BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Hi,
Interesting video for UK riders regarding insurance but also makes point about dealer/independent work and warranty from White Dalton Solicitor.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbHQMD0auzk

I never take a 'courtesy' car or bike.  The excess alone is normally enough to put me off.

I too had experience of this evil practice when my car was damaged whilst parked by a reversing H.G.V. I was not aware of this practice and thought is was great when my Insurance Company (via a Claims Company) offered to provide a like for like "Courtesy Car", No Excess to pay etc. I sweated for 6 months after the accident  I was sure I would be called to court as the other driver's Insurers fought the obscene "Courtesy Car" charges they where asked to pay.

[size=2px]He also makes a point about warranty void on bikes if not authorized dealer.[/size]Worked other way for me as I took hire bike which sped up my claim from other party as they were desperate to get claim resolved.

I'm not sure about accident damage/repairs having to be completed at a franchised dealer otherwise the manufacturer's warranty will be invalid.

But what I do know is that to maintain the T&C's of my BMW Motorrad Insured Warranty, a VAT registered independent can be used for servicing providing genuine parts or those of equivalent spec.are used.

He is a specialist motorbike solicitor.

When is comes to servicing, the same motorbike solicitor says that the OFT exemption for cars does not apply to motorcycles.

From White Dalton website.

When it comes to your bike’s warranty, must you get the dealer to service your bike?

Do I have to have my bike serviced by a franchised dealer during its warranty period?

Martin Duce

The short answer is that if you have your bike serviced by a perfectly reputable, fully qualified mechanic using all the appropriate parts and specified fluids, the exemption that applies to cars under the Office of Fair Trading guidance, which led to the OFT threatening to take all major motor manufacturers to Court, does not apply to motorcycles.

I contacted BMW Warranty Services for clarification and their reply is posted above.

Once again, the BMW Insured Warranty Claims Manager has confirmed the following when it come to service work.

"In regards to service work, this can be done by any retailer, please see below exert from the policy booklet.

Care of your motorcycle - you must keep your motorcycle in an efficient and road worthy condition and regularly service it in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations and genuine parts, or parts of equivalent specification must be used.
b) After each service, please ensure that the relevant service details are completed in your service records by the servicing garage and obtain a receipt for the service. You must keep all such receipts for reference in the event of a claim."

I'm still in correspondence with BMW about repair work following accident damage resulting in an insurance claim having to be completed at a franchised dealer not to void the manufacturer's warranty.

Think the difference is, the BMW Insured Warranty is a warranty provided by a third party on behalf of BMW, found this out when my flap stuck on my 2014 2 months out of warranty. It was not covered, but BMW replaced with a donation from me as a good will chestier. They could have refused and the BMW Insured warranty didn't cover exhausts. It is different to the warranty provided by BMW on a new bike. In the case of a Manufacturers Warranty, you should have your bike serviced by a franchised dealer, or they could dispute any warranty claims.

Found this BMW new bike warranty handbook, https://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/content/ ... 924116.pdf

"We believe that Authorised BMW Retailers are best equipped to meet your service and maintenance requirements. However, your Retailer warranty will not be affected should you decide to have servicing carried out by a non-BMW authorised workshop."

David. wrote: Found this BMW new bike warranty handbook, https://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/content/dam/bmwmotorradnsc/marketGB/bmw-motorrad_co_uk/legal/warranty.pdf.asset.1536068924116.pdf

"We believe that Authorised BMW Retailers are best equipped to meet your service and maintenance requirements. However, your Retailer warranty will not be affected should you decide to have servicing carried out by a non-BMW authorised workshop."

But the kicker is, they also state the specification of parts and lubricants used should be provided. If something broke, would they expect the garage to prove they did the job correctly. If done by a dealer, they can't argue. When CW in Dorchester ceased to be an authorised dealer, but were authorised to service, they told me on my 1 year old bike that they could service it, but if it needed any warranty work, they couldn't do it, they would have to refer me to an authorised dealer to get the parts and fit. Now that is slightly different to servicing. But as there is no legal requirement for BMW to honour warranties as per the legislation with cars, to my mind gives wriggle room. But not an issue for me, as I'll use the dealer network until my 3 year warranty runs out. Interestingly we just had one of our blood bikes serviced at an independent who does a great job, but it turned out £7 more expensive and then they couldn't reset the service light, so we had to ask the nearest dealer to reset and they wanted proof of service, sight of the stamped book and then charged us £20. So it would have been cheaper to use BMW

Under any warranty, new, used or extended (insured),  the bike can be serviced outside of the BMW dealer network.

Independents can register/create an account with BMW on their Aftersales Online System, https://aos.bmwgroup.com/web/oss/start
Once they have done that, they can login to record the work they have done on to the BMW system.

When it comes to mechanical repairs, "all repair work covered by insured warranty would have to be completed by an official BMW dealer. If this repair work is completed outside of the network, this may invalidate your cover."

There is a good chance that accident damage repairs are seen in the same light as mechanical repairs.

It would be good to get a definitive answer from BMW/Insurers for new, used or extended (insured) warranties with respect to the OP about an insurance claim and subsequent repairs. As my bike is 9 years old, I can and will pursue the case with an Extended Insured Warranty.

If someone with a bike under a new manufacturers or used bike warranty could do the same, that would be great, thank you.

I've spoken to BMW UK Customer Services on 0370 505 0160. They have confirmed that accident damage can be repaired at a non-franchised BMW dealer (independent garage),  providing approved parts etc. are fitted in the correct manner. This applies to all three types of warranty, be that new manufacturer or used both provided by BMW including insured warranty provided by a third party insurer on behalf of BMW.

David. wrote: I've spoken to BMW UK Customer Services on 0370 505 0160. They have confirmed that accident damage can be repaired at a non-franchised BMW dealer (independent garage), providing approved parts etc. are fitted in the correct manner. This applies to all three types of warranty, be that new manufacturer or used both provided by BMW including insured warranty provided by a third party insurer on behalf of BMW.

I bet they'd back out any warranty claim by saying that the repair wasn't done in the correct manner though.

In the OP video, it is stated that whilst a bike (Triumph) is under a manufacturer's warranty, getting it repaired or serviced outside of the franchised dealer network will invalidate the warranty.

Likewise, the White Dalton website says that you must get your bike serviced at a franchised dealer whilst under warranty.

BMW have confirmed that this is not true, (could be different for Triumph) but there may be potential risks when it comes to a warranty claim.