Modern Vespa

THERE IS NO 3000 MILE SERVICE!

Shout intentional! It is merely an oil level and brake pad wear check. As you do this every so often anyway, it is NOT a service that needs to be done by a dealer, for warranty or for any other reason. If you really, really, don't know how to check these things, then a decent dealer will do it for you in two minutes flat for free.

Can ya hear me....................Can ya hear me now????
answer.........So cool ...... 8)

IT IS A 3000 MILE CHECK OF ALL THE NORMAL STUFF YOU SHOULD BE CHECKING REGULARILY ANYWAY DAMN IT!...wow that felt good.

Catharsis, so good for the soul.

Tru dat brother!

Finding a "decent" dealer in the US is like finding parking in London everyday in less than 2 minutes.

Finding a 'decent dealer' seems to be a problem world-wide.

Sad but true.

There are some dealers who do it because they love the business, love working on bikes (of whatever sort), love solving problems, love helping people.

Then there are the ten or so shysters you have to pass to find the good ones...

And I confess I've sometimes (on some forums) kept quiet about some good dealers in the UK because I didn't want some tit-arse new customers clogging them up.

Lets get this straight - there is no dealer on earth that gets it all right all the time - but those that do cock-up now and again and then immediately own up to it and sort it are the kind of dealers I'd like to use.

Trust is a two-way street. I need to trust the engineer working on my bike, the shop-owner needs to trust me to pay up and not go raving mad because of some misunderstanding.

I've read many threads here over the last year or so where my sympathy has definitely been with the dealer, not the hot-under-the-collar customer who has posted here. Dealers? First step - make sure your customers can wipe their own bottoms.

Thought you might be interested to learn what was found at my unnecessary 5000KM (3000M) service.

Rear brake pads had about 1mm of material left on them

Front and rear brakes had air in the system. #

Both rear shock absorbers were shagged. #

Complained about my intermittent seat switch fault, and they are replacing it. #

My indicator switch was also replaced (I knew this was broken). #

# all items marked with the hash were/will be replaced under warranty.

For my money, I think you'd be nuts to not take your scoot into a reputable dealer while it is still under the manufacturers warranty. Let them check it over and look for things like this. You might have to pay for the service, but I believe the value of the parts they replaced under warranty would probably have paid me back most of the cost.

I could not have determined the air in the brakes issue and probably would have just replaced the pads (at the most).

I'm sorry, but I strongly disagree with a carte blanch recommendation to not consider the 5000km service. I'm glad I spent $280 (service plus rear brake pads and consumables) so a qualified person could examine my machine and look for things that I never would have found.

Sure, I didn't learn anything about my machine, but I'm confident that all faults that presented themselves at the service (I am calling it that, because that is exactly what I received) are totally rectified.

That's my two cents. I'm sure I'm going to be shot down for speaking my mind on this subject, because there seems to be two clear schools of thought about paying for the "non-logbook" services. We must not lose sight that some members are not mechaically minded, and recommending that they don't consider a 5000KM (3000M) service could potentially be bad for them in the long run.

All I ask is that as individuals, you make up your own mind whether you get a shop to do your work, or you do some of it yourself.

And you hadn't noticed? Some is OK-ish - but you'd have noticed soon enough before it was dangerous. The last three you obviously knew about before, and would have been sorted under warranty without paying a penny for this non-existent 'service'.

The only point you have made is that you never checked your own brake-pad thickness, and didn't notice 'soft' brakes.

When did you buy this bike? As a service is required anyway after a year, my blasting at 'unnecessary' services obviously does not apply to those who ride less than 5000km a year.

When you refer to the last three (including the rear shocks), I did not know that the rear shocks were the cause of the problem. I put the poor handling down to my tyre getting to the end of its life. So this was a false diagnosis on my part and one I probably would have still been trying to work out after I got my tyre replaced ahead of its actual life span.

You are correct that the other two items (indicator switch and seat sensor) I was aware about.

Thanks to you JimC, I know that I can check the brake pad wear with a mirror, which is something I will be doing as part of my checks from now on.

I purchased the bike new in June 2008. The odometer reads 4514Km as of 26th Feb 2009

I bet they got shagged by not being adjusted correctly for the rider and the ride...

I'll abstain from any Jeremy Clarkson comments.

Jared, your not riding enough, I got Lil Brute in May 08 and he's got 12000ks on it, come on, You need to work on your mileage, maybe you should have ridden down to the National Rally, all that good weather up there in brissy, you got to get them Ks up more dude , also change your up a notch on the OEM settings on the shocks, lot better ride

I have always changed my oil every 3000 miles and leave the belt and rollers to the dealers. The Oil change is so simply on a MP3 as there is no center stand in the way.

Jon

Up to you, no problem, but why?

This is a response from Piaggio regarding the mystery 3000 mile service and the warranty. It seems that in the owners manual 3000 miles is listed while in the warranty book there is a page and a coupon for a 2000 mile service.

I am awaiting a response to this discrepancy

Hello,
The owner's manual would have the accurate information regarding service schedules. We recommend all services through an authorized Piaggio dealer. If you take vehicle to another dealer for service and a problem occurs it could void your warranty.

Best regards,
Customer Care
Piaggio Group Americas, Inc.

I bought an MP3 400 back in September from XXXXXX. Unfortunately due to a dispute, they are no longer a dealer. This has left me in a situation where the next closest dealer is approximately 30 miles away. Since I live in Florida, I purchased the MP3 as my only mode of transportation. Now, in order to have the vehicle serviced, I have to take a day off from work and hope that everything can be done quickly and efficiently. Had I known this would be the case, I would not have elected to purchase the MP3 because service would be such a hassle.

I am now approaching my 2 or 3 thousand mile service. I am not sure which it actually is because the warranty book lists it at 2000 and the owners manual lists it at 3000 miles. Can you tell me which interval is the correct one?

Also, is it possible to maintain the warranty without taking the bike in for relatively minor things like checking the oil and filter? It seems to be a bit excessive to have to send in a warranty card for such a thing. Even more so when you look at the fact that any such service by a dealer would likely be a half day event at least.

I love by bike and believe Piaggio has a great product in the MP3. However, I feel let down in post purchase support due to the above scenario.

I look forward to receiving the answers to my questions as well as any direction on future support of by MP3.

You can complete all the services yourself or through a none Piaggio dealer, however if they or you botch something up then yes it could void your warranty. Also as you can see Piaggio recommends that you take it to a Piaggio dealer. They are not saying you must take it to a Piaggio dealer. I go by the owners manual for all services as the warranty book is incorrect on the service intrevals, however I replace my oil at every 3000 miles or 4 months which ever occurs first. that job is easy. It is the belt and rollers I would go to the dealer for. Just my 2 cents

Jon

A point to note - Piaggio UK (and probably Piaggio USA) will NOT publicly say what they privately tell dealers - apparently because some dealers who like to stitch customers up would get rather cross. However the owner's manual is the one to go by for new vehicles, the only discrepancy occurs with older fuel injected models, where the (now superseded) owner's manual states a 4000 mile service instead of the current 6000 miles.

No, that's Incorrect. I have the shocks adjusted to the maximum stiffness (notch 4). Because of my weight, and because I pillion a lot, it is the correct setting.

I have a feeling it was a particular pothole I hit while pillioning. It was an almightly crash and my wife hurt her back. The pothole spanned the whole lane - unavoidable unfortunately.

It's the downside to living inner city. Only a 10km round trip to work each day.

I go on fornightly rides with Scooteroo, and we usually do about 50-100ks on these rides. The only way I am going to get K's up like you Brutescoot, is to move to the outer suburbs and battle Brisbane traffic into town.

I think I'd rather have lower K's

It's actually not that enjoyable to ride it at the moment with the muntered shocks. The scoot feels like it is 'floating' around sometimes - very unsettling.

Here is a scan from the maintenance schedule of my owners manual and also the coupon pages from the warranty book. Still no answer from Vespa USA.

That is a truly ancient warranty booklet, long gone here. They must be using up old supplies on the innocents in the US.

Yep Jim, thats why I am inquiring with them. The gosh darn thing basically becomes a legal document in a dispute regarding warranty. Essentially in this book there is a service to be completed at every 2000 mile interval. That's good for the service facility but creates a pretty high cost of ownership for someone who uses the machine as primary transportation.

In the owners manual the next major service is 6000 miles. At 3000 miles its a simple check of the things you should be looking at periodically anyway. Hardly necessitates a warranty service coupon.

Exactly. The warranty-specific intervals are now 6000 miles for all fuel injected bikes. In the US you can DIY providing you keep receipts etc - but just how a US-guy proves they did the diagnostic gizmo checks escapes me...

I am stupid.

I decided to keep my dealer on-side, so I figured I'd let them do the 5000km service, despite knowing it wasn't necessary.

I convinced myself it wasn't too bad an idea... I was away for a few months recently (and hence not riding), so it's been six months since the 1000km service. Having them look over the bike couldn't hurt, even though I check the brakes and oil regularly anyway. So I called to book it in.

Then I managed to somehow be talked out of getting an up-front quote for the service. They talked in circles enough that I got off the phone without even getting an estimate.

But I figured that they were nice enough guys that everything would be OK. I took it in for the service.

Then I got the bill for AU$220 (US$160, £110).

The moral of the story: if you are stupid enough to get the 5000km service done by your dealer, get an up-front quote.

Doesn't sound like a lot.

Hi From Phil
You probably answered this already which dealer in Newcastle do you use.
I have decided to do the checks myself at 5000 and change the oils and filter
regards
Phil

Jimc,
From Piaggio USA's web page there is a 3000 mile service including oil change "if necessary" and new drive belt. No wonder people are confused. Check it out at:
http://piaggiousa.com/scooters.php#/maintenance/Piaggio%20MP3%20500

BTW Piaggio recently redid the web site so this page is fairly new.

Belt at 3000 miles?? That is wrong! Owners manual.

Jon

For an oil level check and a brake pad check?

It's significantly more than I was charged for the first service, which actually involved a fair amount of work.

See PM (I'd rather not mention their name in a public forum).

I haven't had a problem with the dealer in the past, they've actually been the epitome of helpfulness and professionalism. Which is why I was so shocked to see what they charged me.

I picked up the scooter just as they were closing, so I didn't have a chance to talk to the manager or even grab an itemised invoice. However, I'll be back there some time in the next week to discuss the matter with them.

To be fair, the recommended change time for an MP3 250 belt and rollers (in the US, larger riders?) is now 9000 miles rather than 12,000. But all previous comments stand.

An oil level and brake pad check takes two minutes tops, no dealer should ever charge *anything* for that courtesy for those who don't feel competent to do even that.

Sorry, didn't understand how little was involved.

I may resemble that comment, but I have gone from 225# to 195# since getting my MP3. How much thinner are 6'2" guys across the pond?

OK. An update on my above comment/rant.

I've picked up the itemised invoice and found out some more about what went on. It seems the dealer decided to do a full service, including changing the oil, filter and spark plug. They believed that was necessary, and were genuinely surprised when told otherwise.

To be fair to them, it seems I'm a more active rider than most of their customers. They told me that, for most customers, a full service was generally necessary at 5000km anyway, because scooters have generally gone more than 12 months without a service by then.

They are now going to check with Piaggio, to make sure they are following the correct service schedule, and look into whether the 5000km service is required.

Which is good, because I don't want to be paying for a full service every three months or so.

Good point, My dealer told me some low mileage customers have voided their warranty by not doing required service on time. This thread has focused on miles between service but the requirements are miles or months whichever comes first.