[Broken Record]

Got my Burgman 400 on Friday and got a heavy sales pitch on my way out the door (before they would give me the keys actually) about an extended warranty from the dealer.

Here's the deal, $800 for an additional 3 years. I was put off by the salesman because of his aggressive sales tactics and told him I'd think on it and call him back next week.

One of his points was that at the first service (500 miles) they would change the oil and re-seat the piston and this would cost me around $300. I forgot to ask him if this was covered under the standard Suzuki warranty.

He also stated that as long as I was under their service plan I could get unlimited oil changes, etc. and that I would get faster service as a "preferred customer". Right after this, though, he said that 95% of their customers purchase the plan. I'm wondering how they can give anybody better service if everybody is on the plan.

The whole thing just kinda smelt bad, but I wanted to check with you guys. Would you shell out $800 for an extra 3 years of service?

 

[pauljo]

Service Plan

First of all, that salesperson is an ignorant jerk. Reseat the piston? I don't think so... I wonder if he knows what a piston is??? Maybe he was selling toasters at Sears last week? Secondly, $300 for that service is outrageous. My dealer gets about $200 - and that is pretty high. Thirdly, I seriously doubt that 95% of his customers ante up $800 for the plan. If that person is representative of the other personnel at that dealership - run. However, I've encountered equally ignorant salespeople at the dealership I go to - but the service department seems to be very good (not cheap, but competent).

That said, I did pay $800 for the plan for my Burgman 650 at my dealership. Why? I don't want to do my own maintenance. I know from experience with my other Suzuki, that almost any scheduled service interval is going to cost $200 at that dealer. A service requiring valve adjustment would be much more. Since I plan on putting high mileage on this scooter, I should have more than 4 maintenance interval servicings during the 3 years that the plan is in effect. I also get a 10% discount on accessories as part of the deal, and I've benefitted from that already a few times. Its nice to drop the machine off, and pick it up serviced, without reaching for my wallet. And I did have an extra oil change done just before Winter - and they put in synthetic at my request for no extra charge.

Some folks will argue that they can do their own maintenance way cheaper - and they are right. But I am at best a mediocre wrench, and if I screw something up it could end up canceling out a lot of that savings. And with the CVT transmission, fuel injection, etc - there is the potential for more complicated work than oil & sparkplug changes. If the dealer screws something up, he eats the cost to make it right. And this isn't just a service contract, it's also an extended warranty.

You really need to sit down with the service manager at the dealership and have a talk before you decide. And have him show you the shop copy of the Burgman Service manual - if they don't have one - run. Have him show you the service area. Does it look reasonably well equipped, neat and organized? If you feel comfortable with the service department, and don't feel comfortable with doing your own maintenance, then you might want to buy the contract. If you don't like what you see & hear, you should look for another dealer to service your scooter.

 

[Broken Record]

Thanks for the advice

I appreciate the advice pauljo. The service department at the dealer is pretty good. I've had some experience with them before with my Dad's scooter, but the sales department really yanks my chain.

Like you, I'm not much into doing my own service and I'll probably be putting quite a few miles on the scooter, so the extended service plan probably makes good financial sense.

I just hate the sales process where you've been haggling around forever, and you think you've finally hit the out the door price and then they come at you with another $800.

The salesman tells you that the thing is basically maintenance free and then 15 minutes later a guy is telling you that maintenance is gonna exceed $500 on the first 1500 miles.

Sorry, I'm just venting now :evil:

 

[Timothy Ma]

Extended Service

Hey,

I would learn to fix my own 400 at those prices. Oil changes are easy and doing the tappets ...if you are not comfortable doing it then pay them the 2 hours or so labour to do it. Most of the job doing the tappets for the 400 is removing and replacing all the plastic. Uhm I smell a rat.

 

[Franklin]

Cost of Service

My local Suzuki dealer put the cost of service in writing on the sales contract, 100 bucks for the first service/oil change, etc. and two hundred for the more detailed services, plus the cost of any repairs. I find extended warranties to be a rip-off-no insurance company is going to issue policies at a loss, therefore, the average cost of three years of service will be substantially less than 800 bucks. Take the 800, put it in a savings account, and spend it on repairs if you have to. Odds are, you won't have to.

 

[Broken Record]

Thanks

Thanks guys. That makes good sense. I believe I could handle the oil/filter changes and I really like the savings account idea for more intense services. I'd certainly rather hold the money than hand it over to that sales guy who I know is getting a nice commission.

 

[Herfnerd]

When I picked up my 400 this Saturday, my guy said that I can pick up the extended warranty any time during the factory warranty period. Also, 1st oil change/service is $80 and if I need more than that at 600 miles, its $200. The one thing he did say was that Suzuki requires the first oil change/service to be done by a dealer to keep the warranty intact - after that, I can do it myself as long as I use genuine Suzuki filters/parts. Anyone else get this shpeel? I mean, it sounds legit and its not like he's trying to rip me off - or is he??

 

[Broken Record]

Pressure

This was part of the pressure from the sales guy that I didn't like. I specifically asked him if I could sign up for the extended warranty as long as I was still under Suzuki's warranty and he told me flat out "no".

He acted like he was doing me a big favor by giving me a whole extra week to decide after date of purchase.

 

[pauljo]

Re: Pressure

This was part of the pressure from the sales guy that I didn't like. I specifically asked him if I could sign up for the extended warranty as long as I was still under Suzuki's warranty and he told me flat out "no".

He acted like he was doing me a big favor by giving me a whole extra week to decide after date of purchase.

Guys, there are two entirely different plans being confused here.

Suzuki offers an extension to the factory warranty. That costs less than $800, and can be bought at anytime before the original 1 year warranty expires. I've heard that the price for this is somewhat negotiable. It does not cover routine service costs - it's just coverage if something breaks.

Many dealers offer the 3 year service plan and extended warranty, and they all seem to charge around $800 for it. It is called the "Priority Protection Program". That plan does cover routine service, extra oil changes if you want them, accessory discounts, service prioritization, plus the dealer covers any warranty work needed for three years.

They are two entirely different contracts, and it might be that you need to buy the service plan at time of purchase if you want it.

 

[Broken Record]

That's correct pauljo. This plan does cover any maintenance (including unlimited oil changes) needed for 3 years. I'm just trying to figure out if on average, 3 years worth of maintenance exceeds $800.

$100+ seems really steep for an oil change if it's a 10 minute job and I'm not really sure what other planned maintenance costs are. I'm planning on putting about 3,000 miles/year on the bike.