option 2, sell the top box if you are not going to use it, buy extra lights with the cash. ESA & ESC are IMO gimmicks that cost loads when they fail.
Which One!
- Thread starter ratbiker
- Start date
ratbiker
Registered user
That is a different way to look at it I guess. I was initially looking for a bike without the ESA etc. Although when I read on here that there are companies that can rebuild them I was a little less one sided.
Warranty is all part of today's fear culture
I remember being torn whether to renew my warranty when it expired, thinking my bike was all going to fall apart as soon as it expired.
These bikes are generally very reliable (well mine is) if you take care of it. £390 to renew a warranty is a significant amount of money to give away.
I decided to put the money aside and learn how to service the bike myself, if your handy with spanners its quite straight forward to service and work on.
I wouldn't be swayed by warranty i'd go with the bike that has been taken care of the most, better condition.
I remember being torn whether to renew my warranty when it expired, thinking my bike was all going to fall apart as soon as it expired.
These bikes are generally very reliable (well mine is) if you take care of it. £390 to renew a warranty is a significant amount of money to give away.
I decided to put the money aside and learn how to service the bike myself, if your handy with spanners its quite straight forward to service and work on.
I wouldn't be swayed by warranty i'd go with the bike that has been taken care of the most, better condition.
ratbiker
Registered user
Thanks Jersey GS. I take that on board. The 2 year warranty being provided is included in the sale. (Whilst I understand it will be covered in their screen price)
I am pretty handy with a spanner twirl or two, so I feel confident to sort most things out. I also know my limitations! LOL
I think they are both similar in condition having been really looked after by both the owners.
I am pretty handy with a spanner twirl or two, so I feel confident to sort most things out. I also know my limitations! LOL
I think they are both similar in condition having been really looked after by both the owners.
billy10
Registered user
One issue to be aware of with those years is that the final drive units can fail, especially if the oil has not been changed regularly. There are pros and cons to both - warranty vs lower mileage. If you plan to do lowish mileage too and can change the final drive oil, then that might be a better bet. If you plan to do 15k a year for two years then the warranty bike might be the safer option from the final drive perspective
ratbiker
Registered user
I’ve just searched eBay for shocks funnily enough. The. Amortisation did seem to be for later models 12 plate onwards. I would imagine they would still fit.
I’m not going to be banging that many miles in to be honest. I can certainly change the rear diff oil.
As it happens the first option with high mileage has just had the rear drive bearing etc replaced. As part of the money BMW have spent on it.
I didn’t think I’d ever find this decision so difficult!!
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I’m not going to be banging that many miles in to be honest. I can certainly change the rear diff oil.
As it happens the first option with high mileage has just had the rear drive bearing etc replaced. As part of the money BMW have spent on it.
I didn’t think I’d ever find this decision so difficult!!
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2009 lower mileage bike for me....£150 for the rear shock reconditioned when it goes in 20K time (and it will go) and £450 to get the FD reconditioned at 50K ish IF it goes. Otherwise they are pretty reliable.
Also, BMW servicing for bikes over 4 years old get a hefty discount. Full 36K service on my 2013 TC was £30 more than the two local independents.
Also, BMW servicing for bikes over 4 years old get a hefty discount. Full 36K service on my 2013 TC was £30 more than the two local independents.
Bendy toy
Registered user
The Showa and WP shocks are interchangeable. However the later model (WP) ESA is not cross-compatible with early model (Showa) ESA.
You can spend a mint and get some VERY good Wilbers fitted to the OEM ESA or you can get the OEM shocks rebuilt by such as MCT at Stowmarket.
It makes sense to do thus before the seals leak or damping disappears as there will be less repair work to be done - less cost.
Did I do that? Yeah right.
You can spend a mint and get some VERY good Wilbers fitted to the OEM ESA or you can get the OEM shocks rebuilt by such as MCT at Stowmarket.
It makes sense to do thus before the seals leak or damping disappears as there will be less repair work to be done - less cost.
Did I do that? Yeah right.
ratbiker
Registered user
Voice of experience there then! Thanks for that view point. GPWP. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
One with least electronics, says him with a rr.
If you're going to hang on to it, then I'd get one without the breakable suspension, it's a question of when it goes pop not if.
You can have "normal" shocks rebuilt by lots of companies for around £200ish including a new spring or spend about £1K on new stuff which can be tailored to you.
If, you do lot's of two up work/laden/unladen then consider the esa one. Or if you might want to trade it in against something within the two years.
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If you're going to hang on to it, then I'd get one without the breakable suspension, it's a question of when it goes pop not if.
You can have "normal" shocks rebuilt by lots of companies for around £200ish including a new spring or spend about £1K on new stuff which can be tailored to you.
If, you do lot's of two up work/laden/unladen then consider the esa one. Or if you might want to trade it in against something within the two years.
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Bendy toy
Registered user
I removed my ESA Adv shocks when they were worn & in dire need of a rebuild and fitted a pair of low miles GS units. They are exactly the same length as the GSA units by the way.
I really miss the ESA. The GS units are fine for a mid range one size fits all setup. The ESA allows different ride heights to suit usage. “One Helmet” suits my little legs but two helmets handles better one-up. The mountain options are great on back lanes that have the vanilla GS units crashing and the bike bouncing about.
I really miss the ESA. The GS units are fine for a mid range one size fits all setup. The ESA allows different ride heights to suit usage. “One Helmet” suits my little legs but two helmets handles better one-up. The mountain options are great on back lanes that have the vanilla GS units crashing and the bike bouncing about.
It's not about the money you'll get a better service with an independent in my experience. The BMW dealers just go down a tick sheet............!!
ratbiker
Registered user
Right. Finally after much deliberation I have made my purchase. I went for the dealer one as I was reassured by the work carried out on it and the paperwork that came along with it detailing the history, among other things.
Collection day is Monday!!
Thanks for all of your views and opinions!
Collection day is Monday!!
Thanks for all of your views and opinions!
Good luck with your "new" bike.
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Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
Deleted account 191119001
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Right. Finally after much deliberation I have made my purchase. I went for the dealer one as I was reassured by the work carried out on it and the paperwork that came along with it detailing the history, among other things.
Collection day is Monday!!
Thanks for all of your views and opinions!
Just the start of many more threads, good luck and good choice
ratbiker
Registered user
Right. Enough time has passed for me to stop seething about the issue that I will try and put something diplomatic about my experience.
I did indeed go through with the purchase from the dealer. It was Ocean BMW in Plymouth.
On collection day you can imagine my excitement of being able to get a new to me BMW despite is being an oldie, it was to be my oldie!
I asked for a quick demo of some of the area of the bike I was unfamiliar with. One of which being the tire pressure monitors. The front wheel wasn’t registering and I was told it would come on after a certain speed as I went round the block.
So I set off on my way home. (150 miles) hoping the rain would hold off for me on my first ride out, albeit a motorway blast. After a going around the block the pressure indicator still wasn’t showing so I popped back to the dealer and showed them. They told me I need to go a few miles to ‘wake it up’ and that it must work as it would have been checked in the thorough PDI.
Knowing no better I headed off. After a few miles I had a warning on the dash which indicated to me that my front tire was now deflating! I stopped and gave it a kick, it definitely wasn’t losing pressure.
I emailed them from the side of the road to say, standby I’m coming back in.
When I arrived it was looked at briefly by sales staff and told it may need to be woken up by a special workshop tool.
I was given two options. The first being to ride it home and take it in to my local dealer to sort at ‘my convenience’ or I could stay and hopefully someone would be able to look at it depending how busy they were.
This p****d me off a little as you can imagine. If you go to collect a vehicle from a main dealer, you want the experience that goes with it. I just felt they were trying to get rid of me.
I stuck to my guns and said I would like it sorted after all I shouldn’t have this issue as it should have been sorted before I arrived.
They stuck it on the bench and I waited. After around 20 minutes they told me that the sensor wasn’t responding to the wake up tool and they would probably have to replace it. I was told this would take time, maybe an hour or more.
Again I was given the option of taking it home to have it sorted locally. I feel there was bit of an emphasis put on this option.
Again I insisted that I wanted it sorted before leaving rather than having to get it sorted on another day. So they set about work.
They stripped it and said it needed a new sensors and this would be fitted. I couldn’t help but question the quality of the PDI, I was told it must have been working as it would have been checked.
(What happened to the days when a conscientious sales person would go over the bike thoroughly as a final check before hand over to make sure nothing is missed or there are no embarrassing moments, like this one.)
Halfway through the procedure I was given an update. It was commented on how annoyed I looked. Not surprising really. I was told they were also annoyed as it was costing them money to have to change it and they had spent too much on the bike already from taking it in as a part ex. I was also told that if I had of taken it away and got it done locally then it could have been claimed on warranty.
It now became clear why the emphasis was placed on me taking the second option.
After around 45mins it was sorted and I was finally on my way home.
I had a follow up call a couple of days later to ‘make sure I got home’!!!
After a few days I went out to the bike and removed the panniers. It was at this point I noticed that the pannier with the heat shield on had a broken bracket at the top which had fractured.
I assume it was like this at the point of sale but not really something you would notice as a customer. I emailed the local dealer to ask whether it was covered under warranty and explained the circs. I was told it wasn’t covered and maybe to try contacting the dealer who sold the bike to see if they would be prepared to help out.
Ocean salesman in no uncertain terms told me the price of the part and they could order / send me one at my expense. Despite this having been like this at the point of sale. Ggrrr.
The local dealer was a little more accommodating and offered to put in for a BMW good will gesture. They had no knowledge of me but went the extra mile.
After my first ride out. I noticed some strange noises from the ESA at the rear. (Now bear in mind I didn’t want a bike with ESA due to the amount of reported failures. However I made sure it was covered under warranty before paying my hard earned cash.) I inspected the shock to find a slight weep of oil at the bottom of the shaft. Great just what I need. . .
I cleaned it off and had another short ride only to find it there again. Due to the last response of Ocean I didn’t bother contacting them as I feel I knew the answer. It was confirmed by the local dealer this week that the shock is shot. It was covered under warranty and they would sort it as soon as possible. I mentioned to them that I had a feeling it could have been like this when I brought it as I had literally only done one local journey. No comment was made, but an eyebrow was raised!
I can’t shake the feeling that this shock was shot when I brought it. At the mileage and age of the bike this should have been checked by them. In light of Oceans comments with the tire pressure sensor trying to get me to ride away on the day they clearly didn’t want to spend any more on it. I have a hunch that they new this, but cleaned it up so it wasn’t spotted (and yes I did look) as they didn’t want to change it.
Some of you may say stop moaning it’s covered under warranty. Well yes it is I agree and this is why I made sure it was before buying. I just think there is an element of deceit coming from Ocean. Whilst unprovable it doesn’t sit well with me.
Thanks for the listening to my whinge.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I did indeed go through with the purchase from the dealer. It was Ocean BMW in Plymouth.
On collection day you can imagine my excitement of being able to get a new to me BMW despite is being an oldie, it was to be my oldie!
I asked for a quick demo of some of the area of the bike I was unfamiliar with. One of which being the tire pressure monitors. The front wheel wasn’t registering and I was told it would come on after a certain speed as I went round the block.
So I set off on my way home. (150 miles) hoping the rain would hold off for me on my first ride out, albeit a motorway blast. After a going around the block the pressure indicator still wasn’t showing so I popped back to the dealer and showed them. They told me I need to go a few miles to ‘wake it up’ and that it must work as it would have been checked in the thorough PDI.
Knowing no better I headed off. After a few miles I had a warning on the dash which indicated to me that my front tire was now deflating! I stopped and gave it a kick, it definitely wasn’t losing pressure.
I emailed them from the side of the road to say, standby I’m coming back in.
When I arrived it was looked at briefly by sales staff and told it may need to be woken up by a special workshop tool.
I was given two options. The first being to ride it home and take it in to my local dealer to sort at ‘my convenience’ or I could stay and hopefully someone would be able to look at it depending how busy they were.
This p****d me off a little as you can imagine. If you go to collect a vehicle from a main dealer, you want the experience that goes with it. I just felt they were trying to get rid of me.
I stuck to my guns and said I would like it sorted after all I shouldn’t have this issue as it should have been sorted before I arrived.
They stuck it on the bench and I waited. After around 20 minutes they told me that the sensor wasn’t responding to the wake up tool and they would probably have to replace it. I was told this would take time, maybe an hour or more.
Again I was given the option of taking it home to have it sorted locally. I feel there was bit of an emphasis put on this option.
Again I insisted that I wanted it sorted before leaving rather than having to get it sorted on another day. So they set about work.
They stripped it and said it needed a new sensors and this would be fitted. I couldn’t help but question the quality of the PDI, I was told it must have been working as it would have been checked.
(What happened to the days when a conscientious sales person would go over the bike thoroughly as a final check before hand over to make sure nothing is missed or there are no embarrassing moments, like this one.)
Halfway through the procedure I was given an update. It was commented on how annoyed I looked. Not surprising really. I was told they were also annoyed as it was costing them money to have to change it and they had spent too much on the bike already from taking it in as a part ex. I was also told that if I had of taken it away and got it done locally then it could have been claimed on warranty.
It now became clear why the emphasis was placed on me taking the second option.
After around 45mins it was sorted and I was finally on my way home.
I had a follow up call a couple of days later to ‘make sure I got home’!!!
After a few days I went out to the bike and removed the panniers. It was at this point I noticed that the pannier with the heat shield on had a broken bracket at the top which had fractured.
I assume it was like this at the point of sale but not really something you would notice as a customer. I emailed the local dealer to ask whether it was covered under warranty and explained the circs. I was told it wasn’t covered and maybe to try contacting the dealer who sold the bike to see if they would be prepared to help out.
Ocean salesman in no uncertain terms told me the price of the part and they could order / send me one at my expense. Despite this having been like this at the point of sale. Ggrrr.
The local dealer was a little more accommodating and offered to put in for a BMW good will gesture. They had no knowledge of me but went the extra mile.
After my first ride out. I noticed some strange noises from the ESA at the rear. (Now bear in mind I didn’t want a bike with ESA due to the amount of reported failures. However I made sure it was covered under warranty before paying my hard earned cash.) I inspected the shock to find a slight weep of oil at the bottom of the shaft. Great just what I need. . .
I cleaned it off and had another short ride only to find it there again. Due to the last response of Ocean I didn’t bother contacting them as I feel I knew the answer. It was confirmed by the local dealer this week that the shock is shot. It was covered under warranty and they would sort it as soon as possible. I mentioned to them that I had a feeling it could have been like this when I brought it as I had literally only done one local journey. No comment was made, but an eyebrow was raised!
I can’t shake the feeling that this shock was shot when I brought it. At the mileage and age of the bike this should have been checked by them. In light of Oceans comments with the tire pressure sensor trying to get me to ride away on the day they clearly didn’t want to spend any more on it. I have a hunch that they new this, but cleaned it up so it wasn’t spotted (and yes I did look) as they didn’t want to change it.
Some of you may say stop moaning it’s covered under warranty. Well yes it is I agree and this is why I made sure it was before buying. I just think there is an element of deceit coming from Ocean. Whilst unprovable it doesn’t sit well with me.
Thanks for the listening to my whinge.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Whether it's a trade in or not, it should still be of merchantable quality. They're supposed to be the professionals, if making a bike suitable for sale is costing them profit money, then they should have sold it off through trade instead.
Technically, warranty doesn't cover preexisting faults prior to purchase, from what you've said the second dealer seems to be on the ball, so spend your hard earned cash with someone who clearly wants your business.
As someone who goes nuclear at the drop of a hat, it pains me to say. You've had your rant, enjoy your bike and put them behind you.
Also, when V5C arrives contact previous keepers, always useful to know their version of the bikes history.
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Bendy toy
Registered user
Bendy toy
Registered user
As for all the other stuff its under warranty so what's the worry. It's a used BMW and its showing the faults these bike generally show.
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