I think everyone would like to hear it, it's important to stick to facts though.
Well...where do I start?
I saw the HP2 Enduro at (back then) BMW Performance Motors in Phuket, wanted it. After some haggling about the price, 1,280,000 Baht (which to a farang fresh of the boat seems quite overprized) and a lecture about import taxes I got a deal...1,080,000baht with both sets of wheels and 200,000baht of free accessories of my choice, gratuity of BMW Thailand. Closed the deal and signed a paper that I couldn't read (but brought a copy to my lawyer).
I was guaranteed a 3 year unlimited kilometer warranty (which turned out to be BS but more about it later) and sent on my way with a red plate the next day...a red plate and a ridiculously loose steering head (the mechanic couldn't test ride it because it was to high). At the first attempt to rectify the problem they overtightened it so far that they damaged the steering head bearing...so my new lady ended up the first 2 weeks of her life in the shop waiting for a replacement bearing.
When I finally got her back the new bearing was also damaged (not as bad as the first one) but I kept the bike while waiting for the new part...in the meantime repeated (weekly) visits to claim the long list of accessories I was promised always saw me leave empty handed. To make matters worse, the license plate I was expecting so I could finally leave the province also never came.
After 3 months while enquiring about the license plate I was told that the motorcycle actually belongs the new owners of the BMW shop, now Barcelona Motors, by the same staff that had actually sold me the bike...because it was still on Performance Motors inventory when they got taken over. It took the lawyer a week to sort things out and finally get me a green book and my license plates.
As you can imagine, the same staff that sold me the bike and promised 200k extras couldn't remember the deal we had...and to make matters even more ridiculous the sales manager was unloading a Garmin (BMW Navigator 3) GPS from his trunk, with my name on the box, while telling me all this. After I confiscated the goods in his trunk which included said GPS, tankbag, and saddlebag all in boxes with my name on it, which to date remain the only things I did get from the 200k accessories, I informed BMW Thailand of the incident and requested the balance of the goods...without response. My lawyer tried, never got a response either.
In the meantime, the drive had a serious recall...which Barcelona Motors fixed but refusing to honor the recall and requesting payment for the job. The fuel pump which kept crapping out "got fixed" at every service...yet the problem remained unchanged, until I found that some fuel pumps (based on production dates) had a recall and it was only after I fell (coz the pump gave out in a corner during a relaxed Sunday stroll) and brought the paperwork from BMW Motorrad to prove the recall was real, that they actually changed the pump (with one they had in stock and was from the same recalled series)...
So after huffing puffing and ranting I was told about khun Youngyut, who was doing an excellent job on servicing BMW bikes. I could ride to BKK, settle in somewhere and head for sushi and sake while he would load my bike up, bring it to his shop, service it and replace everything that needed to be replaced and bring it back...top notch service and everytime impeccable. Until that is, when Barcelona who had now become the only BMW motorcycle dealer and whom was the only place for anyone to get parts, told Yut he could no longer have HP2 parts.
So, back to Barcelona...and now a service would take 2 to 3 weeks every time. My air suspension had a leak after my last service...and on that last visit I was told my ECU was faulty and it was the reason my battery would go flat all the time...took 4 weeks for replacement part. To my surprise when I showed up 4 weeks later in a taxi, I saw another HP2 Enduro outside so I started talking to the Thai owner who was ecstatic about the service. He had brought his bike in 4 weeks earlier with a faulty ECU and the staff borrowed the part from a farang who's not around so he could keep riding, and now switched the part back and installed the new one.
5 minutes later, as I saw the new ECU on my invoice big fat Keng found himself with a tie 2 sizes tighter then he had put it on in the morning and lying on his belly across his desk with his feet dangling...security rushed to the adjacent show room standing in front of the new bikes LOL
It was the last time I visited Barcelona...they had to charge my battery again for me to be able to leave btw...and no without paying a dime.
In the meantime all my appeals for proper service, recalls etc got unanswered by BMW Thailand and BMW Motorrad. It was only when I actually spoke to the Investor Relations manager that I got an answer from BMW Motorrad...who passed the puck str8 back to BMW Thailand, from whom I was asked to produce an "original copy" of the purchase contract because in the bankruptcy Performace motors had lost all its documentation...and referred me back to same people who sold me the bike and (should) have the original contract. And so...because to make things simpler I bought the bike in my company's name...there is nothing that can be done without an original contract.
Not even proper service it seems, which is all I am asking for really.
A word of advise to those buying a BMW...make sure you get an English copy of your purchase contract and check it...keep it safe! If they promise any extras or if you purchase any accessories, only dish out the cash when you actually get them. For your services and repairs, find a good mechanic or do it yourself...do not trust Barcelona, especially not if suddenly they find something broken during a service...inspect, just walk in the back even if they say you can't. Good luck
...the real issue is how BMW Thailand handles it! So...we get our hands dirty and our families running around buying parts, making them dirty and sending us used gifts...and keep on riding!
