I am about to order a new MS but have a choice of stealers. Local or major, major is a further 60 miles away but £500 cheaper. Coming from Honda, I am a little concerned (just a little) about reliability/build quality. With a new bike, how many return trips to the original dealer should I expect to make?
Mmm that's a difficult one! If yourre fortunate it's only for servicing.... I believe 1000, 7000, and 12000 miles! If you're unlucky....it could be more!
Should be just routine servicing but in 15 months I have taken my Multistrada back to my dealer about 8 or 9 times: 2 services 4 back brake failures 1 clutch master cylinder fail 1 steering lock failure 1 re map 1 new front wheel (hit a pothole!) 1 clutch fluid replaced and re-bled lever getting close to bar again Other than the above no problem at all. My dealer is about 45 mins away. Bike is still a great bike but have just extended my warranty...... Just in case
All most Jon.. Once the 600ml/6 month service is done, the bike is then serviced annually on the anniversary of registration. The 7500 and 15000 mile services are "Desmo" services, "bolt ons" if you like, that pull in other mileage related elements over and above the annual schedule. The upset to this schedule is if the 7500 intervals are passed within 12 months, then the service takes place on a mileage basis. On the MTS the 7500 isn't much more than an annual anyhow. The 15k is the big one. The Desmo services shouldn't be done seperatley either, but in conjunction with the annual schedule. If the bike goes for service with 14500 on the clock then the 15k element is done. Apply a bit of common sense +/- 2000 miles or so. The new schedules are designed to reduce service costs, and they do if applied correctly, by only attending to mileage related elements as and when needed.
I would get a 'price' from the best dealer - look nationwide ask them to throw in free 1st/major services and ask for money off addon parts such as a exhaust. once you get your price go back to your 'local' dealer, ask for a matching one or ask for a servicing deal. if your local dealer does not match the price, ask for a further reduction in the other dealer but without servicing costs and then buy from him and go to your local dealer. having the cash 'ready' helps a lot as well as doing it before sept when the registrations change - they will want to get rid of any pre-reg bikes etc... - and of course end of month last minute calls also help. its a lot of money to spend be clear on what you want, the bike is good but there is plenty of stock around now to get a good deal. you will need to go to your dealer every 6 months I would say to do tyres, servicing, warranty fixes (nothing major but you will want them to do them for you). bugs
In 3 months/2500 miles I've had the following on my S Touring: 1) Took it back for noisy forks and rear brake fixes/recalls 2) Took it back for 600 mile service 3) Had it collected by van for the engine cutting out under 5mph/revs dropping on steady throttle/complete rear shock unit replacement Having said all of that, it's an epic bike when it's working. I've been back on my Fazer 1000 and it feels slow to me now.
had a couple of software recalls and the biggest which is the ohlins s suspension ecu... everything else has been fine. Rear brake is a bit pap but thats about it...
Your probably right as I don't think I actually have to go back to original dealer. When you are in the showroom, they talk about there great after sales care, but really what does one dealer do that another would not? I could buy from one stealer and get warranty work done at another. Or have I missed something?
What I would do (but many wouldn't): Go to the most passionate and best dealer you can find within a reasonable distance. Find out, if you have to leave the bike for a service, if they will lend you something to get home on. Build a relationship with them, so that you are not just buying on price but get great quality work throughout the life of your ownership. They should treat you like a friend and a valued customer. You can ask on here who the likely outfit would be. That isn't always the cheapest solution, but the bike is probably a luxury anyway. Worth a few more £££ for less hassle and peace of mind.
Some good points touched on here. As said above, the key is building a relationship with the dealer. Play the white man regarding coming to them for all your bits and pieces, after a while you then get discounts. Get to know the service team and even meccanics if possible and you will be amazed. I guarantee there is not a lot they won't do to keep you happy.
You "missed" one thing....apparently, for the extended warranty, which you WILL want, you have to go back to the dealer you bought it from UNLESS you can get your new dealer to transfer the dealer side of things. I can imagine why they or the former dealer wouldn't, but they might. Just something to bra in mind. Maybe negotiate the extended warranty with the purchase? Not sure if you have to go back to the "original" dealer for warranty work. You might. Another benefit of picking a good dealer in the first place, or at least getting the bike transferred to the new dealer. David
That is a good point. Do you mean you have to buy the extended warranty from the original dealer? not that they are the only dealers that will honor it?
Definitely you have to buy it from the selling dealer. Will another honour it? I don't know. That is a very good question.
You have to get the warranty from the selling dealer but the work will be done by the dealer you use on a regular basis. I.e. if the bike was purchased in Brighton but was sold to a bloke in Leeds, Ducati Brighton would have to issue the warranty but ducati Leeds would do warranty work going forward. This was confirmed by my dealer today.
Thanks for the info, I have 20 years of Japanese bikes, I only do 2 or 3,000 miles a year and I have never had a breakdown except punctures. I thought that if you bought new and took proper care then you would very unlucky to breakdown. But it is becoming obvious that breakdowns are part of the Ducati MS experience. My suspicions were aroused when, during my test ride, 2 bikes came to the dealers on the back of a AA trucks. This forum just confirms it. I will certainly negotiate extended warranty with the original purchase, probably on Saturday.
Don't be too concerned. Mine is over 2 years old and hasnt missed a beat. I honestly believe that if you keep up with servicing you will be pretty unlucky to have major problems.
Perhaps. But on forums you are more likely to hear what goes wrong. People are less likely to post: "Multi is performing perfectly!" it's a bit of a discussion ender. Are Multis inherently more unreliable than other Ducatis?
It's the best and quickest selling bike they have ever had by a country mile. Now thousands of them out there. I know for a fact that Ducati are delighted overall with its reliability and a very small percentage in real terms have suffered from major problems.
