Vague moany question !

[gringogordo]

Hi,

I got myself a BMW x1000xr a few months ago. I know that my owning a BMW will strike awe and feelings of inadequacy in some of you ( ;-) ) but seeing as it was 2nd hand I thought I'd take it to the dealership for a service the other day. They charged me (to be fair they asked for permission first) £28 extra to tension the chain. I decided to let them so I could see just exactly how far they tensioned it but made a mental note never to go back. I'm a mechanical numpty but that would take me 5 - 10 mins once I got the right spanners out and I've never been charged for that before, kind of assumed it was part of a service tbh. Just wondered what the general feeling was, whether I got what I deserved for not having it spot on when I went to the service (I left it for a couple of weeks as I knew I was going for a service and assumed that would be part of it) or whether you general agree my moany whinging was righteous ?!

[Badger-Roy]

Hi,

I got myself a BMW x1000xr a few months ago. I know that my owning a BMW will strike awe and feelings of inadequacy in some of you ( ;-) ) but seeing as it was 2nd hand I thought I'd take it to the dealership for a service the other day. They charged me (to be fair they asked for permission first) £28 extra to tension the chain. I decided to let them so I could see just exactly how far they tensioned it but made a mental note never to go back. I'm a mechanical numpty but that would take me 5 - 10 mins once I got the right spanners out and I've never been charged for that before, kind of assumed it was part of a service tbh. Just wondered what the general feeling was, whether I got what I deserved for not having it spot on when I went to the service (I left it for a couple of weeks as I knew I was going for a service and assumed that would be part of it) or whether you general agree my moany whinging was righteous ?!

You was charged £28 to adjust the chain!!
i just hope for your sake they wore protection and used a lot of lube...... And I don't mean for the chain!

[Wes]

Does seem excessive, and I would have thought it would have been covered in the service, it would probably be worth checking what is next time.

[Trev_P]

mine is always done as part of the service and as far as i know always has been since i can remember, after all, the dealers have to justify the over inflated prices for servicing. unless of course its a BMW dealer lol
but £28 for adjusting the chain feck me, i think i would have told then to stuff it tbh. still, we live n learn, once bitten and all that

[Dazr]

They do charge for it, i bought a BMW S1000RR a few years back and when taking it for a service with the dealership they advise they charged if i wanted the chain adjusted on the service. I did complain saying i bought the bike from them and they did waive the charge. Have to agree though it should be done as part of the service, the other thing i used to do was take a can of Worth Dry chain lube as the stuff they put on was like splatter muck it got every where.

If they serviced it try saying surely it should be included....

[WR6133]

I'll go against the wind here and say I think charging was fair. To me a basic service is oil, plugs and filters (+ these days plugging it in and reading fault codes). Chain tension is basic maintainence anyone with a chain driven bike should be keeping on top of.

[Badger-Roy]

I'll go against the wind here and say I think charging was fair. To me a basic service is oil, plugs and filters (+ these days plugging it in and reading fault codes). Chain tension is basic maintainence anyone with a chain driven bike should be keeping on top of.

I don't think charging is the unfair bit, it's the charging £28 to adjust a chain. Thats a job that only takes a VERY amateur spanner monkey like me 10-15 minutes so shouldn't take a pro mechanic more than 5-6 minutes really, £28 is excessive.

[BugsyB]

You've described an engine service but there's more to a bike than the motor. If a bike service was asked for, a chain adjust is fundamental.

[WR6133]

If a bike service was asked for, a chain adjust is fundamental.

Riding around with a correctly adjusted chain is fundamental, it's not something to ignore until the annual service. It's a basic user task on the same level as making sure there is air in the tyres. The service clearly included checking it but why should they then not charge for adjusting it? It's a mechanic taking time and using resources (lube) to do something that the owners handbook probably clearly specifies as a user task.

[wiltshire builders]

Chain should be covered by the service but at least now you know BMW don't.
I always use Master-tec for my servicing: 07534537086