Why pay so much for checks during warranty

[RANT WARNING] Are all of the "Ducatista" brain washed? Why do you guys pay so much money to have &$*#@ bolts checked for proper tension during a warranty period? I just shelled out 341.18 for a &$#@ oil change that should have cost me $120 at most. Then the &*$#^% dealer adds .... charges such shop expenses for cleaning the bike up after the service. How the F is that customer service. I can't wait for VDSV to get out so I can dump this whole line of ....!!

I checked with my other friends who have any of the big 4 and they only pay for the oil during these service periods. When the dealer kept one of the bikes an extra day due to parts issues, they were compensated with swag in the shop. In this case a helmet. Who gives a .... if you got the helmet... the fact remains that the shop knows what will bring the customers back. Now here's the real kicker. My bike had an oil leak...guess how they fixed it. That's right F'ing Ducatibond. Guess how much fun that is going to be to remove at the next oil change. That is the biggest F'ing bandaid that I have ever F'ing seen from a business in my life. Will Ducati ever fix this problem correctly? I doubt it based upon their horrible customer service and lack of respect for the Voice of the Customer aspect in the business model. For all I care, Ducati can F'ing ROT IN HELL!! [RANT END]

Can you tell that I am upset? I really, really, really, hope your experiences differ from mine.

WOW!!! I certainly understand your frustration but I don't think in this case it's Ducati, but more your dealer? My 600m service cost me $257 for basically an oil change. I have no intention of shelling out that kind of cash for oil changes in the future. So the plan is to change it myself then bring it to them to reset the service indicator until the VDSV comes out. But your oil leak issue is just plain BS on the dealers part. Take it to another dealer.

i paid $231 for mine total, seems like you got robbed

I'm gonna try and get it thrown in with the purchase of the bike. The dealership I bought my 1198 from threw it in for free.

jjmontesanto said:

I'm gonna try and get it thrown in with the purchase of the bike. The dealership I bought my 1198 from threw it in for free.

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I should have done the same, but I was so excited to get my bike that I completely forgot all of my negotiating skills lol. I was only able to muster a 15% discount on accessories.

Just got off the phone with BMW. They pay for the break in service. The next service is at 6000. Sounds like the duc is going up for sale sans the upgrades. Sick of this stuff!!!!!!!!!

sorry but it sounds like you've got a lame dealer perhaps. I think my 600 mile service was round 230, that's with full synthetic which as we all know for motorcycles is pricey. Mavic, the next service for the duc is at 7500 miles not 6k.

The bmw is a superb bike and had I not bought the pani (and not kept the rsv4, I'd have been all over one as I spent two days at the superbike camp on one!)

Don't forget BMW did have a major recall on 2012 models for improperly torqued connecting rod.

mavic said:

Just got off the phone with BMW. They pay for the break in service. The next service is at 6000. Sounds like the duc is going up for sale sans the upgrades. Sick of this stuff!!!!!!!!!

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Mavic,
not sure why you get the Duc in the first place. i did all the homework before buying it, to understand the expenses. but in the end of the day, you get the Duc because you want a Duc, not because its better/worst/cheaper/more expensive than any other bike. hope your future bike is the right one for you.

duckyduc said:

Mavic,
not sure why you get the Duc in the first place. i did all the homework before buying it, to understand the expenses. but in the end of the day, you get the Duc because you want a Duc, not because its better/worst/cheaper/more expensive than any other bike. hope your future bike is the right one for you.

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Good questions and yes I did do all of my homework. Here are the facts.
I bought the Ducati because:
1. It looks great. No doubt
2. It has an awesome motor sans belts (as documented in the mags and reviews)
3. It has a lot of Ducati Heritage that most seem very crazy about aka "Ducatista"

Here are the things that you can't do homework for:
1.) Ducati's horrible unresponsive Customer Service Department when you have a problem. Research showed a mix bag. My experience has been nothing but horrible.
2.) Dealer originally quoted $250 for the first service.
3.) Bike was going to have more than standard growing pains.
4.) Motor does not deliver the hype of the magazines in my eyes or the dyno's (not too surprised)
5.) Chassis does not deliver handling (growing pain in my eyes)
6.) Dealers lack of support for 1st time customers. Definitely not going back!!!
7.) Bike has oil leaks. (No excuses... this is 2012 for Gods sake!)
8.) Fuel pump issue. (possible growing pain)

I am sure there are probably more things that are really urking about this whole deal but whether I keep it or not, this is the type of service we should never support or allow based upon the price of this bike.

mavic said:

Good questions and yes I did do all of my homework. Here are the facts.
I bought the Ducati because:
1. It looks great
2. It has an awesome motor
3. It has a lot of Ducati Heritage that most seem very crazy about "Ducatista"

Here are the things that you can't do homework for:
1.) Ducati's horrible unresponsive Customer Service Department when you have a problem. Research showed a mix bag. My experience has been nothing but horrible.
2.) Dealer originally quoted $250 for the first service.
3.) Bike was going to have more than standard growing pains.
4.) Motor does not deliver the hype (not too surprised)
5.) Chassis does not deliver handling (growing pain in my eyes)
6.) Dealers lack of support for 1st time customers. Definitely not going back!!!
7.) Bike has oil leaks. (No execuses... this is 2012.)
8.) Fuel pump issue. (possible growing pain)

I am sure there are probably more things that are really urking about this whole deal but whether I keep it or not, this is the type of service we should never support or allow based upon the price of this bike.

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seems like you have a fix of bad exp with the bike/dealer. my dealer has been nothing but great/responsive/cost effective.
if they gave you a written quote of $250, there is no other reason to pay more, if you have proof.
as early adopter of a new model, i dont expect the 1199 to be perfect, and i think the glitches is a small trade off for something special. my previous bike was an 10' CBR1k, and would prolly has non of the weakness/issue that the 1199 has, the motor/chassis is still one of the best in today standard, it's reliable as a Carmy, and stupid fast. I traded it in for the 1199 without hesitation, because the Duc has one thing that matter most to me: soul!
i didnt even bother to consider the S1000RR, as i have no interested in the out right power. the closest thing i would consider is MV F3
and trust me, im no Ducatisti, just a guy looking for The bike.

You hit the nail on the head, but the dealer never put that value in writing. I guess so they can add all the additional BS on there. Not sure. My fault but it still pisses me off to the highest degree!!!

zvez said:

sorry but it sounds like you've got a lame dealer perhaps. I think my 600 mile service was round 230, that's with full synthetic which as we all know for motorcycles is pricey. Mavic, the next service for the duc is at 7500 miles not 6k.

The bmw is a superb bike and had I not bought the pani (and not kept the rsv4, I'd have been all over one as I spent two days at the superbike camp on one!)

Don't forget BMW did have a major recall on 2012 models for improperly torqued connecting rod.

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Yeah Chris,
I was referring to the BMW had a service at 6000. That would have been my first out of pocket expense post purchase.

Thanks,
Victor

Mavic,
you should find out who the owner is, call him and ..... about it. works for me everytime , maybe your next 7,500 miles service will be free haha
also, i bough customer loyalty cash at my dealer (pay a lump sum up front), so i get 20% on part/labor, so what i paid was more like $185. the down side is the dealer is is 25 miles away from my house, all other dealer around my area is very expensive/ shady

I told my dealer to include first service in the price or else he could forget the deal.
That was after we negotiate the price and free DP parts off course
Proud to be Dutch

Victor, after I wrote that I kinda figured, as you're an engineer you'd know the intervals to be sure as you researched this well.

As you've found out first hand, ducati dealer quality is hit or miss, you've got dealers out there who are first rate (I'm a lucky one) and you've got dealers out there who suck. You've had an incredible amount of issues with your duc and hate that this is your first experience with ducati as can certainly understand it'd sour you. I'm amazed that the dealer didn't give you the first service free for all the hassles you've had with your bike, that's just a basic customer service thing. IN real terms the first service doesn't cost them much.

Ducati is definately not perfect as a company, I think a lot of hope held out buy some of us long time duc guys that Audi will improve operations but hopefully not interfere with the designs and such.

mavic said:

Yeah Chris,
I was referring to the BMW had a service at 6000. That would have been my first out of pocket expense post purchase.

Thanks,
Victor

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25 miles!!??? Mine's 160 miles away!

duckyduc said:

Mavic,
you should find out who the owner is, call him and ..... about it. works for me everytime , maybe your next 7,500 miles service will be free haha
also, i bough customer loyalty cash at my dealer (pay a lump sum up front), so i get 20% on part/labor, so what i paid was more like $185. the down side is the dealer is is 25 miles away from my house, all other dealer around my area is very expensive/ shady

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I thought I did pretty good, friend paid over $500 for his 600 mile service on a Superduke. IMO it's mostly down to finding a good dealer. My one and only customer service experience was not positive. But at this point just go get a different bike, ride it, and be happy!

rm4two said:

I should have done the same, but I was so excited to get my bike that I completely forgot all of my negotiating skills lol. I was only able to muster a 15% discount on accessories.

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I am imagining this happening to me too, getting so excited I forget everything else. So I've made of list of .... I need to bring up with them when I go in next week to finally pick up my bike. It includes: first service thrown in, check for recall bolt, include the screws for the DP fender eliminator (I'm mounting it), up-map USB key for the Termi slip-on (make sure they give it to me, they're installing the cans), so far. All this is based on what everyone has been writing on here. One advantage to having to wait to pick mine up. My base has been sitting at the dealership for a few weeks now waiting for me to get back to the country to pick it up.

Received an email. I will have a conversation with Ducati Austin's owner tomorrow to discuss the buy back of this motorcycle.

I'm going in tomorrow for my first service -- now a little concerned!!!

Although I've had no issues for the first 650 miles...