First service costs?

[Mister Paul 838]

I've just booked the first service on my ADV350 at Thunder Road in Newport. I choked when they told me it was £250. I was expecting about £160, which is still steep. 

 

What have you been paying? The bike is a 350 so suddenly the 3-service plan at £399 is becoming very attractive. 

[ChrisCB 6,675]

My local dealer has a flat rate £110 for 600 mile service.

[Mister Paul 838]

We're a bit stuck here in the SW. Fowlers can't fit me in until mid-May. Thunder Road is the next nearest, then it's Cheltenham or Swindon. 

[Jeffprince 4,923]

It’s Thunder Road’s way of saying they don’t want the work, by the look of it. Quite disappointing, really. Can you not find an independent?

 

[Mister Paul 838]

1 hour ago, Jeffprince said:

It’s Thunder Road’s way of saying they don’t want the work, by the look of it. Quite disappointing, really. Can you not find an independent?

 

I've asked Hunts to do me a service plan. Then I'll go to Thunder Road. 

[Bostedsprocket 213]

Very expensive considering its just an oil and filter change and quick check over it wont be on the bench any more than 30 minutes. 

[Black Marauder 100]

I heard Hunts are to cease with Honda & start up with Yamaha .......all those years with Honda ..

[elbee 754]

Almost five years since I got my NC. Can I stop worrying yet about the drop in value because I did my own oil/filter change & checks at 600 miles? 

[Ciaran 6,880]

Local dealer charges £189. Cheapest I found that was within reasonable travelling distance was £165 so for the price of the fuel there and back decided to just do it local. South coast tax? 

 

The dealer on the island said they charged £320 for any bike not bought from them! Can only assume the madness was intended to keep customers away tbh. 

[Trev 18,797]

Hayballs in Salisbury charged a very reasonable £140 for Himmy second service which included a valve clearance check and adjust (only inlet needed tweak), £250 for a 600 mile oil check sounds very much like a 'please go away in short, jerky movements'. Time to find a decent independent who will use Honda parts, most will if asked.

[alhendo1 3,053]

2 hours ago, Trev said:

Time to find a decent independent who will use Honda parts, most will if asked.

That's what I'd be doing with a quote like the Op had👍

[alhendo1 3,053]

On 29/03/2022 at 14:28, Mister Paul said:

I've just booked the first service on my ADV350 at Thunder Road in Newport. I choked when they told me it was £250. I was expecting about £160, which is still steep. 

 

What have you been paying? The bike is a 350 so suddenly the 3-service plan at £399 is becoming very attractive. 

Quick question. Is the bike on a pcp type thing?....if so it may be stipulation that it will require servicing at a Honda main dealer.

[Andy m 23,607]

7 hours ago, elbee said:

Almost five years since I got my NC. Can I stop worrying yet about the drop in value because I did my own oil/filter change & checks at 600 miles? 

Don't worry

 

Judging by the bikes I've sold to dealers that are are DIY serviced that they then sell as FSH/FDSH/FMSH, my only conclusion is that I am a main dealer. While I feel this possibly lowers my reputation for care and attention I am prepared to pass on the maindealerness. 

 

Arise @elbee, I dub thee a main dealer. May your margins rise, your finger tight drain plugs stay in and your customers keep calling the coffee free. 

 

Andy 

Edited March 30, 2022 by Andy m

[MatBin 5,100]

4 hours ago, Trev said:

Hayballs in Salisbury charged a very reasonable £140 for Himmy second service which included a valve clearance check and adjust (only inlet needed tweak), £250 for a 600 mile oil check sounds very much like a 'please go away in short, jerky movements'. Time to find a decent independent who will use Honda parts, most will if asked.

Do you actually need to use Honda/OE parts for say oils and/or filters, brake pads etc, often non genuine parts are as good if not better than OE stuff as well as being cheaper by a margin.

[Andy m 23,607]

Receipts and logos on the parts takes away one excuse Honda warranty can try. Their T&C's does state this. 

 

Outside warranty there is no reason at all. Use any name you recognise as not a Chinese knock-off. 

 

Andy 

[Trev 18,797]

17 minutes ago, MatBin said:

Do you actually need to use Honda/OE parts for say oils and/or filters, brake pads etc, often non genuine parts are as good if not better than OE stuff as well as being cheaper by a margin.

I'm probably not the best person to answer this I my bikes are serviced with a view to maintaining reliability & performqnce rather than resale value as I don't buy on pcp/hp and tend to keep them rather than trade them on after a couple of years. I have had a few bikes dealer serviced while still under warranty (NC, AT, Himmy and Guzzi Bobber) but do myself or local independent after that depending on complexity and whether I can be bothered. 

[BackMarker 170]

1st Service was £145 for my NC750S, last year.

 

Done while I waited in Swanley, although the bike was bought elsewhere...

[Mister Paul 838]

7 hours ago, alhendo1 said:

Quick question. Is the bike on a pcp type thing?....if so it may be stipulation that it will require servicing at a Honda main dealer.

No, it's not on PCP. But I'm too cautious about the warranty so want to use a Honda dealer.

 

[MatBin 5,100]

16 hours ago, Mister Paul said:

No, it's not on PCP. But I'm too cautious about the warranty so want to use a Honda dealer.

 

Understandable

[Mister Paul 838]

Right, so Hunts have sold me a service plan.

 

Thunder Road Newport have just voicemailed me to say that they're not now open on Good Friday -which is when I had the bike booked in and which I asked them to check when I booked it that they were definitely open. Given that, and the £250 service cost quote, I've now booked the bike in to Thunder Road Gloucester. I know it's the same company (Thunder Road have just been bought by Completely Motorcycles) but it's never a bad thing to give a different dealer a go. It's just a pain having to ride nearly 40 miles when Fowlers is 10 miles away.

[tomcat 667]

Browsing this post, prompted me to glance back at my bank records.

NC750XD, first service at Honda main dealer was £108 last October.

The benefits of living in the frozen north....

[Empty_Ten 452]

£250!  If that's for the 600 mile (or equivalent service) then it seems a lot. 

 

If that's for the 8000 mile (or equivalent) then that's probably about right for a main dealer based on £80 p/h labour.  I am probably out of date with main dealer prices though as I havent used them for over a year now.

 

The first services for new bikes I bought in 2015, 2016 & 2017 were all £110-£140 with the Yamaha main dealer I bought the bike from.

 

I was looking forward to buying the service plan for the ex demo (100 miles on the clock) NC I bought.  £599 for 3 services seemed reasonable to me with the mileage I do.  When I returned to collect the bike and asked for this, I was advised that they could not (more like would not!) offer me this because it was a "used bike" and they were including the 600 mile service in the price of the bike.  The service plan brochure/leaflet was hooked onto my bike and thats how I became aware of it in the first place.

 

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by Empty_Ten

[horobags 905]

On 29/03/2022 at 21:38, Black Marauder said:

I heard Hunts are to cease with Honda & start up with Yamaha .......all those years with Honda ..

I was recently been talking to John the owner. He said Honda want lots of smaller dealers dotted around, and wanted him to move into the city centre, he has a lot of staff to pay and he ownes the buildings so not that easy for him. Since this and after all these years Honda (uk), have treated him terribly, so he has no regrets about moving over to Yamaha.

[Mister Paul 838]

1 hour ago, horobags said:

I was recently been talking to John the owner. He said Honda want lots of smaller dealers dotted around, and wanted him to move into the city centre, he has a lot of staff to pay and he ownes the buildings so not that easy for him. Since this and after all these years Honda (uk), have treated him terribly, so he has no regrets about moving over to Yamaha.

How long for you to work your way through the Yamaha range? About 6 months? 

[Robi55 94]

On 29/03/2022 at 14:28, Mister Paul said:

I've just booked the first service on my ADV350 at Thunder Road in Newport. I choked when they told me it was £250. I was expecting about £160, which is still steep. 

 

What have you been paying? The bike is a 350 so suddenly the 3-service plan at £399 is becoming very attractive. 

That's expensive. I paid £160 for the 600 oil and filter change at Nortonway Honda in Letchworth. Not bad considering I purchased through Hunts (didn't want the hassle of taking it all the way to Manchester for an oil change.) They even sent me a post service video showing an examination of the bike. Elsewhere on this post, was disappointed to see Hunts are losing Honda. They were excellent when I purchased and no other dealer could match the deal.