Who has the best BMW service department?

Great tips guys, thank you. Although this is not new news, I just got the following email from Serpa:

___________

In the interests of serving motorcycle enthusiasts even better, BMW Canada has decided to consolidate BMW Motorrad into free-standing units separate from auto dealerships. We congratulate the new BMW Motorrad organization and are sure it will be a great success.

Our involvement with the BMW motorcycle community, the ‘Motorradicals,’ has been a very rewarding experience since we acquired and renamed the dealership in 2012. We will miss the beautiful shiny motorcycles and the people who were dedicated to riding them.

With our Miguel Betz in charge, we know the new facility will be a great place to buy and service BMW and other motorcycle brands. Thank you for your support of Serpa BMW.

___________


The way it's worded sounds like all BMW Motorrad divisions are separating from the car dealerships... wonder if the same is happening anywhere else - like Budd's or Downtown?
 
kiwi said:
Budds - worth the long drive from east end to get service there. Mr J Parker runs a great service team. Sales? - Forget it..
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Wondering why you say their sales are no good? I found speaking with Stephen this summer about a future new purchase was much more enjoyable than at Serpa. He also mentioned he gives a standard 10% off accessories for the bike, which no-one mentioned at Serpa...

I live in Aurora, but was pretty confident I'd be purchasing the bike at Budd's. I'm going to be ordering the bike and putting down my deposit towards the end of this month... any recommendations for dealers that negotiate prices well, please let me know. It's tough to get a discount on their number one selling bike (brand new).
 
Krimesf4i said:
Wondering why you say their sales are no good? I found speaking with Stephen this summer about a future new purchase was much more enjoyable than at Serpa. He also mentioned he gives a standard 10% off accessories for the bike, which no-one mentioned at Serpa...

I live in Aurora, but was pretty confident I'd be purchasing the bike at Budd's. I'm going to be ordering the bike and putting down my deposit towards the end of this month... any recommendations for dealers that negotiate prices well, please let me know. It's tough to get a discount on their number one selling bike (brand new).
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What are you getting?
 
For my bikes, I've been dealing with Downtown BMW since 2010. I have purchased four bikes from them; F8GS, R12GS, S1KRR and R12GSW Adventure. Tim Sarch is my main contact there but I have also dealt with Ben, Shelby, Jonathan and Andrew and find them all to be great people. In fact Ben has even delivered two of my bikes to my house all the way out near Hamilton, Ontario because I was unable to make it downtown to pick up them up. They have always gone out of their way to accommodate my schedule. As for servicing, I took my S1KRR to Downtown for the first 1K service and was very pleased with the whole experience. I was even able to take their shuttle into the city centre so I could get some work done and then had the shuttle pick me up to take me back to the dealership once my bike was ready.

I too have read many negative reviews from people about Downtown BMW but can honestly state that this has been a great dealership vis-a-vis sales and service for me. My only gripe is that I don't like riding downtown because of all the construction on the Gardner Expressway which is always a perpetual parking lot no mater what time of day you use it.....:(

Cheers!
 
Crackberry said:
For my bikes, I've been dealing with Downtown BMW since 2010. I have purchased four bikes from them; F8GS, R12GS, S1KRR and R12GSW Adventure. Tim Sarch is my main contact there but I have also dealt with Ben, Shelby, Jonathan and Andrew and find them all to be great people. In fact Ben has even delivered two of my bikes to my house all the way out near Hamilton, Ontario because I was unable to make it downtown to pick up them up. They have always gone out of their way to accommodate my schedule. As for servicing, I took my S1KRR to Downtown for the first 1K service and was very pleased with the whole experience. I was even able to take their shuttle into the city centre so I could get some work done and then had the shuttle pick me up to take me back to the dealership once my bike was ready.

I too have read many negative reviews from people about Downtown BMW but can honestly state that this has been a great dealership vis-a-vis sales and service for me. My only gripe is that I don't like riding downtown because of all the construction on the Gardner Expressway which is always a perpetual parking lot no mater what time of day you use it.....:(

Cheers!
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Good to hear a positive review from Downtown BMW. When did you get the GSAW and did they offer any discount?
 
Krimesf4i said:
Good to hear a positive review from Downtown BMW. When did you get the GSAW and did they offer any discount?
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Picked it up in October, it was the last one they had and was FULLY loaded [LED Headlight, Driving Mode Pro (Dynamic, Enduro, Enduro Pro), Comfort Package, Touring Package, Anti-Theft Alarm System] even came with knobbies.

The only thing I added were the big side cases. I used my 2012 GS as a trade-in so they gave me an excellent value for it which made up for the lack of any discount on the GSAW. I also got a discount on the accessories so all-in-all I am very happy with the deal.

Cheers!
 
Crackberry said:
Picked it up in October, it was the last one they had and was FULLY loaded [LED Headlight, Driving Mode Pro (Dynamic, Enduro, Enduro Pro), Comfort Package, Touring Package, Anti-Theft Alarm System] even came with knobbies.

The only thing I added were the big side cases. I used my 2012 GS as a trade-in so they gave me an excellent value for it which made up for the lack of any discount on the GSAW. I also got a discount on the accessories so all-in-all I am very happy with the deal.

Cheers!
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Nice, Congrats!
 
Owen at Endras ....John at Budd's....what is this?

Any time I get to know a service technition on first name basis to the point of being chumy, is the day I sell my bike. Could be also why I do my own maintenance, less hassle, done right and is quick. All this cozyness is killing me, as they pat me on the shoulder while relieving me of my wallet.

These guys are not your gynecologist, although they may be your proctologist. Love your wife, not your mechanic.
 
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Krimesf4i said:
The way it's worded sounds like all BMW Motorrad divisions are separating from the car dealerships... wonder if the same is happening anywhere else - like Budd's or Downtown?
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It's well known that the motorrad divisions in Canada struggle and are the orphan child of BMW. Their auto sales new, used, parts and service are the key drivers of profit in the dealerships. Europe and American motorrad divisions are very profitable with 100,000 BMWs sold worldwide in first 3 quarters of 2014 with Germany, France and the US (USA accounts for 13% of sales) in top 3 sales spots. Canada accounts for about 1% of their motorcycle sales. Blame that on our relatively small population and long winter.

BMW dealers pay an annual franchise fee for each of their auto and motorrad divisions to BMW (The Quandt family - the 'Fords of Germany') Frank Serpa of Avante Mazda Group bought Open Road 2 years ago and has now astutely cut loose the least profitable of his divisions. He's a car guy and doesn't want to waste his time on what amounts to pennies (for him).
 
HarleyHare said:
Owen at Endras ....John at Budd's....what is this?

Any time I get to know a service technition on first name basis to the point of being chumy, is the day I sell my bike. Could be also why I do my own maintenance, less hassle, done right and is quick. All this cozyness is killing me, as they pat me on the shoulder while relieving me of my wallet.

These guys are not your gynecologist, although they may be your proctologist. Love your wife, not your mechanic.
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Really??? I'm going to have to disagree with your observations:

dHpQc.gif


Just because one is on a first name basis with the service or sales representatives @ a BMW Motorrad dealership does not mean they are swapping spit and taking long warm showers together....might just signify that they have built a good working relationship. As for having one's colon probed by these people, I can assure you that while Budds, Endras and Downtown BMW provide excellent service they limit any probing to; Motorcycles, Cars and Suvs. Although, I have no doubt there are some BMW owners could use the services of a good proctologist.....

In any case, there are some people who prefer getting their bikes serviced by dealers or private mechanics and others who prefer doing the work themselves....its a personal preference.
 
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Crackberry said:
Really??? I'm going to have to disagree with your observations:

dHpQc.gif
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Cool graphic from one of my favourite movies, but you got this wrong just as Hollywood did. In Rome a thumbs down signalled the gladiator to shield/put away his sword (opponent lives); thumbs up signalled the gladiator to thrust his sword up (opponent dies). Only the Chinese use a thumbs up sign for positive, to signal (what else) good luck. Maybe the middle finger salute is more universally understood, especially by a proctologist.
 
My experience has been similar. Bought my first BMW (2013 R1200GS) from Tim in the spring of this year, and was very hesitant about bringing it in for servicing. However, in the process of meeting the staff there, I think this is a dealership I can trust. Is it cheap? No, it's not, but the few times I've brought stuff to them to fix (ie the left handlebar switchgear), it was fixed quickly and without question.

I make heavy use of their shuttle service, they don't do work they don't have to and most importantly the communication seems to be good. They recognize me, they treat me like they value my business and in return I try to be a good customer for them.

I don't try and nickle and dime everything - I know that a service shop has expenses, and I want the guy that's working on my bike to like what he's (she's?) doing and to be paid a living wage.

In return I expect good communication and service I can trust. So far Downtown BMW has been able to deliver.

Crackberry said:
For my bikes, I've been dealing with Downtown BMW since 2010. I have purchased four bikes from them; F8GS, R12GS, S1KRR and R12GSW Adventure. Tim Sarch is my main contact there but I have also dealt with Ben, Shelby, Jonathan and Andrew and find them all to be great people. In fact Ben has even delivered two of my bikes to my house all the way out near Hamilton, Ontario because I was unable to make it downtown to pick up them up. They have always gone out of their way to accommodate my schedule. As for servicing, I took my S1KRR to Downtown for the first 1K service and was very pleased with the whole experience. I was even able to take their shuttle into the city centre so I could get some work done and then had the shuttle pick me up to take me back to the dealership once my bike was ready.

I too have read many negative reviews from people about Downtown BMW but can honestly state that this has been a great dealership vis-a-vis sales and service for me. My only gripe is that I don't like riding downtown because of all the construction on the Gardner Expressway which is always a perpetual parking lot no mater what time of day you use it.....:(

Cheers!
Click to expand...
 
oomis said:
My experience has been similar. Bought my first BMW (2013 R1200GS) from Tim in the spring of this year, and was very hesitant about bringing it in for servicing. However, in the process of meeting the staff there, I think this is a dealership I can trust. Is it cheap? No, it's not, but the few times I've brought stuff to them to fix (ie the left handlebar switchgear), it was fixed quickly and without question.

I make heavy use of their shuttle service, they don't do work they don't have to and most importantly the communication seems to be good. They recognize me, they treat me like they value my business and in return I try to be a good customer for them.

I don't try and nickle and dime everything - I know that a service shop has expenses, and I want the guy that's working on my bike to like what he's (she's?) doing and to be paid a living wage.

In return I expect good communication and service I can trust. So far Downtown BMW has been able to deliver.
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I just put money down with Downtown BMW on a new GSA for a Feb build. I dealt with Tim, and have had a great experience so far.

Now, the dilemma of deciding if I want the chrome exhaust option (along with the tire pressure monitor I don't want) or to leave it as the standard Stainless Steel.
 
Krimesf4i said:
the tire pressure monitor I don't want
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What's your objection to the tire pressure monitor? Purely cost, or are there functional negatives to it?

I wouldn't say my TPM is fantastic, but it is a handy data point and I'm glad I have it. I admit though I ride K1300S, not an enduro with potential tire adventures.
 
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