Welcome to the world of BMW service...

 

My 12 K service on my 2018 GS usually runs between 450 and $600 depending on what is done. That’s in Southern California.

What are they quoting for work being done on your bike?

 

You do have a couple of alternatives

1. Do some or all of the work yourself
2. Find a privateer that will do the service for you

 

Referencing the original post while on a recent trip, I had a BMW dealer install tires and do an oil change (Tires had been ordered/paid for thru the same dealer two months earlier.) Cost me $550 for the install and oil change.

I am mechanical so do most of my own services. Thanks to very detailed/technical YouTube videos. I had researched the info on YouTube prior to buying my 2014 GSA as service cost were a concern even before purchasing the bike.

Good luck.

 

Premium bike, premium service - hope you got the wifi code, a donut and a cup of coffee while in for the service

 

Premium Service ????????? $1200 for a valve check, brake bleed ,air filter, rear diff , and oil change . lets say that's $150 in oil/ air filter parts . that $1050 in labor ??? high estimate of 5hr to do the work . $210 an hr... Premium robbery ...

 

I paid just over $800 for my 2014 R1200GS 12,000 mile service

 

Thanks for all of the responses.

Dealer is in Denver. I figured that the service would be between $600 and $800. This is the same dealer who refused to deal on a similar 2016 GSA they had for sale. I took my trailer 250 miles to another dealer in state and got a great deal on my current bike...live and learn.

David L.

 

It been tough to deal on bikes new or used as demand over the last couple of years has outpaced supply.

 

It’s not just a “premium brand” issue, but also inflation of labor costs everywhere. I was at local non-premium car dealership yesterday which posted a $139 labor rate. Here in Vermont this would have been more like $85 to $95 a few years ago.

 

A Few Years ago.. Shit. Santa Barbara SERIOUSLY needs another bike shop. The worst shop in town (Ducati) is notorious for shit work and rakes it in all day every day. Ducati owners aren't rich. Not most of em. I've owned many Duc's and ain't rich yet. Probably because I buy so many Ducs. But anyway, any brand of bike service would do really really well. The guy I use is backed up 3 months or more.

 

...a few years ago. So much has changed. My BMW dealer (280 miles away) posts it’s labor rate at $140/hour. That makes it pretty easy for me to do just about all my maintenance and minor repair work.

 

Took my 17' GSA to the Seattle BMW dealership (Spring 22') for a 30k servie and R brake bleed; I was pleasantly surprised to be under the $600 mark. I ended buying a new battery but I was still under $800 after it was all done. I do recall having one particular service interval emptying my wallet though...

 

They must like you there. I had some work done there, and while not as high as I expected, it was still high; they really nicked me on some tires, but I had one that was sliced open and figured I'd best get a pair.

Cheers,

Allan
2016 R1200GSA

 

Service prices vary significantly between dealers if you have option of another dealer.

 

Change the motor and differential oil, bleed brakes and maybe change sparkplugs. Done! take it to the dealer every 24K to check valves if it makes you feel better.

 

FULLY agree! I'm not trying to "cut" the dealer or put them out of business, but that's just ridiculous.

Doing L/O/F, checking final drive or changing the fluid, replacing air filter, exchanging brake fluid...those are all simple jobs any average mechanic can easily handle. Now, if doing a valve check looks a bit too technical, save your pennies by doing your own basic maintenance and put the money you save towards the valve checks. I have a local privateer who is very experienced with BMWs. While he was in there, I had him swap in a new set of plugs (ones that I supplied) since the valve covers have to come for the valve check. Total was ~$240...

 

Follow up to my first post.....went to a second dealer and the quote for 12,000 mile service including all the suggested maintenance as well as all fluids removed and replaced: $1,800.00.

Will do all the service myself over the winter. Thanks for all the feedback.

 

Then they'll refuse you warranty when you have an issue.

 

I am in Southern California. A year ago, I called a close by BMW dealer and asked for a price quote for my 2017 GSA 12K mi service. The price would start from $878 because, they said, I may need to replace other parts or to have additional works done once they opened up my bike. Aftermarket guards/skid plate etc. would cost more to uninstall and reinstall. And that did not include the spline lube job.

I went to BMW motorcycle parts, BMW motorcycle, Used BMW motorcycle parts, BMW motorcycle salvage and ordered a 12K mi maintenance kit for my bike and did the job myself, including the spline lube job. I had to buy the GS-911, a specific oil filter wrench for the bike, and a spark plug deep socket. Even with those, I still came out ahead compared to the lowest dealer cost. By the way, this was my justification for spending extra to buy the GS-911 tool over buying the cheaper OBD Motorscan tool.

 

I am in Southern California. A year ago, I called a close by BMW dealer and asked for a price quote for my 2017 GSA 12K mi service. The price would start from $878 because, they said, I may need to replace other parts or to have additional works done once they opened up my bike. Aftermarket guards/skid plate etc. would cost more to uninstall and reinstall. And that did not include the spline lube job.

I went to BMW motorcycle parts, BMW motorcycle, Used BMW motorcycle parts, BMW motorcycle salvage and ordered a 12K mi maintenance kit for my bike and did the job myself, including the spline lube job. I had to buy the GS-911, a specific oil filter wrench for the bike, and a spark plug deep socket. Even with those, I still came out ahead compared to the lowest dealer cost. By the way, this was my justification for spending extra to buy the GS-911 tool over buying the cheaper OBD Motorscan tool.

the drive shaft lube job is now under a recall or according to BMW a TSB......400k bikes being recalled for the drive shaft rusting because of water.....there is a fix and if you have over 37k miles, you get a new drive shaft.....I lubed mine this summer and found not too much corrosion......The dealer wanted me to bring it in on the next scheduled service, but since I am out of warranty period and do all my maintenance, I told then I just wanted to do the required TSB service.....they were not too happy and tried to push me out for 3-4 months....I suggested a call to BMW North America and they decided to schedule me....Were not too happy that I have 37050 miles.....(Hahahahaha)....

 

I had BMW bikes since 1978 but I am no longer in the market for one. The cost of service is astronomical and try to buy one these days. Our dealers tag on a solid $2000 to each GS and larger bike if effing fees and freight, set up, bla bla bla charges. It's isane. But the bikes fly off the floor. They are all sold before they hit the dealership. Just like everywhere. People bitch and whine about inflation but are more than happy to pay any price.

 

People bitch and whine about inflation but are more than happy to pay any price.

I agree with this statement. Unfortunately Covid curtailed travel and other non-essential spending for some folks and they now pour it into toys.

I'm content with my vehicles and bikes and refuse to pay inflated prices. I'm willing to do some dirty work to do my own maintenance and repairs. Understand some may not have the skills for that, but YouTube is a great teacher...

 

David: There is an excellent independent guy in Denver I can recommend. He is a former BMW Tech that went on his own. He found a warranty issue and that led to a very good experience with Linda in Service at Centennial BMW (where he used to work). She went out of her way to assist on that.

 

Curious which BMW dealer in Denver was higher quote, Centennial dealer or N.Wadsworth?

 

N. Wadsworth...

 

Only use a BMW dealer while it’s under warranty then use a competent independent BMW specialist.

 

I have a 2016 R1200gs with 36k miles.....I do everything from gear oil change, oil and filter change, brake bleed, coolant change, spark plug change, air filter change and check air in tires......I asked d Seavers fro a quote for the valve check: $120 for check and another $120 fora just plus cost of the shims.....Total for all would be $240 plus parts.......Escondido was around $325.......The $1200 quoted a way too much....You should ask what they are doing and ask what their labor rate is....But as suggested by others, do as much as you can yourself......Again, not worth $1200

 

Just did my 12k service on my (new to me) 2017 1200 GS. It also needed a battery. $1500 total. While in there, they determined I needed the drive shaft recall work done so at least I have a near assembly.

im not a mechanical person but have been trying to learn and build up a decent tool collection, so I do plan to do the minor things like oil and air filters myself next time.

 

I had a similar experience with my 2014 1200 GS with the 12000 mile service

 

Regarding the $140/hr labor rate, wonder how much goes to the tech? Wager it's not much more than $20-$30/hr. Yeah shop overhead is high, but it's a profit center for a dealership (car or motorcycle). Pretty sure most of the 'scheduled maintenance services' are flat rated rather than straight labor charge. A good tech/shop can turn that into a cash cow plus whatever they 'find' that 'needs to be replaced' is just icing on the cake. I will support a fare business but too many dealership service departments are simply revenue generators. Things I can do myself, like normal servicing, I will do it and save my hard earned money for things like fuel.

Helped a friend do 18k service items on a 15 GSA he just acquired . Air/oil filter, oil, brake fluid flush/bleed, final drive lube, inspected the drive shaft (no rust) and lubed the splines (they had lube on them😱). Used motoscan to bleed/flush the ABS and reset the annoying service indicator (that's a pure revenue generation 'feature'...thanks BMW, could have made that re-settable without an eff'g 'scan tool' ). Think it took us about 3 hours.

Funny, not ha ha funny, side story on his GSA...when he brought it home a couple weeks ago we were going over it and noticed the date was set to 2003...after we set it to the correct date the service indicator showed up on the instrument panel. Did the PO set the date back on purpose? 🤔

 

I just paid $180 for valve check and $90 for oil and filter. Did the oil part myself along with the other parts of the service. Took me two hours.

 

No donuts, Bummer

 

Same here: quoted $350-$400 for an oil change. I compared two BMW dealers and it was the same. (I bought the stuff and did it myself for $60.)