GTR Servicing Costs - Great News From Kawasaki

[mark]

Hi Guys,

As a new member ive read a few notes on servicing costs and have myself been involved in discussions with Kawasaki re dealers costs. As an example the 7500 mile service on my GTR was quoted by one dealer at £500, another dealer £140-160 plus parts, and another dealer at £281.00 all in.

Well if you didnt know Kawasaki have taken this onboard and have advised dealers to advertise the servicing costs breaking down labour, oil, parts and VAT giving a total which standardises the servicing costs.

So i was pleased to see my local Kawasaki dealer, M and S in Newcastle loading this onto their website.

http://kawasaki.mandsmotorcycles.co.uk/kawasaki-aftersales-servicing.aspx

Copy and paste this and move down to the bit where it says "select your model and mileage" and it automatically knows by the model the servicing intervals and its easy select which service you require and it quotes you a breakdown of the service costs.

Well Done M and S

Hope this helps with any queries on servicing costs

Thanks

Mark

[O.C.]

Excellent...

Its about time the bike industry caught up with the rest of the motor tradewho have offered a simular facility for years...

[mattye]

 :smiley:Nice one. A great tool for budgeting service costs.

[SirToU]

Well, to be honest, I think those charges are ridiculous.

It would be better off listing the cost of parts and labour per hour, But even those are well ott eg. Replace spark plugs at 7500 service. Hmmm.

I'm currently on my third 20k GTR in 4 years and my worst service is when tyres or front brake pads have been required (excluding the 26,000 mile service) and even the 26k was about £600.

Admittedly, I do a lot of intermediate servicing (clean brakes and overall checks at 2k intervals), but still I think the quoted prices would scare me off.  If I do the work myself, at least I know when I go through a corner with the pegs on the deck, I've got an above average chance of coming out the other side.

Anyway, just my 2p.

Neil

[O.C.]

I do take your point Neil, but not everyone can complete their own servicing safely, and for those that can't the dealer servicing/repair option is the only one that is available.

I would happily conduct all my own servicing but feel that if a dealer conducts the maintainance, at least whilst the bike is within warranty, that I have a come back if any problems appear. I do of course regularly check my bike regularly with regard to running gear, and would advise others to do the same.

I agree that not all dealers employ mechanics, or are they called technicians these days, who meet the required criteria, usually because they, the dealers, won't/don't pay enough.

Hopefully what will happen as a result of menu pricing, or whatever its called, will bring about a bit more transparency to the charges that dealers make on unsuspecting customers, in that way servicing costs may just become a bit better value for money.

I seem to recall a conversation about the need to have your bike serviced by a recognised/qualified facility in order to maintain the bikes warranty..but that's another conversation for another day..maybe 

[Kwikasfuki]

Why is the 16000 service so much? I thought the 24000 service was the major one.

Besides, the mileage scale isn't high enough

Step in the right direction though

[SirToU]

Just to debat, I think there are a couple of replys. My bikes are fully main dealer serviced every 4k and stamped.  But they are looked after by me, so that when they go in to be serviced, the guys just need to look.  Any mechanic / technician will look at the state, and if it's clean and cared for, take out a bolt and its copper slipped. They will know its service life and checkng something takes quarter of the time it takes to service it (maybe even less).

I'm sure in the 90's there were some debates about manufacturers stating, their products had to be main dealer serviced and the European court or someone, found them guilty of "profiteering".   They are now not allowed to state that, but rather it has to be a competent person. (now that's a grey area).

If a bike is regularly serviced beyond its manufacturers recommended service intervals, I would hope it has less problems, without jinxing myself.

It's all about trust and the dealer you use, about how you treat the dealer, and how the dealer treats you.  It's why, even now I've moved to Cambridge, I'll travel the 150+miles to Bournemouth to get my bikes serviced.

That's 4p.

:-)

[SirToU]

Found this link..... For cars, but could be argued for any product requiring regular servicing... I guess.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/warranty-servicing

Neil

[O.C.]

Found this link..... For cars, but could be argued for any product requiring regular servicing... I guess.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/warranty-servicing

Neil

That pretty much says it all Neil...good find

Its interesting that within the article mention is made of manufacturer specific brand oils...some BMW bike dealers have been the subjuect of considerable debate in regard to extortionate charges made in connection with the oil that is used in servicing BMW machines, in fact Alan Jefferies offer a deal whereby a customer can pre-purchase oil tokens, for oil used whilst servicing, at a discounted rate, its not a bad idea actually (I've still got some left over  ) ....Oh and BTW some BMW bikes use lots of oil...don't they Winston    

Its down to the interpretation of the word competency when applied to the skills of servicing.

I like you, still get my servicing conducted at a Kawasaki dealership and make sure that the book is stamped in accordance with schedules, it does add to the residual value of the machine at the end of the day, as well as (hopefully) ensuring its safe usability on the roads.

I completely agree with you Neil that there's nowt like the peace of mind knowing that youve 'checked you bike over' yourself though 

[100milesaway]

This is a good shout of yours Neil.  I agree with your idea regarding looking after the bike yourself ie simple things like actually keeping it clean and tidy, and checking fluid levels, also keeping brake calipers clean and free from all the crud that severely restricts their movement especially in this filthy weather when there is so much salt used on the roads to keep them safe. But I fear that the actual dealer service side of things will turn into the never ending story. I think we would all be happy chappies pretty much regardless of cost    IF   We knew that our bikes had been serviced in a proper manner, by a person who knew what he was doing, and in a dealership that had all the technical information, and special tools  to complete the service in a reasonable time scale.      BUT   Most peoples experiences will more than likely be the opposite to this, And I think more than anything else the fact that we dont know whether things have been done at all. ( valve shims) makes us all upset and sometimes angry. Much like yourself Neil I travel a few miles to get my bike serviced, not as much for the service provided by the dealer, but more because I have used and TRUSTED the mechanic over many years and more than one dealership, and that to me is priceless. And I would like to think that  between the pair of us we keep my bikes in very good shape.

[SirToU]

+1 - 100milesaway.

But some of it is human nature about respect.  I've got more respect out of mechanics doing little things that make their life easier, than I ever did, playing the Emu and letting them do the lot.

And you also don't have the satisfaction of them complimenting you, especially when you do lots of miles - upwards of 15k per year. :-)

Neil

[seniorminnion]

Great news from M&S Newcastle ??   ------ I've only got 500 miles on mine  -------- 600 mile service = £222   --- joking aren't they ?????   - £ 125 labour - for what ? changing the oil ???

- the second my 2 years warranty are up I'll be letting a mechanic I know service it for me --  stamp in the book or not !!

[O.C.]

They will probably justify their charges by telling you that they will check fluids, levels, hoses etc., on both clutch and brake systems, as well as changing engine oil and the oil filter..... I think the final drive oil should be changed as well.

The problem is that hourly service charge out rates have rocketed with some dealers charging £85+ per hour....so it doesn't take long to rack up the bill, and your dealer will almost certainly be working to workscopes laid down by Kawasaki, its part of the deal for being a franchised dealer.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending their charges but pointing out that it really doesn't take much to get to £120 labour costs plus V.A.T @ 20%  eeeek   

[barnyardsavage]

my gtr is 2 years old in may and i then will do the oil changes and minor services myself in the present climate as money is if people are capable i think a lot will be doing their own but not everybody ive been riding and repairing bikes since i was about 13 but take them to the dealer so i get the service record but there is a time when you have got to think is it worth it for a stamp

[Ubertours]

my gtr is 2 years old in may and i then will do the oil changes and minor services myself in the present climate as money is if people are capable i think a lot will be doing their own but not everybody ive been riding and repairing bikes since i was about 13 but take them to the dealer so i get the service record but there is a time when you have got to think is it worth it for a stamp

I totally agree, if you do lots of miles at these service rates you could quite easily spend more than the value of the bike in 5 or 6 years.