BMW Vs Halfords Servicing

T

TitanTim

Elite
Had the M140i serviced and MOT'd on Monday, as its 4 years old now it was due a major service even though its done ridiculously low mileage but wanting to keep the servicing up as I will be buying the car off BMW in a few weeks time.

Anyways service and MOT came to £610 OUCH :o I felt the punch to the stomach from the nice service girl.

Whilst wiating for the service to be done I was doing some Googling and just happened on Halfords BMW servicing https://www.halfords.com/car-servicing/product-info/bmw.html I didn't even realise they did BMW specific servicing and claim as they use original equipment equivalent parts it keeps any BMW warranty intact, I have an extended warranty on the M140i so unsure how that would work if I had to make a claim and BMW found Halfords had done the maintenance and used non BMW parts.

Looking at Halfords prices a major service and MOT for my car is from £224, slight difference.

I'm guessing labour is a major factor, think BMW charged me £280 for labour alone.

Question is would you use Halfords?

Tim.
 
TitanTim said:
Question is would you use Halfords?
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No, but at that price I would get a quote from a good independent BMW specialist and then go back to BMW and ask them to match, ideally, or get as close as possible. I recently did that with some repair work on my E86 and to Sytner Tamworth's credit they got down quite close to the price from my independent. I paid the relatively small difference because I wanted the routine service done by BMW, which I'd already had some money knocked off by simply asking.
 
I should add that I had some other work done at the independent so I didn't simply waste his time doing a quote for me to take to a BMW dealer!
 
M1k3yC said:
TitanTim said:
Question is would you use Halfords?
Click to expand...

No, but at that price I would get a quote from a good independent BMW specialist and then go back to BMW and ask them to match, ideally, or get as close as possible. I recently did that with some repair work on my E86 and to Sytner Tamworth's credit they got down quite close to the price from my independent. I paid the relatively small difference because I wanted the routine service done by BMW, which I'd already had some money knocked off by simply asking.
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There's not too many independents close to me although I did get some quotes last year from two and was a little surprised how dear they were, only slightly cheaper than BMW.

Only reason I asked the question with Halfords is can they really give an equivalent service to BMW, i.e. are you getting what you're paying for with Halfords or are you being ripped off by BMW :?

Tim.
 
mr wilks said:
TitanTim said:
mr wilks said:
:cry: id love to see what items they actually replaced for that :roll:
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Halfords don't actually say what the difference is between an interim, full and a major service :?

Tim.
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So what did Bmw replace ?
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Lookng at the invoice,
Service standard scope,
Engine oil service,
Microfilter service,
Intake silencer service,
Spark plug service, 82 quid for 6 plugs :o
Service vehicle check?
Carry out complimentary electronic vehicle safety check,
Update idrive service history as it was missing first service entry :roll:

Tim.
 
Is it an new car, AUC or an Insured warranty, as each have different terms?

The new car warranty may be invalidated if BMW believe sub-standard parts were used.

The AUC warranty stipulated “genuine parts fitted at BMW approved workshop”.

The insured warranty stipulates “...genuine parts, or parts of equivalent specification must be used.”.
It’s fine using “genuine-equivalent” parts...all the way up to when the warranty company ask you to prove they’re equivalent, as you won’t have any idea of the actual brand fitted, so won’t be able to prove anything. I suppose you could ask Halfords (or any other garage) to do the service using genuine parts, and just save the bulk of the money on reduced labour rates.
 
mmm-five said:
Is it an new car, AUC or an Insured warranty, as each have different terms?

The new car warranty may be invalidated if BMW believe sub-standard parts were used.

The AUC warranty stipulated “genuine parts fitted at BMW approved workshop”.

The insured warranty stipulates “...genuine parts, or parts of equivalent specification must be used.”.
It’s fine using “genuine-equivalent” parts...all the way up to when the warranty company ask you to prove they’re equivalent, as you won’t have any idea of the actual brand fitted, so won’t be able to prove anything. I suppose you could ask Halfords (or any other garage) to do the service using genuine parts, and just save the bulk of the money on reduced labour rates.
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I have BMWs Insured Warranty and yes you're correct it does say genuine parts or equivalent spec parts, unsure if Halfords branded oil filter is equivalent, might even be better :)

Tim.
 
At least bmw/specialist will know what to look out for on your car - what the weak areas are etc. Halfords will just replace the service items & give you the bill :|
 
Not a chance in hell would I use Halfords for servicing.

Stick to main dealer mate.

If you still want to keep the car after the extended warranty runs out then it may be worth finding a reputable BMW independent specialist. :thumbsup:
 
I think it all depends on whether you know the person working there. Years ago I knew one of the mechanics at the local Halfords and trusted him to change the clutch on our mini which involved taking the front end of the car off and removing the engine.
 
Nictrix said:
I think it all depends on whether you know the person working there. Years ago I knew one of the mechanics at the local Halfords and trusted him to change the clutch on our mini which involved taking the front end of the car off and removing the engine.
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There you go......Halfords at their best.....!! :poke: :wink:

Joking aside it’s the subframe not the engine you remove for a clutch change on mini AFAIK...of course I’ll stand corrected if not.
 
TitanTim said:
mr wilks said:
TitanTim said:
mr wilks said:
:cry: id love to see what items they actually replaced for that :roll:
Click to expand...

Halfords don't actually say what the difference is between an interim, full and a major service :?

Tim.
Click to expand...

So what did Bmw replace ?
Click to expand...

Lookng at the invoice,
Service standard scope,
Engine oil service,
Microfilter service,
Intake silencer service,
Spark plug service, 82 quid for 6 plugs :o
Service vehicle check?
Carry out complimentary electronic vehicle safety check,
Update idrive service history as it was missing first service entry :roll:

Tim.
Click to expand...

You say you’ve covered a ridiculously low mileage yet they changed the spark plugs? That doesn’t sound right :?
Rob
 
[/quote]You say you’ve covered a ridiculously low mileage yet they changed the spark plugs? That doesn’t sound right :?
Rob[/quote]

Hi Rob,

Its a requirement at 4 years or I'm guessing 40K whichever the soonest, at 4 years its the biggie service, strictly speaking with the mileage the car has done it probably didn't need it but me being me :roll:

Tim.
 
R60BBA said:
Not a chance in hell would I use Halfords for servicing.

Stick to main dealer mate.

If you still want to keep the car after the extended warranty runs out then it may be worth finding a reputable BMW independent specialist. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Having a think about it I would doubt Halfords would know of the issues with the oil filter housing disintegrating on B58 engines, think the filters have been modified now but there was a spate of issues with the filter breaking up and potentially getting into the engine :cry:

Tim.
 
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