Service Book

I

ihadablackdog

Senior member
Hi,

I'm back in a Z4 after a 3 year break.

Picked it up yesterday (BMW approved used car) and checking the paperwork today found the service book isn't present.

Just emailed the dealer and he said BMW don't do service books any more, and its all recorded on the iDrive and BMW internal systems. I know they used to have service books, and I know that new cars don't have them.

So my question is....should a car registered at the end of December 2015 have one?

If its just iDrive and BMW internal systems, I'm assuming that an independent garage would need to update the iDrive.
 
You can get a service book & have a friendly dealer stamp it up for you if you try hard enough.

But as you say, the BMW central computer will only be updated if an independent has access to that system (many do not).

One thing that you can quite quickly is to get the full service history report from BMW where you bought the car - they will give you this - it will cover everything that BMW has a record of & would be considered the full service history.

It's not unusual to not get any paperwork at all from BMW for approved used (they quote GDPR) - but as a minimum you want that PDF report.
 
matsmith749 said:
You can get a service book & have a friendly dealer stamp it up for you if you try hard enough.

But as you say, the BMW central computer will only be updated if an independent has access to that system (many do not).

One thing that you can quite quickly is to get the full service history report from BMW where you bought the car - they will give you this - it will cover everything that BMW has a record of & would be considered the full service history.

It's not unusual to not get any paperwork at all from BMW for approved used (they quote GDPR) - but as a minimum you want that PDF report.
Click to expand...
Thank-you.

I'll have a look in the car later to see if I can find the information in iDrive. If it's in there then I'm not too fussed.
 
You will want that service history report for when you come to sell the car (assuming you don't keep forever).

New buyers love the paperwork & will chip your price if you can't hand it over.
 
Just to clarify, the iDrive system on the E89 only has the most basic info on it. The more comprehensive service history arrived on later versions of iDrive.
According to BMW when I went to see them the key fob is supposed to have a readable history, but I cant confirm that as mine didn't.
 
ihadablackdog said:
I know, I think a previous owner didn't do much/any maintenance.
Click to expand...
So how did BMW sell it as 'approved used'?
ALL dealers are only supposed to 'approve' a used car if it has a 'full' dealership service history. Although I know Audi and Honda dealers that don't take any notice of this, so it's not a surprise.

And YES, all E89s came with a service book, so that has been 'lost' aswell somewhere. Dealers like to use the excuse of GDPR bollox to avoid giving any paperwork with used cars these days. Good excuse to sell cars with little information on them.
 
https://vin-spec.com/

Above link will give you the actual PDF report that BMW holds for the car - a bit like your report you obtained, but with the details of every bit of work done (or recorded as done) on the BMW master computer.

This should have been provided to you when you bought the car as eveidence of the full service history - a requirement of being BMW approved.

Costs about £7.
 
matsmith749 said:
https://vin-spec.com/

Above link will give you the actual PDF report that BMW holds for the car - a bit like your report you obtained, but with the details of every bit of work done (or recorded as done) on the BMW master computer.

This should have been provided to you when you bought the car as eveidence of the full service history - a requirement of being BMW approved.

Costs about £7.
Click to expand...
I asked for this today and they have emailed it to me.

Also asked for a service book. Even if not stamped, it would have the servicing schedule.

I now have a question about TPMS so will research and start a new thread if I need to.
 
What worth service books.
So many youtubers buying cars with full service history.......
Then need thousands spending on them, waste of time.
Better buy from enthusiast.
Simple check, look at exhaust trim.
 
flybobbie said:
What worth service books.
So many youtubers buying cars with full service history.......
Then need thousands spending on them, waste of time.
Better buy from enthusiast.
Simple check, look at exhaust trim.
Click to expand...
Yeah, assess the car by the exhaust trim because that tells someone with a trained eye how the car has been looked after.

Unfortunately, when talking about trained eyes, I am blind.

I do agree though that full service history isn't a guaranty that the car won't have problems, but it does somewhat give piece of mind.
 
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