Ive had my 2.5 2006 z4 for 2 years 9 months and it has done just over 133000 miles. Ive not had it serviced infact Ive never had a car serviced so was wondering am i mad not doing it as i want it to last and what type of service and roughly how much should i be expecting to pay?
service, should i get one?
- Thread starter z4dan
- Start date
North West Surrey
I do negligible miles, but an oil change before it goes into hibernation is about £50 and means bearings and parts all sit in clean oil ready for the spring.
Brake fluid isnt as important . I was discussing this with my neighbour last night. For a typical road car, then flush every 3 years , but the synthetic fluids now dont absorb water or hurt caliper seals like they used to. Ironically, we are going to his workshop next week to flush mine.
Coolant for my Skoda is 5 years , although he tested it and said it was fine, even though I have a 5 ltr of it in the boot. I suspect BMW is similar.
Watching RE Performance on youtube, looking at a messed up McClaren engine, as had track mileage on it and infrequent oil changes, recently, he has said the damage is caused by oil changes not being frequent enough. So, the owner has 8 grand of parts for cams, followers , phasers and other items. So, its not just the bottom end that old oil can hurt. I know we arent driving such supercars , but the principal is the same whatever the engine.
Sensibly a track car will have a more regular servicing regime, but road cars sit idling for long periods of time, not getting up to temp and still getting stresses , so a little love will make a big difference to how it runs and longevity of all internal engine parts.
Brake fluid isnt as important . I was discussing this with my neighbour last night. For a typical road car, then flush every 3 years , but the synthetic fluids now dont absorb water or hurt caliper seals like they used to. Ironically, we are going to his workshop next week to flush mine.
Coolant for my Skoda is 5 years , although he tested it and said it was fine, even though I have a 5 ltr of it in the boot. I suspect BMW is similar.
Watching RE Performance on youtube, looking at a messed up McClaren engine, as had track mileage on it and infrequent oil changes, recently, he has said the damage is caused by oil changes not being frequent enough. So, the owner has 8 grand of parts for cams, followers , phasers and other items. So, its not just the bottom end that old oil can hurt. I know we arent driving such supercars , but the principal is the same whatever the engine.
Sensibly a track car will have a more regular servicing regime, but road cars sit idling for long periods of time, not getting up to temp and still getting stresses , so a little love will make a big difference to how it runs and longevity of all internal engine parts.
If you have not changed the oil in 2 1/2 years then you are indeed mad. There is stuff you can get away with, but old oil will shorten the life of your engine, all other things being equal. As above a little TLC goes a long way with older cars. Mine get's an annual service these days, possibly over the top, as I only cover about 3k miles, but I plan on keeping the car, so it gets that TLC.
Thrustyjust said:I do negligible miles, but an oil change before it goes into hibernation is about £50 and means bearings and parts all sit in clean oil ready for the spring.
Brake fluid isnt as important . I was discussing this with my neighbour last night. For a typical road car, then flush every 3 years , but the synthetic fluids now dont absorb water or hurt caliper seals like they used to. Ironically, we are going to his workshop next week to flush mine.
Coolant for my Skoda is 5 years , although he tested it and said it was fine, even though I have a 5 ltr of it in the boot. I suspect BMW is similar.
Watching RE Performance on youtube, looking at a messed up McClaren engine, as had track mileage on it and infrequent oil changes, recently, he has said the damage is caused by oil changes not being frequent enough. So, the owner has 8 grand of parts for cams, followers , phasers and other items. So, its not just the bottom end that old oil can hurt. I know we arent driving such supercars , but the principal is the same whatever the engine.
Sensibly a track car will have a more regular servicing regime, but road cars sit idling for long periods of time, not getting up to temp and still getting stresses , so a little love will make a big difference to how it runs and longevity of all internal engine parts.
Why would you risk not doing brake fluid every 1-2 years? It costs £15.
New calipers (refurbed) cost a lot more.
Also are all brake fluids now synthetic or do some still use the old formulation?
I have done 8k miles in 2 years, the car has had 3 services in that time, is it overkill yes but for a £200 a year its worth the peace of mind.
At the summit of the picturesque fens
Pondrew said:
Exactly what I was thinking :thumbsdown:
