Back in the good old bad old days when we bought a used bike here in Ireland we were usually offered an extremely limited ninety day warranty. This ‘alleged’ warranty tended only to cover certain items and provided little reassurance to the new owner. Riders could, of course, fall back to the sales of goods and services act in the event of a dispute. But that entailed a whole lot of grief. Thankfully, most dealers are now proud of their wares. As a result, things have got a lot better.
The people at BMW Motorrad have gone one step further and recognised this problem. They are taking the business of selling pre-owned bikes very seriously indeed. They have devised a system called BMW Motorrad Premium Selection, BMW Approved Used Bikes, or, AUB to those of us who like our three letter acronyms. It works a treat.
The dealers in the network are obliged to prepare used machines, to a certain age, to a factory defined standard before they are offered for sale. The bike is then sold with a full one year warranty. There is also a recovery service should the bike fail. Consumables are not covered.
To do this, the service history is checked and the bike is brought up to speed in terms of outstanding recalls or warranty work. The next service due is done if the machine is within 1,000 kilometres of said service. Tyres are another obvious one, with the thread depth being checked for wear. Nobody likes buying a new, to them, bike and having to replace the tyres a month or so later. On an AUB prepped bike they will have been changed unless the tyre has significant amount of life left.
The effect that AUB has goes further than making sure that the new owner is looked after. Thanks to a transparent system of conditioning bikes for sale, the original owner has some understanding of what helps to maintain a good residual value. This in turn results in the bikes being traded in being in better condition. A win, win for everyone.
AUB prepped bikes are only available from official BMW dealers. Here in Ireland there are only two, Joe Duffy Mottorrad in Dublin, and Kearys Motorrad in Cork. Charles Hurst is the dealer in Northern Ireland. AUB warranty is available in the UK. However, a warranty that originates in the UK is not valid on a motorcycle permanently exported outside of the UK.
Cross border sales are not covered by AUB or emergency rescue. This is on foot of a rather complicated European ruling that was designed to make things easier but didn’t. If you have chosen to buy a bike outside the Ireland and a claim needs to be made then the dealer will supply the rider with a receipt. This can then be used to make a claim on the selling dealer in the UK. Very importantly, this is only applicable if vehicle is UK based. The refund never includes the VAT.
Warranty policies similar to the AUB policies are for one year only. They can be bought by owners of bikes that are about to fall out of warranty, be they new or used. They make a lot of sense and can save a lot of time, money and hassle. Talk to any of the team by calling Dublin on 01 864 7750 or Cork on 021 500 3600. “Ninety days on the gearbox and clutch” doesn’t cut it anymore…
