Goodwill???

[Redrat]

In December 2013 I had a local Surrey Kawasaki dealer give my 2010 GTR its secong annual service and its first MOT and accepted the usual bill of about £650.  I rode home some 16 miles and laid the bike up for the winter months. I put great value on the GTR service being carried out by a dealer but continue to do all the spanner work on my Gixxer 750. Fast forward to March 2014 and over several weekends I notch up 700 miles and suddeny notice the left hand cowling, housing the glove box and heated grips control, was slightly damaged. Initially the retaining bolt appeared to have fractured the hole but on opening the glove box there was further evident damage from force. I went to the dealer and asked him to account for the damage, despite the length of time involved, stating their workshop was responsible. I accepted the fact he needed time to confirm the cowling had been removed during service. I telephoned the dealer later that week and it was agreed the item would be replaced. After a month I telephoned again to find the item had not been ordered but would be delivered in a week. Well, the dealer confirmed the cowling had arrived and I asked when it would be convenient to visit the workshop and could I wait during the fitting. The dealer then asked why I expected them to carry out the fitting and I replied because your mechanic/workshop/dealer was accountable. Oh no, says he, the cowling was ordered as a gesture of goodwill and I could fit it myself. The item is about £50 retail but that is not the value in question - my next service is going to be with a dealer on the South Coast and I'll bet I get offered a loan bike for the day.

[viper]

what we have done in the past is for you to name and shame the dealership and then over the course of the next few weeks as many members on here as possible phone the dealership, saying we are a  fellow gtr owner, have heard about their poor service  and as they have not looked after you we would never use them ect ect. Imaging being that dealer and getting 20 or so calls over a 2 week period , it would be a concern for them

[Debs]

That really sucks Redrat..

I take my baby to Bournemouth Kawasaki and have done for the past 2 years.. Great dealers and always get a loan bike for the day as long as i put the fuel in..

[Andy]

On a slightly different subject, doesn't it make more sense to have your bike serviced after a Winter layup?

[PCPeteUK]

Ummm worrying as I need to find a dealer to service mine (just approaching 10k) - I live in Reading but suppose as I'm in Bournemouth on a Tuesday I could drop it off there. They wouldn't need it for more than a day for a 10k service - thoughts???

[doebag]

On a slightly different subject, doesn't it make more sense to have your bike serviced after a Winter layup?

Personally, I would lay up a bike after a service, then there is fresh rather than dirty oil in the sump and oilways.

[Ant]

Ummm worrying as I need to find a dealer to service mine (just approaching 10k) - I live in Reading but suppose as I'm in Bournemouth on a Tuesday I could drop it off there. They wouldn't need it for more than a day for a 10k service - thoughts???

Would that be the 7500 mile or 12500 mile service ? 

[SirToU]

generally, as long as you book it in, 7.5 or 12.5 shouldn't be a problem to do during the day.

Just make sure its booked as Monday their workshop is closed.

Great dealer though, shame I'm 350 miles away.....   :-(

Neil

[PCPeteUK]

Would that be the 7500 mile or 12500 mile service ? 

That'll teach me not read the manual - I guessed it would be same as the car....10k
I won't panic for a few miles yet then 

[Teacher]

I'm curious what you had done for £650 .
My bike has covered only 8k, it's a 2010. I had it serviced at an independant last year, 350 quid including a pair of PR3s. I only had oil change done as it had only done 4k then- oh and that included an mot

I will have a service done this year at 8k ( bike has done that now) but will prob still only have an oil and filter change. intend to check pads myself but I may get clutch and brake fluid done. If I do i doubt it'll be any more than 150 quid.

I have been told the plug are good till at least 15k, but I'm quite a stckler regarding an annual oli and filter change, regardless of mileage

[Ant]

In December 2013 I had a local Surrey Kawasaki dealer give my 2010 GTR its secong annual service and its first MOT and accepted the usual bill of about £650.  I rode home some 16 miles and laid the bike up for the winter months. I put great value on the GTR service being carried out by a dealer but continue to do all the spanner work on my Gixxer 750. Fast forward to March 2014 and over several weekends I notch up 700 miles and suddeny notice the left hand cowling, housing the glove box and heated grips control, was slightly damaged. Initially the retaining bolt appeared to have fractured the hole but on opening the glove box there was further evident damage from force. I went to the dealer and asked him to account for the damage, despite the length of time involved, stating their workshop was responsible. I accepted the fact he needed time to confirm the cowling had been removed during service. I telephoned the dealer later that week and it was agreed the item would be replaced. After a month I telephoned again to find the item had not been ordered but would be delivered in a week. Well, the dealer confirmed the cowling had arrived and I asked when it would be convenient to visit the workshop and could I wait during the fitting. The dealer then asked why I expected them to carry out the fitting and I replied because your mechanic/workshop/dealer was accountable. Oh no, says he, the cowling was ordered as a gesture of goodwill and I could fit it myself. The item is about £50 retail but that is not the value in question - my next service is going to be with a dealer on the South Coast and I'll bet I get offered a loan bike for the day.

That is what happened to mine a few weeks after its 7500 service,,,,,which cost £180 BTW.  Itvwas replaced under warranty and only caused due to ' over torque ' of the retaining bolts.

Bike will never see a dealer again unless its traded in.  All servicing done at home now, next one 24k......

oh and did i mention my new employee is a custom bike builder and ex bike service engineer 

[nightrider]

£650 for a service , never ceases to amaze how much people pay out for jobs that you can do at home , I suppose at down south prices it soon adds up , the quote of more money than sense springs to mind , 

[flatfour]

I had the 7,500 mile service performed at Seastar Superbikes (Kawasaki Dealer) yesterday and, with a final drive oil change as well as £20.00 worth of accessory items that I bought, it came to £384.00.

I also specified (as previously) Motul 300V oil, as it makes selection of first gear much smoother (at least on my bike). This is considerably more expensive than the standard semi - synthetic and probably added a futher £30.00 or so to the price, so the basic service would have cost around £334.00 I assume.

[Redrat]

Well I removed the damaged cowling, which was a simple job, and found the fractured bolt hole was brittle and crumbled when flexed - could this have been caused by the heated grips controller? - anyway I followed the 'advice' of the dealer not to overtighten the bolts on the new item - unfortunately I found the edge of the glovebox had been broken and managed to superglue it together - at £200 I don't think the dealer had any more goodwill left in the shop.  In response to the queries on service charges I did say that I spannered my Gixxer and therefore appreciate that service charges in the South come at a premium. The 15,000 service was 6 hours at £53 per hour + vat comes to £381. Oil filter, air filter, spark plugs, brake fluid, radiator coolant and engine oil + vat comes to £192. Add in the mot and thats £603.  I cannot alter the fact that is the cost of a Kawasaki dealer stamp which should have a value to a prospective purchaser. The previous 7,500 service was 5 hours but included £200 for brake pads and front wheel bearings within the £653. I did challenge the dealer on the need to change iridium plugs at every service, if they are reputed to be good for maybe 30k, and his reply was did I want a Kawasaki service as recommended or not. There have been a number of replies on this thread about service charges - can anyone quote the hourly rate and if they get a stamped Kawasaki K-Care checklist with their invoice.

[BigAlan]

I had the first two services done at an approved kawasaki dealer and since then have had everything done by a friend who owns a garage, actually I have done them with him there with me checking, I always change my oil and filter every 3k miles "because I can" and have two K&N air filters which get washed and rotated. I did pay Mr K to change my spark plugs and have the receipt but they won't get done again for ages, years I suspect as your right iridium plugs seem to last thousands of miles and was confirmed by the man at the bike show.

I don't reckon having K service stamps in the book is worth the extra expense, I tend to chop my bikes back in and no dealer has ever moaned about my service book having independanst stamps in, actually the dealer who sold me this GTR was in awe of the amount of servicing had been done on my triumph and the new owner also contacted me and was impressed, so stuff £600 + services.

I have also changed disk pads front and rear, lubricated my shaft, changed brake fluid etc, it's not hard.

Alan