Servicing cost discrepancy

M

matthurley

Member
 Cardiff
I went onto the BMW servicing page and selected the service items i wanted , it came up with a total of £477.80

I then emailed my local Stealer to ask what their price would be ( I assumed it would be the same)

Their reply :

Cost for engine oil, microfilter, air filter, spark plug and brake fluid service comes out at £545.27. Taking the age of the vehicle into account, I’ve managed to discount to £503.51 for you. Price is inclusive of parts, labour and VAT.

If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.


LOL

I've emailed them to explain the reason for the discrepancy
 
It is ridiculous when you add up the cost of parts how much it would cost to do it yourself.
£75 for plugs
£10 for brake fluid
£60 for oil
Probably around £20 each for the filters, air, micro and oil
So around £200 for parts and they want £300 labour.
Im sure they could do all that work in about an hour if they tried.
What is the hourly rate for a BMW garage anyway?
 
This inspection malarkey is M wording. It's simply a major service rather than an intermediate one. A major service from a dealer is indeed circa £500+
 
Maybe on an E89 but I've never paid more than £299 from a main dealer and that was for an Inspection II.

Tip for the OP - ask if you can supply your own oil as that should save you at least £60 on a 6 cylinder. Most dealers will be happy to let you do this.
 
Inspection services stopped quite a while ago the E9X 3 series, the E8X 1 series and the E6X 5 series including the ///M all were conditioning based so that's from circa 2004 for new series models but as the E85 & E86 were in production before the change the format so stayed with it. I actually quite liked the old 'lights' system. Actually Mini, launched in 2001 had the same type of servicing requirements as all current BMWs.

Is there any reason why you are having the spark plugs changed again in 2 years? Keeping in mind that 4 years is the 'big' service, again it's all CBS so really they should be checking the components prior to replacing them and they probably will tell you that the Sparks don't need replaced under CBS.
 
Hi all.

I was checking brake fluid change pricing for my Z on the BMW service web site and there was a discrepancy in the prices quoted on the web site and the stealership. I got in touch with BMW UK and enquired if the dealers were not supposed to follow the pricing on the official BMW service web site. The response I got was that its a guide price and the dealer can set their own prices - this is wrong according to advertising standards (ASA). (I work in online product management and have been on the receiving end of such complaints). Businesses cannot advertise one price and charge another or say that its a guide. (If their are any specific payment terms, they need to be presented upfront).

So I complained to the ASA (http://www.asa.org.uk). After a long to and fro (after I got the brake service done from a dealer that honored the pricing), BMW UK confirmed the following and the complaint was resolved informally:

1. The prices on the bmw-service site are not guidelines for dealers - they are required to be followed. Dealerships have signed up/agreed to the prices.
2. BMW UK "Customer Service" team (people who were answering the email) was informed that the dealers are required to follow the prices and they are not guidelines.

To summarize, there should be NO discrepancy between the pricing the OP saw on the site vs. the dealer. Complaint reference: A15-293980

Hope that helps.
 
Nictrix said:
Surely depending on miles and condition the plugs dont need replaced either.
Click to expand...

They shouldn't and really at the 'big' service they also should be checked as should the micro and air filters. These are good for around 20k and 45/50k respectively however they will still change them even if you've only done say 2k since it was last changed.

My E88 had the coils replaced, I asked re the plugs and was told that hey had been checked and they were prefect for anothe X amount of miles.......2 weeks later and 25 miles and suddenly they needed 'replaced' during the service which led to some questions.
 
Bradders75 said:
Maybe on an E89 but I've never paid more than £299 from a main dealer and that was for an Inspection II.

Tip for the OP - ask if you can supply your own oil as that should save you at least £60 on a 6 cylinder. Most dealers will be happy to let you do this.
Click to expand...


..and the oil goes straight in the boot of the techs car
 
Glad i'm not in the main dealer service system :oops: £477 for that list of work :(
i make that at least £177 for the stamp & the coffee
 
I was given similar information myself last week. The BMW site listed inspection 2 as £429. I was in a dealership getting a quote for replacement rear springs and asked them about inspection 2 for my 3.0 si. They looked it up and said it would be over £500 (575ish?? Cant remember exact figure) but BMW are doing deals to attract customers with older cars and the price would be about £420. Their hourly labour rate was £134!

Surprising though I thought the quote for the springs was pretty competitive. It was about £170 for a single spring supplied and fitted (25min labour). Having the other spring done would only incur an extra 10 minutes labour so £300 for both. I've had quotes from a few indies of £200 for a single genuine spring.
 
John002 said:
Bradders75 said:
Maybe on an E89 but I've never paid more than £299 from a main dealer and that was for an Inspection II.

Tip for the OP - ask if you can supply your own oil as that should save you at least £60 on a 6 cylinder. Most dealers will be happy to let you do this.
Click to expand...


..and the oil goes straight in the boot of the techs car
Click to expand...

And that's why you supply more than required and ask for the empty container and the remainder back. And if your really paranoid you can ask to view the process from a safe distance. Most garages will have somewhere you can view from.
 
Angie4m said:
John002 said:
Bradders75 said:
Maybe on an E89 but I've never paid more than £299 from a main dealer and that was for an Inspection II.

Tip for the OP - ask if you can supply your own oil as that should save you at least £60 on a 6 cylinder. Most dealers will be happy to let you do this.
Click to expand...


..and the oil goes straight in the boot of the techs car
Click to expand...

And that's why you supply more than required and ask for the empty container and the remainder back. And if your really paranoid you can ask to view the process from a safe distance. Most garages will have somewhere you can view from.
Click to expand...

Bloody right you ask for it back. My local dealer rate for oil worked out to be £20 per litre. I was due half a litre back, and I made sure I got it, not only would it be worth a tenner to them but the principle. Would never use it mind, just in case it's not what is says in the bottle.
 
You could always take it to Halfords or Kwik Fit if baulking at Dealer costs, so long as they are VAT registered. I still take the Z3 into my BMW dealer for its MOT and Service, it works out a little more expensive than an indi around 6o quid but I'm happy to pay that for the stamp, coffee and telly :)

Tim.
 
I always supply my own oil and ask for what's left back. Last time I checked the boot and it wasn't in there so had to go back in and get it. Thought I might need it for a top up, but a neighbour has their oil light come on and it went to them instead.
 
TitanTim said:
You could always take it to Halfords or Kwik Fit if baulking at Dealer costs, so long as they are VAT registered. I still take the Z3 into my BMW dealer for its MOT and Service, it works out a little more expensive than an indi around 6o quid but I'm happy to pay that for the stamp, coffee and telly :)

Tim.
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Not to mention value added when reselling (if you ever plan to sell!!). Dealer history means a lot to some people.
 
Raj_UK said:
TitanTim said:
You could always take it to Halfords or Kwik Fit if baulking at Dealer costs, so long as they are VAT registered. I still take the Z3 into my BMW dealer for its MOT and Service, it works out a little more expensive than an indi around 6o quid but I'm happy to pay that for the stamp, coffee and telly :)

Tim.
Click to expand...

Not to mention value added when reselling (if you ever plan to sell!!). Dealer history means a lot to some people.
Click to expand...

Not sure it adds any value + if youve bought from a dealer then you have already paid the premium so unlikely to benefit
It does make a car more saleable though although not convinced it guarentees a better maintained vehicle than one serviced by indy:wink:
 
mr wilks said:
Not sure it adds any value + if youve bought from a dealer then you have already paid the premium so unlikely to benefit
It does make a car more saleable though although not convinced it guarentees a better maintained vehicle than one serviced by indy:wink:
Click to expand...

Yep. Come selling time is what I was referring too. I don't think dealer history has any impact on the health of a car. I had a mini cooper s from new with full dealer history and maintenance for 6 years, including two replacement timing chains and and tensioners. The tensioner still broke on 45k, with some big piston valve collisions! Was it the dealers fault? Would it have happened anyway? Who knows!

What I do know is that when I sold it it sold within two hours of being advertised. They didn't care what had happened to the car. Just the fact it had been repaired at BMW.
 
I'd personally never EVER take my car to a dealer. They just dont even do the little things for the exorbitant prices.

When i do interim services on my 3.0i, the prices are approx as follows and it takes me ~30 minutes including a cuppa waiting for oil to drain:
£25 for 6.5L of 5w30 Oil (GM Dexos2)
£5 Oil Filter
£8 Pollen Filter
£10 Air Filter

Add on 20 mins for plugs:
£6 each for Bosch = £36

Add on another 45 Minutes for a full brake bleed (i like to take the wheels off)
£10 DOT 4.1 Brake Fluid

I go to a small garage for my official services/stamps, and they always do the little and quick but important things like grease brake lines, Grease caliper carriers, lubricate drums, lubricate locks. They certainly aren't on BMW's schedule.

Its the buyers loss if they don't see BMW stamps in my book. But i sleep at night knowing ive saved £££'s and the oil comes out virtually the same colour it went in!
 
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