the 40,000 kms service on time would have prevented the bolt to rust, and I think he's right.

What do you think? Is the dealer right in their claiming that my friend should pay for their mistake?

 

[moralem]

Spilt the cost. The bolt rusted, nobody's fault. If there was no other way to get it off what was the dealer to do, decline to do the work? The dealer should have given your friend the option of declining the work because of the high risk. It was a high risk situation and both parties can share in the cost

 

[Hammam]

Spilt the cost. The bolt rusted, nobody's fault. If there was no other way to get it off what was the dealer to do, decline to do the work? The dealer should have given your friend the option of declining the work because of the high risk. It was a high risk situation and both parties can share in the cost

Thank you for your opinion. I think you raise an important point: «If there was no other way to get it off...» Was there indeed no other way to get this bolt off than to break it? When the mechanic realised it was too tight, shouldn't he have resorted to using some rust breaker (WD-40?) or lubricant, or some other way?

 

[David13]

Sometimes bolts just break. It usually doesn't happen due to some thing the mechanic does wrong. If they are an experienced mechanic.
It usually has to do with some weakness of the bolt, or some condition causing it to not want to come out.
I think your friend has to pay for it.
This is one of the reasons why I do all my own work. If a bolt breaks, or anything else goes wrong, I know who is responsible.
dc

 

[JPSpen]

I think $950.00 Is a little unreasonable for drilling out a bolt and re-threading a hole..

Hell, Bring it to me, I'll do it for $500.00.:wave

You're getting skunked...Tell them you'll pick up the tank and fix it yourself..While they complete the rest of the service.. Ask to see the damaged parts....

If you can't fix it yourself, Take it to a place that repairs fuel tanks... Or a radiator shop..

How difficult can it be.. Certainly not a thousand dollars worth..

Sorry you're getting skunked...Those bolts that hold the fuel pump/filter/sensor rarely rust that badly...

I'm betting the idiot broke it off by turning it the wrong way...Or crossthreaded it when reassembling it...

But then again, It could have been crossthreaded by the mechanic before him.. You never know about these things...

My point is $950.00 to fix a broken bolt is a little freaking out there...

If I had been the mechanic working on the bike.. It would have just gotten fixed and nothing would have been said about it... It's not like it's a new bike.. And you're not in sunny Oklahoma where rust is not a big factor in our daily lives...Fastners do break when you're working on these things...Fixing them should not turn into a thousand dollar windfall..

Good Luck.

John

 

[racer7]

I'd need to see it to know for sure why it broke- could be anything from a bum bolt to inept kid on the wrench. For sure some BMW fasteners on the older models leave a bunch to be improved- they're not torx stainless like newer models.
And its true that a lttle (I prefer PB Blaster) and patience deals with the majority of rusty / corroded stuff but not everything..The in tank filter design is stupid and a hazard IMO- current Rs run fine with nothing other than a screen and don't need the extra filter/hose replacment efforts created by the previous design your friend has on his..Gas residue on bolts does a pretty fair job initiating corrosion- when was the bolt last potentially exposed to fuel and by whom?

A complete look at the service bill and a discussion with the dealer ought to provide some sort of fair resolution. The bike is certainly old enough there is no reason to expect the dealer to cover everything especially since they may only be a contributor to an inevitable break, but as has already been pointed out, most good shops up north are well accustomed to working on stuff with corroded bolts and don't create expensive bills dealing with them..I used to live in upstate NY and now live in NC where I don't miss either shoveling snow or having to routinely deal with bolts rusted solidly in place..Last signifcant snow around here was about 15 years ago....

 

[TheSnake]

Please post photos of the tech and owner that have the balls to participate in charging that kind of money to fix one broken bolt. UGBFKM. Skunked has on too many letters to describe this scenario.