Oil Change @ National Tyres

Well I booked my car into National Tyres, online a couple of days ago. Got the confirmation that they will do the work on Friday am.

Today the depot "manager" called........

"We cannot do your oil change"

"Why"

"The car will not fit on the ramp"

"Yes it will"

"No it won't"

"Yes it will"

"Well we cannot get the oil out, because there is a cover under the engine"

"Yes you can there is a hatch in the cover"

"oh, well you have only ordered 5Lt oil, you need 7 lt, so we cannot do it"

"Well my confirmation says 7Lt is ordered"

"oh, I need to check that..... The oil filter needs a special tool to remove it, and we don't have one"

"From what you have said I guess that you could be telling the truth. You need a large spanner!"

We agreed that I would pop in to check the ramp. On arrival the whole team were there to greet me! Lots of intakes of breath...
"won't go on, never etc....."

"Yes it will"

Drive car to ramp:-

"see it is too low..."

"Yes, but if you reverse on it will be fine"

"What?"

"Reverse.., :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: "

"Oh yes that does fit...."

So, I am returning of Friday. I wonder what excuse they will come up with. If I was their employer I would have sacked the "manager" on the spot!!!
 
When I took mine to be done last week they couldnt have been more obliging.
They have a ramp at ground level so no problem there.
Adjustable spanner will get the oil filter off.

The only problem I encountered was they snapped the sump plug when replacing it, luckily they are hollow so stud extracter soon got it out.
The quality of the sump plug metal looked shite. The new one they replaced it with looked more robust.

Couldnt fault them.
 
Just though that I would try this too. Have always been wary of the 15,000 mile service intervals (see: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/43070/my-bmw-needs-a-new-timing-chain---is-this-normal-)

It's mid-way between BMW services so I thought I should try Nationwide. I am keeping the full BMWSH going, so I asked them not to change the service indicator at all, just change the oil and filter. It's a 3.0i SE 2004, so it took 6.5litres of 5W/30 Fuchs GT1 Pro-C3 (fully synthetic and BMW longlife 04 approved).

Total price I paid was £46.65 and it only took about 30 minutes (today 4th January 2014) . I can't even buy that much oil for that price, let alone a filter as well. Funnily, the on-line price quote was higher.

Far cheaper and easier than doing it yourself !!!
 
daft question but at the oil service as indicated on the little screen is it just an oil/filter change? or is other stuff done too?

im about 4.5K off the oil service, as i dont use the car much its not going down that fast but its been in for a while now (getting on for 18months) and im happy to have the log reset etc. I bought 8L of edge from costco but never got round to using it (its still on the shelf) so £40 to get it changed is looking good.

just been online and they are quoting me £60 now :(
 
at the oil service as indicated on the little screen is it just an oil/filter change? or is other stuff done too?
.
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BMW dealer just changes oil, oil filter, sump plug and air-con filter. They also check tyres, brakes, etc and let you know if there's anything else that they might charge for.

im about 4.5K off the oil service, as i dont use the car much its not going down that fast but its been in for a while now (getting on for 18months) and im happy to have the log reset etc. I bought 8L of edge from costco but never got round to using it (its still on the shelf) so £40 to get it changed is looking good.
Click to expand...

I've got 8L of Edge in my garage too, was going to change oil myself, but got this great price at Nationwide, so I will keep the Edge for top-ups over the next few years as mine seems to need a top-up about every 2,000 miles.

Up to you whether you get the service counter reset or not - they are happy to re-set it or not at your choice.
 
Whoops!! Can anyone confirm that if the oil light comes on for a while after the engine is switched off it means the engine is low on oil?

Cheers
 
domsz4 said:
just been online and they are quoting me £60 now :(
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my online quote was £59.36 this morning, so I rang up and booked car in for noon, rather than booking online.
I was happy to pay the online price (still cheaper than doing it myself), but delighted when the bill only came to £46.65 at the depot (20% off!)
 
Captainken said:
Whoops!! Can anyone confirm that if the oil light comes on for a while after the engine is switched off it means the engine is low on oil?

Cheers
Click to expand...
Yes - that's what it means!
 
I’ve got to be honest I have used my local National Tyres and Autocare Centre on several occasions over the last 6 years, for tyres, exhausts, oil changes that I couldn’t be arsed to do myself. I have had no problems with them whatsoever; I have found them to be very professional, honest, reliable and helpful.

When I have insisted on OEM parts they have gone out of their way to get these sourced.

Like most I am extremely fussy about who touches my car but never had a problem with these guys.
 
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