Warranty stuff » Warranty Question for the UK members

When the UK was in the EU there was a block exemption law passed for cars. This allows non-manufacturer servicing for cars, largely from pressure from large leasing groups like Hertz who maintain their own fleet. Leasing of company cars is big in Europe. The legislation did not include powered two wheelers hence the manufacturers can insist that their full warranty is reliant on a full dealer service history. The warranty is offered by BMW so is not a statutory requirement but a contract. This EU regulation remains in force post Brexit and our government has just abandoned their promise to repeal all EU laws, just changing a few they dislike the most.

Of course, this does not absolve the selling dealer (not BMW) of their liability under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 that protects people for all purchases from a retailer, whether a vehicle, a computer or a lettuce. Therefore, if a UK owner does their own servicing work, they can still claim against the original selling dealer if something stops working e.g. a faulty left switchgear as I had on my R1200RS. The dealer would need to evidence that the home servicing contributed to the failure to deny the claim. In reality, in this instance, the dealer would probably lodge a claim with BMW for a new part and it would go through.

Where it gets messy is where an owner has done their own servicing and has done something like change brake fluid then has the misfortune to have a seized caliper. A dealer might refuse to process a warranty claim or it might get to the BMW GB assessor who declines the claim. An owner would then need to make a claim against the selling dealer (which might not be the local dealer) under the Consumer Rights Act, potentially ending up in arbitration or court.

As a result, most owners will use the BMW network for servicing whilst their bike is under a warranty from BMW. This could be for the initial 3 years or during an extended warranty period. BMW offer a 2 year warranty on Approved Used bike which is another way for the to try to lock people into dealer servicing. Extended warranties (insurance policies) sell very well in the UK which means many bikes remain being serviced by dealers after the initial 3 year factory warranty expires.

One difference in Europe compared to the USA is that most dealers are solus operations, sometimes part of a larger car dealership. They mostly have decent reputations and there is less cynicism here about franchised dealers.

Hope this clarifies things. Home servicing is not banned but it does mean an owner might need to rely on the good will of the selling dealer under primary Consumer legislation rather than the conditional warranty offered by BMW.