BMW Porto Alegre - Brazil - The workshop of horrors!

[maria41]

I won´t put any address as you should give them a wide berth!

I will pass on their outrageous pricing and riping us off. I wouldn´t mind paying big bucks for outstanding work. No. I do mind when their work is so incompetent that they let me leave their workshop on a motorbike which was actually dangerous to ride! That, I cannot forgive!

After the theft of my bike I got it shipped to their workshop and asked them to check it. When I picked it up few days later, the forks where mis-aligned and the handlebar was bent in 2 places. As a result, the throttle would be "sticky" and I would have to close it up or it would stay stuck, if you see what I mean! I was horrified and rode the bike out. I didn´t want anything to do with them anymore! Richard, our host, took a look at the bike and told me the bike was too dangerous for us to continue until Buenos Aires. He took us immediately to a local workshop. For less than 25USD the lad there fixed my bike in few hours!
On monday I will be in BAs and the bike will be in the trusted hands of Javier!
I will never let a BMW dealer touch my bike again !Ever!
For details check my blog the Post "The day BMW tried to kill me" (I will post it in the next few hours.)

[Tony P]

I booked my Dakar in for a 10,000K service at BMW Autodom, Moscow Mkad earlier this year.

On arrival at 9am I found the usual white marble and glass palace full of smartly dressed people doing absolutely nothing - except avoiding eye contact with customers. 6 receptionists busy ignoring everyone by staring into screens. A further three guys on the 2 meter long counter for BMW exclusive bike cleaner, screenwash (?) and polish.

After 10 minutes someone foolishly looked up (probably she was planning to go to the loo!) and I dived in. It took half an hour to book-in the bike (despite a pre-arranged appointment) for the service and a tyre, I was told they would ring me when the bike was ready.

They were as good as their word here - they did ring. TWO DAYS LATER!

They told me the price was 18,000roubles (about (£350). I got there within an hour to be told the price mentioned was wrong and I would have to pay closer to £550.

I pulled out into the Mkad (sort of M25) to find the clutch slipping. I stopped and adjusted the cable myself as I just felt incapable of being polite with BMW people.

A prebooked, routine, interim service and a new tyre. Two and a half days. £550. Come on........

I am so glad labour rates in Russia are not as high as elsewhere.

The whole BMW experience always totally pisses me off. It has been much the same in the UK, Spain and Russia.

They make good bikes but behave as though no one else does (or even exists). Even in highly populated countries like UK they make you travel long distances to find an "authorised" bike dealer who, on past experiences, are often do incompetant work. Other makes are just as good, if not better, and they have spares and mechanics in just about every town in the World.

The wriggling over Warranty matters is truely out of this World! I have twice written to BMW UK but they just wriggle out of it even more. A helmet inner disintegrated when following their own washing instructions - not interested because I do not know the supplying dealer (It was a surprise gift from an ex-girl friend who I no longer wish to contact).

I could go on - and on - and on - but I leave it for others to recount their own stories.