Appologies for breathing life into a very old thread. So best thing to do I guess would be to start a new one on the subject so that I dont confuse any one. My post was;
I?ve just booked my BMW (316ES, on 53 plate) in for its first service. Done 15000 miles in its 18 months of life. The quote was £160 for what is essentially an oil change, which is on the expensive side when compared to Ford, Vauxhall etc, but not a made price. But I?m trapped into having it done by a beemer dealer so that I can keep the warranty and the resale value up.
What have other paid for similar services?
P
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"which is on the expensive side when compared to Ford,Vauxhall etc..."
it's not that expensive - the first service on my 53 Vectra at 20k cost me about the same or a few quid more and that was at a main Vauxhall dealer.
I think what you paid for a Beemer was reasonable in comparison!
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My 2002 318 had an inspection II - it was £255 all inclusive. Bearing in mind this is most expensive of the scheduled services, it is not that expensive compared to 'less prestige' brands.
I think the cost is very location specific - mine was at Sytner Leicester.
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£160 seems reasonable to me. The first service on my Volvo S60 (at 12 months or 12k miles) was almost £270 and SWMBO Corolla was £147 at 10k miles.
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For a Beemer (or pretty much any other franchised) dealership I'd have thought £160 a bargain for 15k worth of servicing. Charge of oil plus the filter must knock £50. Then presumably they'll run diagnostics and inspect brake sys etc. Pollen filter change if you've got aircon?.
I'm paying more for 12.5k services on a Xantia!
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Sounds reasonable to me.
And it is more than just an oil change - that's just the bit you can see has changed.
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I have just discovered that the forst service on my Diesel A4 is £80 cheaper in South Wales than in Audi dealers in the Thames Valley !
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"The quote was £160 for what is essentially an oil change."
I have two cars, one bought new and one bought at six months old, and I also thought that the above type of charge was a bit steep for an oil and filter change and a few visual checks and so did them myself.
The gamble being that if the car goes wrong, will I have trouble claiming the manufacturers warranty in the warranty period. Could they disprove or dispute that the quality of work was not of a competent standard. Original parts with receipts always would be available. Well I don't know because the gamble paid off and I never had to test the theory.
I tend to keep my cars for a few years so don't even worry about having "a full service history" as by the time the car is sold it is largely irrelevant, and anyway I have a book full of dated receipts.
For my citroen, my local Citroen dealer wanted £110 for the first proper service.
Reggie
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£160 whilst not cheap, is probably about right. Might be worth calling a couple of others dealers to see if there is a difference though.
My problem would be with the quality of service for which you pay - BMW managed to refit the steering wheel of our MINI and not get in on straight. Simple stuff, really makes you worry about the stuff you can't see.
-- Lee Having a Fabialous time.
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I have a similar car (E46) but a 6-cylinder model.
My local BMW dealer (in the South West) charges about £120 for an Inspection One, which is what you are having done.
The labour time is 30 mins @ £82/hour +VAT)!!
The SLX longlife oil is about £12/litre.
Filter £7
Pollen filter £20.
I've viewed them doing mine (through the MOT viewing window) and the technician did it comfortably in 25 mins, even finding time to chat to colleagues and eat a choc bar. They suck the old oil out of the dipstick hole using a special hose/pump,so no need to remove the undertray, sump plug etc, and they also check pads using an electronic probe so no need to remove the wheels either.Pollen filter takes about one minute to change.
It takes them longer to wash and vacuum the car (about 35 mins).
You are paying for the glass and chrome showroom, the danish pastries,coffee, the "meeter and greeter" and the huge number of "suits" all wandering around the showroom and back offices.
Also noticed that very few customers collecting their cars actually pay ...............its all company lease car drivers who don't see or care about the price.
Nice cars though !
now mine is out of warranty I use an experienced independent
(not back street) BMW specialist. much cheaper and you actually talk to the guy who does the work, which I prefer. I don't think using an independent affects the resale value - potential buyers could ring the mechanic direct and ask about the car. you can't do that at the glass palace!
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'They suck the old oil out of the dipstick hole using a special hose/pump,so no need to remove the undertray, sump plug etc'
I've never been convinced by this - surely draining oil would better - left for 10 - 15 mins.
I have seen the pump method at a Shell service whilst I was on holiday in Asia. Now although the car had been serviced failry regularly - the oil (shell brand oil) - looked fairly thick to me. This was no doubt due to the dusty conditions in the country - but is it not best to let the oil pour out - and let gravity do its thing - and perhaps use an oil flush if need be.
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The use of topsiders has been debated many times. personally I don't like them, but the dealers like them because its quicker and cheaper than sump draining.
BMW dealers are well set up for their Insp. I and II (which are basically a series of checks and drain and refill of various fluids). When you want a non-service repair the costs really take off (witness the various threads in 'technical').
A lot of customers are impressed by the 'Wash and Valet' - but in reality that will be done by a lad on minimum wage. So you're getting about £3 of labour.
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But I?m trapped intohaving it done by a beemer dealer so that I can keep the warranty and the resale value up.
Incorrect I believe. Recent European law has looked into this and sorted it out. As long as the servicing is done by someone proficient then you can get it serviced by anyone without invalidating the warranty. Doing it and claiming warranty work would be interesting!
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It's all to do with the block exemption rulings. Inorder to maintain the warranty the work needs to be done by a VAT registered garage and they need to use parts to the same specification as the manufacturer - ie genuine or OEM parts.
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While in theory you can get your car serviced anywhere and retain the warranty, try selling a BMW less than 5 years old without 'FBMWSH'.
It will take an inordinate time to sell, AND be prepared to get at least £1000 less than 'lowest' trade in value one can think of.
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... try selling a BMW less than 5 years old without 'FBMWSH'. It will take an inordinate time to sell, AND be prepared to get at least £1000 less than 'lowest' trade in value one can think of.
There is FSH and there is FBMWSH - you're right in what you say. Save money here and you will loose money there - surely it's all relative though.
I mean if you get your BMW serviced 'elsewhere' and manage to save £X over so many years, then you might have to calculate how much money it would 'loose' when you come to sell it?
Swings and roundabouts? But having said that we'll continue to get our 330 donw @ BMW regardless :P
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Im not plain stupid, just a special kind of stoopid.
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Everyone's been over this a million times. Yes you save money avoiding the main dealer, and yes you'll lose out (with something like a BMW, quite a lot) on re-sale value.
But if one buys, operates and sells one's household vehicle(s) in a manner which dictates that re-sale value is of relevance, then it's immediately apparent that one doesn't consider the economics of running motor vehicles a priority.
If economics mattered to you, you'd never sell. You'd buy 'em three years old at a quarter of the original list price and run 'em into the ground.
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Ended up paying £238, as the garage suggested that the brake fluid needed changing. It had only done 16k?? Anyways I agreed as soon as they started mentioning the warranty, brake fluid needs changing every 2 years to jeep the warranty apparently.
Really I?ve paid this amount, purely to keep the warranty intact and to get the stamp in the book so it all looks hunky dory when it comes around to selling the thing.
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Ended up paying £238,
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i may be wrong, as i frequently am, but i seem to recall that a lot of the "es" (not "se") models were sold with free 5 years bmw official servicing included.
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yep, you are correct but only the 2.0L TD models.
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