good ole ducati servicing

[fordey]

Had my 600 mile service done on my S2R at riders, Bristol, where I got the bike from, love it by the way. Anyway, it cost £236.88 to be precise. £39.49 parts and £197.40 labour, ripoff or what. So now I have my 6000 mile service looming in the next couple of months.

Anyone know a where I should get it serviced, say within 100 miles. Or do I need to stick with a ducati deaker for warrenty reasons??????????????? :mad:

[Dave G]

Wow,you were ripped off,my first service was FREE!!!! with Ducati Glasgow,I only paid for some bits and oil etc.,about £25 or so.

[JMo]

Aha, another servicing thread - since a lot of people are either buying new bikes, or getting theirs serviced at the end of 'the season' at this time of year, below is a copy of my post from the Ducati Aylsbury thread that was complaining along similar lines:

Fixed schedule/prices for servicing
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just for info for all you whinging types out there (and I include myself in that group x) - a friend in the know informs me that Ducati UK recently specified to dealers exactly what should be done at the 600 mile service, and the labour involved means the recommended cost of this will amount to around £200 (and that most dealers will charge this as a flat fee now).

Now some dealers may still incorporate the cost of this into any deal you strike on a new bike, but he said to be weary of anyone who charges a lot less for the first service - in the past some dealers may have only changed the oil and filter and kicked it back out the door, hoping everything else would be alright... he recommends you make sure you get the worksheet showing you everything has been done - and afterall, you've got another 5,400 miles to go before then next one x

As I keep saying, as far as the first service is concerned, the bottom line is that if you squeeze the dealer on the OTR price, he is going to try and claw back as much money as he can come service time - they are not a charity (and not as desperate as they would have us believe)... And the reason most dealers are now quoting in the region of £200 (plus VAT typically), is that the fixed schedule from DUK has to be followed now.

xxx

[Dave G]

There may be a grain of truth in that statement JMo,but S2r's are a recent model that I've never seen discounted anywhere so I dont see that arguement holding up if a main dealer can do a minor service free.It may be I'll pay slightly more for a major service when I get to it but there seems to be an inconsistency that smacks of getting money for nothing where stuff like this is concerned.

[BlueHaze]

Is this something that's particular to Ducati's? My Honda's first service (or at least the labour cost) was free if you had it done at the dealer that sold you the bike.

[Gilps]

Honda subisidse the first service. My wife's Honda Hornet 600 cost £45 this year at a main dealer. After this it will be regualr servicing costs.

Ducati however are different. It does specify in the service book that the first service has to be paid for in full - both parts and labour - by the owner. This is down to Ducati and not the dealers. What hacks me off is that Ducati specify that the 600 mile service is a 3.5 hour job. That's where the dealers make their money. I shopped around when I had my S2r done last month and the best I got was £215 at Pegasus in Reading. Aylesbury Ducati who sold me the bike quoted £230, and Riders of Bristol quoted £240. When I queried the price with Ducati Aylesbury they told me that their price was cheap because the price was subsidised by £100 as I had bought the bike from them. When I pointed out that they were only 10 quid cheaper that Riders, so what happened to the £100 subsidy, they sufggested that I take my bike elsewhere. Guess what. I did.
The best bet seems to be to negotiate the price of the service when buying the bike. If you dont, you will be faced with a £200+ bill.

[JMo]

The best bet seems to be to negotiate the price of the service when buying the bike. If you dont, you will be faced with a £200+ bill.

That is pretty much the size of it...

I know some dealers are giving £200 off the list price of their bikes (which basically amounts to the 1st service free), but you ought to be able to nigotiate that sort of money off anyway - if you are paying close to list, then use a 'free' first service as a deal sweetner at least...

I know dealers who have been doing S2R's otr for £5700 - but then of course you'll get the first service bill a month later...

xxx

PS. As Gilps says - DUK now specifiy a set job sheet for the 1st service that dealers are meant to follow, with an allowed labour time of 3.5 hours - of course I wonder what exactly it is they are actually doing for all that time - maybe doing up all the bolts the factory forgot to torque or something? - but you are meant to have a service sheet that shows everything has been done at least...

[paul620sie]

Just had the first (500mile) service completed on my Triumph. Labour free, parts; oil and filter, £45 inc VAT. This was carried out at at the same dealer that supplied the bike at a heavily discounted price.

It took 1hr15mins and was carried out while I waited. I was able to watch the work being done through thier observation window and free tea & coffee was supplied!

Somewhat different to the experience i had at Ducati Northampton (Riverside), no wonder they lost the Ducati franchise.

[Duncan]

Had my 600 mile service done on my S2R at riders, Bristol, where I got the bike from, love it by the way. Anyway, it cost £236.88 to be precise. £39.49 parts and £197.40 labour, ripoff or what. So now I have my 6000 mile service looming in the next couple of months.

Anyone know a where I should get it serviced, say within 100 miles. Or do I need to stick with a ducati deaker for warrenty reasons??????????????? :mad:


Try Louigi Moto theres good thread here

http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/showthread.php?t=4770

[Gilps]

Just had the first (500mile) service completed on my Triumph. Labour free, parts; oil and filter, £45 inc VAT. This was carried out at at the same dealer that supplied the bike at a heavily discounted price.

It took 1hr15mins and was carried out while I waited. I was able to watch the work being done through thier observation window and free tea & coffee was supplied!

Somewhat different to the experience i had at Ducati Northampton (Riverside), no wonder they lost the Ducati franchise.

I know just what you mean. I traded my Triumph Sprint RS for the Duke. What a culture shock! Triumph dealers have got it right. Triumph Motorcycles have got it right. They obviously ensure that they produce a qulaity proudct and that their dealers offer quality service and backup. Saying that, I got rid of the Triumph coz I was bored stiff with it. I fell in love with the S2r at first sight. Bought it without a test ride. I think the question here is whether you buy with your heart or your head. If you go with the former, as always in life, it's going to cost you more than the sensible option. The cost of true love never ran cheap - or something like that.

I was told that the reason Ducati allocate 3.5 hours for the service is to check valve clearances, and other such work. They obviously have less confidence in their product than Honda or Triumph. I supose they must be working from previous experience. I agree with them. My bike must have bypassed the section marked Quality Control, leaving the dealer to sort it out.

[Will]

Had my 600 mile service done on my S2R at riders, Bristol, where I got the bike from, love it by the way. Anyway, it cost £236.88 to be precise. £39.49 parts and £197.40 labour, ripoff or what. So now I have my 6000 mile service looming in the next couple of months.

Anyone know a where I should get it serviced, say within 100 miles. Or do I need to stick with a ducati deaker for warrenty reasons??????????????? :mad:


This is one of the drawbacks of owning a Ducati - Servicing costs at an authorised Ducati dealer are very high; even my little 620ie costs around £400 for a 12,000 mile service. I am not convinced that these high costs are justified, but you must have a full proper service history or the resale value of your bike will be serverely reduced.

If you want low cost motorcycling - DON'T buy a Ducati!!!!

[Spike]

The resale value of your bike will never compensate you for dealer service costs go with an independant dealer if the bikes clear of warranty or do the service your self if you can.