Accident on new bike dealer BMW rejecting claim

marcing · Nov 22, 2012

My friend had an accident on the 1 year old BMW R1200GSA. He bought it as new and regularly serviced.
Bike has 14000miles on the clock and last service by dealer was done 1000miles before crash.
He went on the ride out and when he pushed rear break he crashed because of one of the callipers bolts has gone. Calliper moved up and turned and locked the rear wheel.
Because of that the calliper, spokes, wheel have been damaged and of course some light damages to crash bars, plastics panels ect.
Local Dealer rejected my claim and passed (with some photos) it to BMW Motorrad UK. On The phone BMW customer service rejected our claim by saying that the rear brake pads have been replaced by third party person. We asked for this opinion in writing but this was rejected. We asked how come brake pads have been replaced by third party person if during last service done by dealer there was no indication about wearing off this parts Also we havent received an answer on question why after 14000 miles brake pads would be replaced if the front pads have over 50% of life, so how come ? No answer.
We wrote official letter to BMW UK with a request of explanation.
In reply we received very ignorant letter:
Upon receipt of your correspondence, I understand that you would like us to review your claim, as you believe that the cause of this accident and subsequent damage to your motorcycle was because of a manufacturing defect.
I have therefore, reviewed your request with our internal Technical Department who have advised that they do not feel that this is a defect with the bike given the age and the mileage which has been completed.
With the above in mind, it is with regret that we are unable to assist you any further and I can confirm that this will remain our final position on this matter.

In my opinion this is just pushing out the responsibility on the customer.
The worst service we have even experienced with BMW MOTORRAD and we lost a trust to the brand.

Any suggestions ?

SR1 · Nov 22, 2012

Not enough info, really. Either that or your post is indecipherable. A little of both, most likely.

Anyway, who did the maintenance on the rear brake? (Was any done at all?) If it was the dealer, I think you might have reason to speak to a lawyer (I believe you call them "counselors" or "solicitors.")

If you did maintenance on the bike, I think you have an insurance claim through your own insurance.

Either way, I don't think you have a legitimate "The bolt backed out and caused me to crash, it's a design flaw" issue.

ozmoses · Nov 22, 2012

I am unclear :

A) if this is actually your bike or a friend's bike

B) who failed to reassemble the caliper properly

C) why this would be a warranty issue regardless of the answer to B

def · Nov 22, 2012

Solicitor.

100mpg · Nov 22, 2012

marcing said: ↑


Any suggestions ?


Click to expand...

From all that I hear from BMW owners, BMW has the worst customer service in the world. That letter is the biggest "go fuckyour" self I ever heard. My first suggestion is o get a lawyer, then the next suggestion is not to buy another BMW. just my 2 cents.

Dieselpwr · Nov 22, 2012

100mpg said: ↑

From all that I hear from BMW owners, BMW has the worst customer service in the world. That letter is the biggest "go fuckyour" self I ever heard. My first suggestion is o get a lawyer, then the next suggestion is not to buy another BMW. just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

I think a bit more information from the OP would be helpful before making these allegations about BMW, although you are probably correct.

the original post does not make it clear exactley who owns the bike and also if and who did any work on the rear caliper.

from the info given, it seems like an insurance claim and thats it. everyone is go quick to use the lawyer card in this country, which is why we pay ridiculous insurance premiums..

Dan Alexander · Nov 22, 2012

I had the same thing happen with the rear caliper after the mech at the BMW dealer did some rear end work, first bolt fell out with just bit of odd feeling at the pedal and when I applied the brake the next time, the caliper flipped up and dented the swingarm.

Dealer wasn't concerned.

How do they know third party did the brakes, were the pads non OEM? How many miles were on the bike when your 'friend' bought it 'as new'? Rears can wear before front, depends on rider's habits.

cardoctor1 · Nov 22, 2012

so what proof do they have that the pads are not original ? is the rear tire original ? lets hear the whole story.:eek1:eek1
i own an auto repair shop and every once in a while we get that ever sinceya customer . you know ever sincya change my oil my turnsignal doesnt blink

eepeqez · Nov 22, 2012

marcing said: ↑

 ...Local Dealer rejected my claim and passed (with some photos) it to BMW Motorrad UK.
...
We wrote official letter to BMW UK with a request of explanation.
In reply we received very ignorant letter:
Upon receipt of your correspondence, I understand that you would like us to review your claim, as you believe that the cause of this accident and subsequent damage to your motorcycle was because of a manufacturing defect.
Click to expand...

As others have said, it's unclear who owns the bike and is making a claim; it is also unclear what the nature of your claim is.

BMW UK are saying "I understand that you would like us to review your claim, as you believe that the cause of this accident and subsequent damage to your motorcycle was because of a manufacturing defect."

Are you in fact claiming that there was a design and/or manufacturing defect?
Having been involved in design, manufacturing and durability testing in the car industry, I can't see this succeeding.

Are you claiming that the dealer, at some point in the presale final assembly or in later maintenance activities on the bike has failed to correctly re-assemble the rear brake?

This has more promise, but the dealer is clearly in no mood to cooperate, so you'll need to be able to convince the dealer that you have a realistic chance of convincing some higher authority that they were responsible. To establish that, you'd have to present a good case to demonstrate that they were the only ones to have worked on the bike, or perhaps that they were the last ones to work on the rear brake.

On my very first bike, in the first month or two of ownership, I had a rear tyre replaced and they forgot to take up the slack in the rear drum brake actuating rod. Fortunately I picked it up at the first stop, 100 metres away. There was no damage done and they were happy to sort it out immediately.

A few years later on my first new bike, the split pin for the rear drum brake torque arm was somehow left out or escaped and the nut got away. I was on a club ride on the Great Ocean Road (our dragon has ocean views) with a pillion passenger when the bolt dropped out and the rear brake failed completely. I presume I was the culprit, but I couldn't even prove that much to myself.

With any more than a short time interval between proven work by the dealer on the problem part and the problem emerging, I think you'll be hard pressed to get anywhere with claiming from them.

Express your concerns to your insurance company, make a claim, and leave it to them to chase the dealer if their experts believe they have a case.

Garp · Nov 22, 2012

eepeqez said: ↑

Express your concerns to your insurance company, make a claim, and leave it to them to chase the dealer if their experts believe they have a case.
Click to expand...

That pretty much somes it up. That is why you buy insurance, they will pay for your damages and if they believe someone else is at fault you'd better believe they will chase them for compensation.

marcing · Nov 22, 2012

ozmoses said: ↑

I am unclear :

A) if this is actually your bike or a friend's bike

B) who failed to reassemble the caliper properly

C) why this would be a warranty issue regardless of the answer to B
Click to expand...

I will try to reply on all listed comments:
1. this bike belong to my friend and he crashed on it. Because of his english isn't good enough I write all post and letters.
2. Third party person or my friend never touched the brake pads or callipers. This bike comes with 2yrs BMW warranty so all services have been done by the local dealer.
SO to clarify for your question in point B - my answer is: I have no idea. No one touched the calliper so I'm not sure who is responsible for reasesmbly.
I think that maybe during last service dealer touched the calliper and didn't fit it properly and now they try to push out responsibility. Or it can be some manufacturer fault.

3. My friend replaced the tire by himself because during the last service dealer notified us that there is a nail in the tyre.

Thats why at first stage dealer said - last time you had a nail in the tyre so whoever replaced the tyre had to remove caliper... where this is a bullshit. In this bike you don't have to do it.
So when we proved that this is not necessary they send some photos to Customer service and on the basics of photos BMW Customer Service rejected claim by saying that " brake pads have been replaced".... This is very funny because the brake pads are they since new... I asked local dealer for those photos but still haven't received them.

4. about insurance claim - why we/he have to claim to insurance if this is a manufacturer fault or dealer fault. When you claim to insurance company it hit in your no claim discount and your insurance will go higher.

Someone did job not properly and now no one wants take responsibility.

Disco Dean · Nov 22, 2012

Somethings fishy about the whole post....

SR1 · Nov 22, 2012

Disco Dean said: ↑

Somethings fishy about the whole post....
Click to expand...

Agreed.

100mpg · Nov 22, 2012

Disco Dean said: ↑

Somethings fishy about the whole post....
Click to expand...

SR1 said: ↑

Agreed.
Click to expand...

I dont think the OP speaks English that well either...sorry to the OP if I am wrong.

It seems most dealer do everything they can in order not to be responsible for anything on a motorcycle (and cars too). THAT is why there are so many lawyers. They have the upper hand. They say sorry, not our fault and then what is the consumer to do....

mudmullet · Nov 22, 2012

Sounds to me like the dealer is the guy under the crosshairs. I lost one on a trip to Big Bend. I loctite those bolts every time I take them off, now
.

marcing · Nov 22, 2012

100mpg said: ↑

I dont think the OP speaks English that well either...sorry to the OP if I am wrong.
Click to expand...

You are right. I'm not perfect but I hope that my point is understandable.

LaurelPerryOnLand · Nov 22, 2012

eepeqez said: ↑

Express your concerns to your insurance company, make a claim, and leave it to them to chase the dealer if their experts believe they have a case.
Click to expand...

+1

Your insurance company would have more legal "fire power" than you do to pursue this matter.

Then, move on with life...don't let this make you bitter. Go for a ride!

eepeqez · Nov 22, 2012

Disco Dean said: ↑

Somethings fishy about the whole post....
Click to expand...

The poster is probably Eastern European, Polish at a guess from the grammar. There are a lot of recent immigrants from the east in the UK now, many of whom speak little english yet are making good money and can afford a nice bike; there's nothing very fishy about that.

marcing said: ↑

4. about insurance claim - why we/he have to claim to insurance if this is a manufacturer fault or dealer fault. When you claim to insurance company it hit in your no claim discount and your insurance will go higher.

Someone did job not properly and now no one wants take responsibility.
Click to expand...

If there is any prospect at all of successfully recovering from the manufacturer or the dealer, your insurance company has a much better chance of achieving this than you do on your own.

Furthermore, if you try to make a claim off a third party (eg: the dealer) for accident damage and make a mess of it before making an insurance claim, your insurer may reject your claim on the basis that you have denied them the opportunity to recover from the third party.

Finally, if you make an insurance claim, your insurance company is out of pocket. They are very motivated to recover from anyone they can. If they succeed in recovering 100%, then the accident was not your fault and you will get your excess and no claim bonus back.

This is why you buy insurance; for the crashes you can't prevent, no matter how careful you are. Sometimes there is someone else at fault, sometimes they're untraceable or unprovable, and sometimes it's just sheer bloody bad luck.

To repeat, your insurance company is very motivated and they are much better at recovering damages than you.

Let them do it.

Dan Alexander · Nov 22, 2012

If, as you say, the rear caliper bolt was never touched, the chances of it falling out after two years is impossible. Not BMW's fault.

Someone had the caliper bolts out recently. Now you have to figure out who.

If the dealer noted to your friend that there was a nail but didn't fix it themselves and the brake pads are original, it doesn't sound like it was them. Was there any other service done recently that would require the dealer to remove the caliper?

You sure your friend didn't remove them to make removing the rear wheel easier??

My rear bolt fell out after 100 miles so look close to home.

Timthai · Nov 22, 2012

If the dealer's service records or your friends service receipt did not mention any work on the rear brakes, and it is clear that (a presumably unqualified) third party (your friend) did, in fact, remove the rear wheel after the service, it's going to be your friends word against the dealer over who might have last been near the rear brake caliper.

While it's not necessary to remove the caliper to remove the rear wheel, it's just as compelling for the dealer to claim that an unqualified person may have removed it since there is clear evidence that they performed work on the rear end of the bike, while the dealers job card shows no such work performed. (They normally keep records of all tasks performed for their billing and mechanic time sheets.)

It may well have been that no one removed it... Sometimes shit just happens!

Their final defense will be that the user manual recommends checking all bolts and fasteners regularly as part of the pre ride check.

Just make the insurance claim and move on!

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