Darren Wood - Bredbury, Stockport.

[Siftah]

Just thought I'd post and recommend these guys: http://www.darren-wood.com/

Darren Wood BMW at Bredbury. Took mine in for an Inspection 2 last week and it was all done and dusted for 160quid+VAT. They even washed and vac'd it out, checked my roof over and gave me good feedback on the state of the rear springs, disks & pads etc.

Nice friendly set of blokes and they even re-washed the car as it'd got dusty whilst it'd been parked. Very pleased, obviously it was only a basic inspection 2, but I'll go back to them for any future work I think.

[Siftah]

Have now also had my roof fixed by Darren Wood, again, brilliant service and a very friendly bunch of guys who seem to really know their stuff.

They also have Autotech (my roof now remote-up's as well as down!)

Big thumbs up from me.

[Pauly]

Just had an Oil Service done today at Darren Wood (Stockport) £120+Vat plus they wizzed my rear wheels off and cleaned the roof drains all included in the price The guys also let me look under my car in order to ensure I have the suitable connectors for my furture xenon retro-fit . Great place very honest very personable everything the stealers are not in my experience. Darren Wood also give you a run down on any possible furture issues or items that may need attention, mine got a clean bill of health

Liverpool Williams wanted £275+vat for a Oil Service and god knows how much more if they added drain clearance. For me using the Main Dealers for a car on a 03 plate like mine is a total no brainer and the service doesnt even match up to the crazy labour costs anyways!

[mmm-five]

Liverpool Williams wanted £275+vat for a Oil Service and god knows how much more if they added drain clearance. For me using the Main Dealers for a car on a 03 plate like mine is a total no brainer and the service doesnt even match up to the crazy labour costs anyways!

Was that just for an oil service, because - while I'm not one to extol the virtues of that particular branch - they quoted me less than £200 for an ///M oil service.

[Pauly]

Yeah £275+Vat, what worried me more I was in there for around 20 minutes while the guy asked my reg several times then informed me my car wasnt on his system, then finally found it and came up with that price! He probably made a mistake but being a front of house guy his lack of competence and confidence didnt even endevour me to clarify that price. I going to pop in their today to get a price for levelling sensors I need for a xenon retro-fit and I will ask again re: Oil Service costs

[mmm-five]

Yeah £275+Vat, what worried me more I was in there for around 20 minutes while the guy asked my reg several times then informed me my car wasnt on his system, then finally found it and came up with that price! He probably made a mistake but being a front of house guy his lack of competence and confidence didnt even endevour me to clarify that price. I going to pop in their today to get a price for levelling sensors I need for a xenon retro-fit and I will ask again re: Oil Service costs

I only use them for parts, and always ask for my BMW Car Club discount.

They've also opted out of the 'Four Plus' scheme, and you have to register for their own 'loyalty' scheme to get the same 10-20% off.

It's strange that the Williams Group claim their labour rates are the same, the parts prices are the same, and the labour involved is the same, yet the price for an Inspection 1 can vary by £200 between them.

The best/cheapest/friendliest of the group seems to be the Rochdale branch (who gave me a 'free' courtesy car when the others wanted £15/day admin charge). However I'm slightly concerned about them now too as they didn't present me with a list of things that need replacing and a sheet showing tyre tread depth, brake pad & disc thickness, etc. which is normally part of the inspection. So it makes you wonder if they're just doing the basics without doing the other checks that you're paying £200-£300 labour for.

If I'm going to be paranoid and assume they're not doing the job properly anyway, then I might as well just go to the cheapest purely for the stamp, and then take it to my specialist to get it double-checked

I'll probably not be renewing the warranty this year (will be over 60,000 miles anyway, where the warranty starts to cover less & less), and will take it to my ///M specialist in Essex for everything (he already does everything except scheduled & warranty).

[Pauly]

If I'm going to be paranoid and assume they're not doing the job properly anyway, then I might as well just go to the cheapest purely for the stamp, and then take it to my specialist to get it double-checked

I totally agree with you here but for me with an 8 year old Zed I just want to ensure my car is serviced and looked after well enough to ensure me many years of happy motoring I may suffer when the time comes to sell with a service booklet full of specialist stamps/receipts but hey with depreciation it may be worth peanuts anyway

Anyway I did pop in Liverpool Williams and spoke to a different Sales Advisor and here is the costing he wrote down for me and my 8 year old ZED

* Oil Service £275+Vat
* Inspection 1 £340+Vat
* Inspection 2 £465+Vat
* Brake Fluild Change £95+ Vat
* Anti Freeze Change (that needs doing every four years, their words) £145+Vat

[Siftah]

If I'm going to be paranoid and assume they're not doing the job properly anyway, then I might as well just go to the cheapest purely for the stamp, and then take it to my specialist to get it double-checked

When looking for a BMW, if I came across a log book with a consistent row of Darren Wood stamps/invoices, I'd be 100 times happier than if I saw a list of main dealer service history.

Nobody seems happy with BMW main dealer servicing and their prices are clearly way above the independant garages. I'd much rather have a car that someone had taken to an indy regularly, than one where the owner had been too scared to take it to a dealer for fear of a huge bill and had driven it round with a problem for longer than necessary.

Just my take on it, food for thought etc

[AlienZed]

Yep must agree with all the positive comments,wouldt take my Zed anywhere else,they know their stuff,dont rip you off,and the best thing is i TRUST them

[mab]

Just wanted to add a positive review for Darren Wood.

Having not received the best of service from my local approved dealer, I have entrusted my Z4MC to Darren Wood. Super friendly, really know they're stuff and very reasonable pricing too.

I have complete confidence in Darren and Mike which is very important. I've also sent a few friends there over the past couple of years and each of them has come back more than satisfied.

A big thumbs up from me.

[stehanson]

Used them last week - very impressed, and here is the testimonial I emailed them to reflect this! -

This is the first time I have used Darren Wood BMW on the back of some glowing recommendations on the z4 forum, I am delighted to say the service provided by the garage was as I had hoped, the quality of work was excellent, the staff very knowledgable, friendly and polite, the cost was very reasonable.
All in all a fantastic garage and I would highly recommend to anyone including those on the forum!

Many Thanks
Stephen Hanson