Service Costs...taking The Piss.

specialised tools, IT and updates is a constant thing. for every new model there is a whole raft of new tools and tech required, plus new model training.
i cant say for ducati but in the dealerships i have worked in a minimum amount of parts, set by the manufacturer had to be kept and payed for even tho they would sit for years in a parts bin unused.
how many of those 40hrs a week are sold. even in the busiest of workshops. i would be surprised if they where getting anywhere near 40hrs if the work is getting done correctly and to a good standard.
.
me? i will happily pay that kind of money if, i knew i was going to get home near every time after a service/repair without something falling off, a warning light wasnt going to come on that wasnt on before, any warranty issue was delt with within the warranty period and outside of that if they couldnt sort it within the period.
and the service department didnt take me (with over 40 years expeiriance) as a mug. because if they are, i pity the average joe.

 

Sorry but you have missed the point raised by a few people and just seem to focus on £85 ph being unreasonable, you have no idea of the overheads these dealerships have to endure and assume they are pocketing that money. The margins for a Ducati dealer are very small and it seems like Ducati employ a whole team of people in Bologna to think up new ways to extract any of that margin back to the factory!
The special tools are auto issued every time there is a new model, even if you already have a tool that does the job, staff training courses are every year and only held in Bologna at the dealers expense including transport, flights, hotels, meals etc.

I suspect that like most people you are unaware that all of the posters, promotional materials and even brochures are charged out to dealers, the leather book packs arrive each year in a large box that costs over a grand before you've started selling bikes.

The dealer is not the main problem here, the manufacturers have ridiculous expectations of corporate standards that lead to a showroom refit every few years costing hundreds of thousands of pounds that the dealer is just expected to pay, I'm not defending the actions of dealers who are "scalping" customers or trying to get us to pay for parts we don't need etc but there is a lot more to this picture than just what you see!
I could write endless articles about the shenanigans of manufacturers who have no idea what the real world is actually like!

 

Of course I have an idea of the overheads but again it’s just not justifiable. It never will be, especially when the work carried out is questionable at times. That’s not applicable to them all but there have been some horror stories and when you’re paying that sort of money then that should never be the case.

Don’t be so naive to think I’m not fully aware of the other costs and overheads etc.

 

All you guys are doing is giving reasons to why they charge the hourly rate that they do, but the actual job itself, the mechanics working on the bike is not worth the x amount per hour. Especially when at times the workmanship has been lacklustre.

Just because my energy bills have went up and insurance has went up doesn’t mean I go into work and all of a sudden demand more per hour.

When you have independent garages that can do the work at a reduced price but carry out the work just as well then why should you not use them? And why should you be held to ransom to use the dealerships with regards to warranties etc. If they have to charge that purely because of the business structure itself then that’s not a viable business.

 

Yep, in the motor trade (car and bike) net profit against turn over is staggering. It always make me laugh when someone thinks they're gonna get a 20% discount on their next purchase because they've bought 2 cars/bikes from them before.... A relatively small % sales drop can send a dealer belly up.

Clothing and accessories give dealers a leg up to. But again, it's all quite tight profit wise and they rely on high volumes of sale.

 

Just because my energy bills have went up and insurance has went up doesn’t mean I go into work and all of a sudden demand more per hour.
in the past i have. now i just go deef when i hear it coming back at me.
you are not forced to use a dealer. you pays yer money you take yer chances. and again, are they charging out 40hrs per tech per week. and more often than not, the issue is with the quality of the work being undertaken, not so much the cost.

 

The dealer is not the main problem here, the manufacturers have ridiculous expectations of corporate standards that lead to a showroom refit every few years costing hundreds of thousands of pounds that the dealer is just expected to pay, I'm not defending the actions of dealers who are "scalping" customers or trying to get us to pay for parts we don't need etc but there is a lot more to this picture than just what you see!
I could write endless articles about the shenanigans of manufacturers who have no idea what the real world is actually like!

this ^ - thank you @Jonny Moto I couldn't have written it better, my thoughts exactly.

 

Energy bills going up will put everything up... It's a big deal... We've got the oil and and gas under our feet. But oh no, all the goons in power are fixated with this net zero green bollox (which is flawed, another thread).

 

to heat my place to an acceptble level for most would cost around £200 pw.there is 3 plus me. 2x v,expierianced 1 good but with limited expieriance and an apprentice. thats around £3 ph hour sold. and we are always v,busy.
note the word, "would"

 

So Wull, what would you be happy to pay per hour ?

 

It's £5 an hour to do the work.

And £80 an hour to know what to do.

 

Why else would Ducati make a Lamborghini special other then to sell to people who can afford it and the subsequent servicing costs? They know how to make money and are doing so.

Unfortunately there's only one way out of this for ordinary folk and that's to vote with our feet and leave the clan...

 

Oi, we’re on about other shit now…

 

Just to clarify my earlier statements, I am in total agreement that we shouldn't be held to ransom by the manufacturers and have the freedom of choice to use a quality independent, unfortunately unless there is a major change then we are all trapped within this system until the bikes are out of warranty, it does boil my p**s !

 

We did exactly that, gave up the franchise after twenty five years, including backing them through all of the dark days of bad build quality, impending bankruptcy, long delays etc in the nineties. They only cared about whether we had the "correct" floor tiles and toilet door signs, not bothered about over a hundred years worth of staff experience as they seem to forget that Ducati's over five years old still exist!

 

My actual gripe isn’t really what they charge even though it is ridiculous, but more the fact that we are held to ransom with regards to warranties etc, we should be allowed to use whoever we want especially when they can carry out the work themselves to a very similar standard if not even higher.

I personally do all the work myself, I service my own bikes and carry out absolutely every aspect whether its servicing or mechanical failures.

But with that being said I’d probably pay £50ph, maybe £60ph at a push.


Listen, I get it, all the overheads etc etc blaaablaaaa, does that make it ok to charge that amount for servicing etc? Absolutely not.

 

£250 to get my Tuono Factory serviced + £90ph labour to fit new chain and sprockets. Wish I could do myself, but I'd prefer to pay than have a mechanical failure whilst riding.

Having bikes is expensive, but damn they're good fun....as I recall. Not ridden in 3 months due to $hitty Scottish weather.