Beware of Endras BMW | GTAMotorcycle.com

Beware of Endras BMW

HammerDriver

HammerDriver

Member
I bought my bike here when it was formerly BMW Durham. When it became Endras, the service became so bad I now take my bike all the way to the other side of town to Budds BMW for service.

Endras somehow has managed to get 4 liters of oil into my 3 liter crankcase. Not sure how they did that but they have charged me for four liters on my oil changes and also managed to fit the wrong oil filter on my bike. I specifically asked them to pull my back wheel and check the bearings. I do my own tire changes from street to dirt and thought the rear bearing was a bit rough. I was heading to Tennessee and wanted it checked. When I picked up the bike and asked about the bearing they said they didn't pull the wheel like I had asked and could tell that everything was fine just by wiggling the wheel. Rode on over to Budds and asked them to pull the wheel and sure enough, two of the three bearings needed replacing. Done under warranty.

I will never set foot into the Endras dealership again and I would warn those who are getting their bikes serviced to look at your invoices to find things like adding and charging more oil than the bike can physically hold.
 
Good and specific review. A real rarity here. Thanks for the warning.
 
Most BMW riders now know that Budd's is the place to go when you need a dealership to look at your bike.

John Parker and gang rock.

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HammerDriver said:
I bought my bike here when it was formerly BMW Durham. When it became Endras, the service became so bad I now take my bike all the way to the other side of town to Budds BMW for service.

Endras somehow has managed to get 4 liters of oil into my 3 liter crankcase. Not sure how they did that but they have charged me for four liters on my oil changes and also managed to fit the wrong oil filter on my bike. I specifically asked them to pull my back wheel and check the bearings. I do my own tire changes from street to dirt and thought the rear bearing was a bit rough. I was heading to Tennessee and wanted it checked. When I picked up the bike and asked about the bearing they said they didn't pull the wheel like I had asked and could tell that everything was fine just by wiggling the wheel. Rode on over to Budds and asked them to pull the wheel and sure enough, two of the three bearings needed replacing. Done under warranty.

I will never set foot into the Endras dealership again and I would warn those who are getting their bikes serviced to look at your invoices to find things like adding and charging more oil than the bike can physically hold.
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Just to clear one thing up, just because the specs say it takes 3 liters does not mean it cannot hold more. Not saying it was right, just saying it physically is very possible.
 
Sure you can put extra in, but too much and it will come back out by blowing a seal.
 
Baggsy said:
Sure you can put extra in, but too much and it will come back out by blowing a seal.
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Really? How can a static high oil level "blow a seal"? It may get whipped to a froth by the crank, may end up coming out the vent, may end up getting pushed into the air filter housing, but "blow a seal"? Not going to happen. The reason I even replied in the first place was to try to correct some "old wives tales", you just added another.
 
bear22099 said:
Really? How can a static high oil level "blow a seal"? It may get whipped to a froth by the crank, may end up coming out the vent, may end up getting pushed into the air filter housing, but "blow a seal"? Not going to happen. The reason I even replied in the first place was to try to correct some "old wives tales", you just added another.
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you can get oil pushed out of gaskets and leaking from spots you never expected, biggest problem is the oil whips to a froth and doesnt pump and lube properly as its should since its a milky air infused foam, then the bearings starve and it has been directly linked to engines seizing.

Its rare but you can blow a motor up by overfilling the oil.
 
bear22099 said:
Really? How can a static high oil level "blow a seal"? It may get whipped to a froth by the crank, may end up coming out the vent, may end up getting pushed into the air filter housing, but "blow a seal"? Not going to happen. The reason I even replied in the first place was to try to correct some "old wives tales", you just added another.
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O.K. You win. I didn't warm up my bike before draining oil at beginning of a season. All the oil didn't get out. I filled it back up to the recommended amount. After running it it started leaving oil stains in the garage. Did this for months and months. Mechanic replaced a small part that I mistook for a seal at the end of the season and the problem went away.
 
Baggsy said:
O.K. You win. I didn't warm up my bike before draining oil at beginning of a season. All the oil didn't get out. I filled it back up to the recommended amount. After running it it started leaving oil stains in the garage. Did this for months and months. Mechanic replaced a small part that I mistook for a seal at the end of the season and the problem went away.
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This is the most sly bit of sarcasm I've ever read. Well written, would and had to read again.
 
bear22099 said:
Just to clear one thing up, just because the specs say it takes 3 liters does not mean it cannot hold more. Not saying it was right, just saying it physically is very possible.
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You are quite right but why would you when it only calls for 3 liters? Just because the sump may have enough volume to hold another half liter doesn't mean we should cram it in. You usually need space for expansion and too much oil just gets ****** out. Why do you think the engineers bother publishing specs if your just gonna fill it up to the top of the stick? Particularly with the BMW Rotax where the oil level only reads accurately once it is up to temp. A properly trained tech should know this and he/she should also be able to read a fiche and install the correct oil filter but this simple task was also beyond the ability of Endras. I ended up with a filter for a "K" bike being installed.

Not to justify "wives tales" here but I have now had several issues with these guys since they have come under new management/ownership and wouldn't let them repair a flat on my bicycle. When they were Durham BMW they had a factory trained master technician who was fantastic. He was replaced with someone cheaper obviously.
 
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HammerDriver said:
You are quite right but why would you when it only calls for 3 liters? Just because the sump may have enough volume to hold another half liter doesn't mean we should cram it in. You usually need space for expansion and too much oil just gets ****** out. Why do you think the engineers bother publishing specs if your just gonna fill it up to the top of the stick? Particularly with the BMW Rotax where the oil level only reads accurately once it is up to temp. A properly trained tech should know this and he/she should also be able to read a fiche and install the correct oil filter but this simple task was also beyond the ability of Endras. I ended up with a filter for a "K" bike being installed.

Not to justify "wives tales" here but I have now had several issues with these guys since they have come under new management/ownership and wouldn't let them repair a flat on my bicycle. When they were Durham BMW they had a factory trained master technician who was fantastic. He was replaced with someone cheaper obviously.
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My comment was to simple point out that you stated "more oil than the bike can physically hold" and that is incorrect. It can physically hold that much oil, and since it did not run out of the engine, it must have physically held more oil. As for the incorrect oil filter, it is not uncommon to use a larger capacity oil filter, I don't know the specs of the two filters in this case, but do know that is quite common to use a filter with a larger filtering capacity. Does it mean it is wrong and will damage the bike? Not likely. As for why the engineers did not choose this filter in the first place, I have no idea why. I do realize they have to account for every possibility though, and there maybe some bizaare series of events that could occur that will effect the oil filter's size and location, but, in real life chances of it happening are extremely low. My point in all this is this, you made some very pointed and direct statements that are simply untrue when stated that way. I am just pointing that out. I am not defending the dealer.
 
^^^^

But the most important point he made, is the Endras has gone down hill. This is an opinion reflected by many owners who have visited there recently. They *used* to have an excellent master BMW tech there, but evidently he no longer works there, and apparently, the new guys aren't up to snuff.

When visiting Budd's BMW, it is fairly common to see in the service area bike with "BMW Durham" or "BMW Endras" on their license plate frames.

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I'm in a bit of a predicament myself. I purchased my bike from BMW Durham and received a free 10k service included in my purchase price. I'm now at 7k and debating whether I should bother cashing in on my "free" service or bring it to Budd's and eat the cost out of pocket for peace of mind knowing my bike is being handled by top mechanics. Being under new management (Endras) I suspect some kind of run around anyways when I try to redeem my free service. Aside from the fact Budd's is a hell of a lot closer to me than riding to Ajax and losing a day's work.
 
Arrogant buggers at Endras as well...
 
bear22099 said:
My comment was to simple point out that you stated "more oil than the bike can physically hold" and that is incorrect. It can physically hold that much oil, and since it did not run out of the engine, it must have physically held more oil. As for the incorrect oil filter, it is not uncommon to use a larger capacity oil filter, I don't know the specs of the two filters in this case, but do know that is quite common to use a filter with a larger filtering capacity. Does it mean it is wrong and will damage the bike? Not likely. As for why the engineers did not choose this filter in the first place, I have no idea why. I do realize they have to account for every possibility though, and there maybe some bizaare series of events that could occur that will effect the oil filter's size and location, but, in real life chances of it happening are extremely low. My point in all this is this, you made some very pointed and direct statements that are simply untrue when stated that way. I am just pointing that out. I am not defending the dealer.
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"More than can physically hold" yes, I agree with you on that comment being "technically" incorrect but it is splitting hairs in my opinion. I have no doubt that while they charged me for 4 liters, they did in fact only put in 3. The last dealer to work on the bike,( Budd's BMW ) charged for 3 liters and the proper filter as well as fixed a few things Endras had screwed up. There is absolutely no reason IMHO for an authorized dealer to use any other filter than the one spec'd for the bike. If I had gone to someone other than an authorized dealer, I would accept a cross referenced filter. The point of the post was that I do not trust them to work on my bike anymore and I feel I have valid points for feeling that way. All sarcasm aside, I think you missed the "jist" of the post in anxious anticipation of giving another lecture.
 
f1mauro said:
I'm in a bit of a predicament myself. I purchased my bike from BMW Durham and received a free 10k service included in my purchase price. I'm now at 7k and debating whether I should bother cashing in on my "free" service or bring it to Budd's and eat the cost out of pocket for peace of mind knowing my bike is being handled by top mechanics. Being under new management (Endras) I suspect some kind of run around anyways when I try to redeem my free service. Aside from the fact Budd's is a hell of a lot closer to me than riding to Ajax and losing a day's work.
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If I were in your shoes, I would get them to do it because you negotiated it, then take it to Budd's and have them check it all. When I took mine to Budd's they found that Endras had not done the last software update properly nor had they done a waterpump recall properly. This was all noted and recorded at Budd's because Endras showed all this being done and billed to BMW on my last invoice.

Friends of mine in the industry have said that when BMW Durham was purchased and switched to Endras, that they went in to a major cost reduction program. The previously very active motorrad department was skinned overnight and their master tech let go. In contrast, Budd's has a master tech who is passionate about bikes, is knowledgeable and talks directly to the bike owner. At Endras you have to deal with an arrogant advisor who knows the square root of his shoe size when it comes to your bike.
 
HammerDriver said:
In contrast, Budd's has a master tech who is passionate about bikes, is knowledgeable and talks directly to the bike owner.
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Amen.

And not only John, but Anthony is an excellent mechanic as well. And now, they just picked up another mechanic to add to the crew, Ryan (formerly of Riders Choice).

If any of you guys need your suspension sorted, Ryan is the guy to see.

IMHO, Budd's now has the best bunch of guys in the BMW business.

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