Made it to the Mechanic – Bavaria Motors, Guatemala City

I woke up this morning thinking how will I get my motorcycle to Bavaria Motors in Guatemala City from Antigua.

Before my accident I had already booked an appointment there for Monday to repair a leaking fork seal. Now both seals were totally gone, at least one fork tube bent, my tire rim bent, and I had a destroyed tire.

Hotel San Jorge

The staff at the Hotel San Jorge were great during my stay in Antigua. Now I needed them more than ever. I asked them if they could find a truck for me to haul my motorcycle and me to my hotel in Guatemala City.

Within a hour they found someone that would do it for 500 Q, or about $100 Cdn., without an invoice ha ha ha. I really don’t like that because obviously he is trying to avoid taxes. But I didn’t need an invoice and I did need a truck. So I accepted.

Trip to Guatemala City

At noon the guy showed up to pick up my motorcycle.

bike-flat-deck

Off we went.

in-flat-deck

It isn’t far to Gautemala City from Antigua, only 43 km. Soon we were at my hotel and had unloaded my bike.

confort-hostel

Another successful day of getting my motorcycle and me to our next destination. There was just one more trip to get us to Bavaria Motors.

Bavaria Motors

I had specifically chosen my hotel because it was close to Bavaria Motors. So the next day I walked to the Bavaria Motors and explained my new predicament.

They arranged to have a truck come, take me back to my hotel, pick up my motorcycle, and bring us back.

The truck was small. But it made it easy to load my motorcycle 🙂

confort-hostel

bmw-truck-4

bmw-truck-2

Back to Bavaria Motors we went.

They have an interesting set up there. The mechanic shop is actually on the second floor and they have a lift that takes the motorcycle up there.

bavaria-motors

bavaria-motors

I walked away from the dealership with a sense of relief and a smile. I did it. With the help of lots of people I managed to get my broken motorcycle from the side of the road by Lake Atitlan to the BMW mechanic in Guatemala City!

bavaria-motors-5

The Estimate

My smile was short lived though. I walked to Starbucks to celebrate :-). But while there Bavaria Motors sent me the estimate for the repairs – 28,833.48 Q or about $5,340 Cdn!!!! I was in shock! This was A LOT of money! I suppose I could afford it, but it would do serious damage to my budget. But what choice did I have?

The break down was as follows:

1) Change of front rim – 650 Q or $120 Cdn
2) Change of front bars – 500 Q or $93 Cdn
3) Change of front light bulb – 50 Q or $9 Cdn
4) Replace front brake pads – 150 Q or $28 Cdn
5) A new front tire rim which had to be ordered from Germany – 10,000 Q or $1,850
6) CdnBulb 19.26 Q or $4 Cdn
7) Front Shock Absorber 8,099.35 Q or $1,500 Cdn
8) Front Shock Absorber 8,099.35 Q or $1,500 Cdn
9) Front brake pads 1,265.52 Q or $234 Cdn

What to do Now

In this situation I know some would haggle, yell, scream etc. to get the price down.

Others would tell me to take my motorcycle elsewhere. There are a lot of corner mechanics around in Guatemala.

And I did receive the suggestion of flying to the US, finding a BMW motorcycle used part place, buy the parts and fly back to Guatemala with them to save money.

Contrary to what many believe, I don’t believe there is a single right way to respond to this situation. There is only the right way FOR YOU. And I don’t believe in being critical of people who choose the way that is best for them.

My decision may turn out to be a mistake, but it is my mistake. Everyone has their own mistakes to think about rather than criticizing my mistake. If it even is one.

So what did I choose to do?

I stayed with Bavaria Motors because they are use to working on BMW motorcycles and have the parts. Plus they have a good rep among adventure motorcyclists.

For me I like to be nice and develop a relationship with people so that they will want to do the best they can for me. I believe that Bavaria Motors should make a reasonable profit, and that I should receive a reasonable deal.

Sooooo after the initial shock I responded to their email saying it was expensive and did they have a used rim available to put on to lower the price.

The response back was that they would do their best to lower the price.

For the next couple of days I went in to say hello and develop a relationship with them. We’ll see what the final outcome is. Fingers crossed.

My Route for May 28, 2017

antigua-guatemala-city

My Location for May, 29, 2017

My hotel is where the blue dot is. So close to Bavaria Motors.

Guatemala-City

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