TomK said:
This ^^^^
M Service History advice
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This ^^^^
original guvnor said:
Guess this is another issue that will divide forum opinion ( which is fine :wink: that is after all why we are here ) but whatever the gifted spannermen of the forum have you believe on the ease of these tasks i for one wouldn't fancy buying what is a highly strung & pricey second hand motor that had been DIYd any more than id buy a house that had a DIY fitted kitchen , windows or doors all of which i could spot from 5/6feet :wink: & a cars internals are a totally different prospect as they aren't visible
Interim oil changes & brake pads aside many of the other tasks like valve clearances or major suspension refreshes imo should be carried out by trained professionals with proper tooling , that's just my own opinion whether right or wrong
So much is written on the forum about history of vehicles with so much credence given to it & that to my mind should be from trained tech's from either main dealers or decent independents
I wonder whether those keen to get involved with the spanners would buy a car a few owners down the line that at some point had been heavily self serviced if they had no way of knowing who the person was or if he was competent
Beedub was having the major services carried out by a reputable specialist though. That's why his and SRHutch's situations were different because SRH was going to do ALL work himself.
I see your point but it depends on what work is being done and the extent to which it is being self-serviced. There's probably a lot of our cars that have had some aspect of the serviceable items carried out by the owner - whether that's brake fluid change, brake pads/discs, oil and filter changes etc.
On Beedub's car whoever buys it off him in the future will be going into it eyes wide open anyway because it is heavily modified away from standard anyway. So you knid of know what you're letting yourself in for.
I see your point but it depends on what work is being done and the extent to which it is being self-serviced. There's probably a lot of our cars that have had some aspect of the serviceable items carried out by the owner - whether that's brake fluid change, brake pads/discs, oil and filter changes etc.
On Beedub's car whoever buys it off him in the future will be going into it eyes wide open anyway because it is heavily modified away from standard anyway. So you knid of know what you're letting yourself in for.
original guvnor said:
This is the problem with servicing all round. We all will happily change brake pads and discs etc, and they are not recorded as service items in the history. It's only really the engine and drive train that is. Strange when brakes could be argued to me more important the an engine in keeping you safe.
So the question is, if anybody went to buy say a standard ///M where the owner had been doing shim checks himself and replacing if required every oil service at say 13K, but getting a garage to do the inspection services. How would you compare the service history then to a car where the owner had done everything himself for a few years?
original guvnor said:
I wasn't singling out BD or srhutch or anyone else who decides they want to do work on their own car , that is totally their right to do so , i'm merely saying that if the trend continued across the marketplace as the cars changed hands a couple of times along the way we would soon have little way to judge or recognise a properly serviced car other than pieces of paper with details previous owners had kept a record of :?
As it happen's i don't believe that there are that many owners pro rata for number of cars who either want to or would feel competent to do even the minor tasks
The brakes are checked though aren't they and certainly all BMW dealers these days supply you with pad and disk measurements when you take your car in for a service.
On your other point I think that depends on the individual buying the car to some extent. As I'm not at all mechanically savvy I'd be wary of a car that didn't have a full and complete service history every two years carried out at a dealer or reputable specialist. If the shim measurements were checked and recorded in between those services by the owner I think I'd be reassured they were being diligent and conscientious unless when viewing the car the owner came across as a bit of a moron when it came to mechanical competence. Others who are more confident and who know specifically what to look for might take a different view. From a valuation perspective though I think exclusively self-serviced will harm the market value significantly especially if it is lower mileage and otherwise in very good condition.
On your other point I think that depends on the individual buying the car to some extent. As I'm not at all mechanically savvy I'd be wary of a car that didn't have a full and complete service history every two years carried out at a dealer or reputable specialist. If the shim measurements were checked and recorded in between those services by the owner I think I'd be reassured they were being diligent and conscientious unless when viewing the car the owner came across as a bit of a moron when it came to mechanical competence. Others who are more confident and who know specifically what to look for might take a different view. From a valuation perspective though I think exclusively self-serviced will harm the market value significantly especially if it is lower mileage and otherwise in very good condition.
srhutch said:
I understand your point but I think the difference is that if the car is serviced every couple of years by an appropriate garage with the relevant paperwork available for inspection at least you know an "expert" in the eyes of the law has seen and maintained the car, even if the owner has done some maintenance work inbetween intervals. If someone has self-serviced you have none of that consumer protection and you're taking the word of the seller that they know what the hell they are doing and making a judgement based on your inspection of the car pre-sale. To be honest any seller could completely hide their attempts at self-maintenance so the confirmation of servicing carried out with invoices and book stamps in order is about as good as you'll get. I'm not sure why you'd self service though. The cost of servicing for you on the low mileage you do is minimal but the potential market value hit you'll take when the market seems to be moving upwards isn't worth it in my opinion.
abar121
Active member
I think that is it really. The value of our Z4Ms are increasing, albeit slowly. Collectors will be looking for dealer serviced cars and rightly or wrongly, it is these that will fetch the highest value.
If you look at the Porsche 993 scene a few years ago (before it went crazy), OPC serviced cars fetched the most money. Closely followed by OPC + recognised specialist, although this would be the norm for higher mileage cars. Car's known to particular specialists, i.e. serviced, previously supplied), would be bought back sometimes at a slight premium. Worked well for me
Whether you care about all of this etc etc. If I knew I was going to keep mine for the foreseeable future, I would service it myself, as I do for motorcycles. But I'll probably have to pass it on within the next couple of years so it'll stay in the dealer network.
You don't have a huge amount to go on when trying to determined the condition of a used vehicle. The more history and paperwork, the better. I guess at least now the MOT history going back several years is easily available to give some indication (and only that), of the mileage.
If you look at the Porsche 993 scene a few years ago (before it went crazy), OPC serviced cars fetched the most money. Closely followed by OPC + recognised specialist, although this would be the norm for higher mileage cars. Car's known to particular specialists, i.e. serviced, previously supplied), would be bought back sometimes at a slight premium. Worked well for me
Whether you care about all of this etc etc. If I knew I was going to keep mine for the foreseeable future, I would service it myself, as I do for motorcycles. But I'll probably have to pass it on within the next couple of years so it'll stay in the dealer network.
You don't have a huge amount to go on when trying to determined the condition of a used vehicle. The more history and paperwork, the better. I guess at least now the MOT history going back several years is easily available to give some indication (and only that), of the mileage.