Time based servicing

[Bradders75]

I do not know of any independents in my local area (East Angia) and i'm not sure what is the best course of action. I've been quoted between £493 and £536 from 2 BMW dealers in the local area for Inspection 2 and brake fluid change. Do people think this is reasonable or am i better off going to a an independent? Are people aware of any independents in East Anglia?

I was quoted similar figures but managed to get Sytner Sheffield to price match a local independent. Inspection 2, brake fluid change and a very nice courtesy car for £300. All depends on timing and how much a particular dealer wants your business.

 

[LEC]

Hi Dr Phibes,

One of the BMW dealers i contacted quoted me £87 for a brake fluid change or £47.20 if done with an oil change (so with oil service and brake fluid change it came to approx. £275). Oil service on its own was £228.

Another dealer quoted me £210 for an oil service and £69 for brake fluid change but with both together approx. £260.

As far as i'm aware the brake fluid is not part of the oil service and is therefore a separate charge. The oil is changed as part of the Inspections though (well defnitely for Inspection 2 as that's what i'm on). Mine has done 44K so quite low mileage for an Inspection 2 from what i've read on here!

 

[LEC]

I was quoted similar figures but managed to get Sytner Sheffield to price match a local independent. Inspection 2, brake fluid change and a very nice courtesy car for £300.

That is a really good deal! I went back to one of the dealers after contacting an independent (they quoted £360 for Inspection 2 and brake fluid change) and they brought it down from £493 to £410 after i told them i was quoted £360. Any way, i've decided that for an extra £50 i'll go with the dealer and i'll also get my MOT done there too. Out of interest when were you offered that price? I wonder if it depends on the time of year? And of course location and competition.

 

[Dr Phibes]

£260 for the Oil Service & Brake fluid change ?

Sounds OK... May I ask which dealer offered that price to you ?

May seem a gormless question, but is there an easy way to tell which service I'm due AFTER this impending Oil Service. Will it be Insp 1 or Insp 2 ?

I've had to get back in touch with the main dealer I got the car from earlier as my service booklet shows 2 Oil Service stamps but no Insp service stamp.
I was told the car had full BMWSH when I purchasesd it back in June so have asked them to clarify matters....

 

[srhutch]

I was quoted similar figures but managed to get Sytner Sheffield to price match a local independent. Inspection 2, brake fluid change and a very nice courtesy car for £300.

That is a really good deal! I went back to one of the dealers after contacting an independent (they quoted £360 for Inspection 2 and brake fluid change) and they brought it down from £493 to £410 after i told them i was quoted £360. Any way, i've decided that for an extra £50 i'll go with the dealer and i'll also get my MOT done there too. Out of interest when were you offered that price? I wonder if it depends on the time of year? And of course location and competition.

I think you could do better than that, I would phone a coupld of other local Main dealers and see what they could do. Inspection 2 is only spark plugs and air filter on top of inspection 1 which I paid £199 for at local main dealer, push hard and I'm sure you will come up trumps.

 

[Herminator]

It's been a couple of years since I had my z4 oil service and brake fluid done but I think the oil service was around £170-180 and the brake fluid was possibly the same £47.50 that LEC was quoted.
This was at Fawdington Newcastle.

More recently I've had an oil service on my 840 done at the same place for £160, not bad for a v8.
I think they actually offer a little more off on cars over 6 years old.

An independent isn't going to save me much over those prices.

 

[andysat]

My stealer told me they have to give the 4 plus discount BUT only if asked for!! :roll:

 

[Bradders75]

I was quoted similar figures but managed to get Sytner Sheffield to price match a local independent. Inspection 2, brake fluid change and a very nice courtesy car for £300.

That is a really good deal! I went back to one of the dealers after contacting an independent (they quoted £360 for Inspection 2 and brake fluid change) and they brought it down from £493 to £410 after i told them i was quoted £360. Any way, i've decided that for an extra £50 i'll go with the dealer and i'll also get my MOT done there too. Out of interest when were you offered that price? I wonder if it depends on the time of year? And of course location and competition.

I got the price due to a price match initiative all Sytner dealers were offering until the 31st Dec 10. The T&Cs stated you needed an itemised quotation in writing from an independent to qualify but (for pretty obvious reasons) none would supply it! I complained to Anneka@Sytner (who is a forum member) and she had it all sorted with Sytner Sheffield within a day or so. Excellent service.

 

[LEC]

£260 for the Oil Service & Brake fluid change ?

Yes, for both.

May I ask which dealer offered that price to you ?

That was with Carrs of Bury St Edmunds

May seem a gormless question, but is there an easy way to tell which service I'm due AFTER this impending Oil Service. Will it be Insp 1 or Insp 2 ?

When you turn on the ignition the service indicator should tell you whether you are due an Inspection or oil service, that is, once you've had your most recent service and the indicator reset. Normally it follows the following pattern: Oil service, Inspection 1, oil service, Inspection 2, oil service and so on...but if this does not tally up for you it may be worth checking it out as you say. If you're on an oil service now, as far as i understand it your next service should be Inspection 2.

My stealer told me they have to give the 4 plus discount BUT only if asked for!!

Damn i didn't ask about this :x But i figure as they have already come down in price by over £80 they won't budge any more, or may be worth a try but it's already booked in now so i may not have much bargaining power.

I think you could do better than that, I would phone a coupld of other local Main dealers and see what they could do.

You're probably right but I phoned all of the local dealers (there are only 3) - one didn't get back to me and the other one (Norwich) wouldn't come down at all - he said that the prices were all set as standard by BMW, which i know is completely untrue but he didn't seem willing to negotiate and the other dealer did so i went for them. I also haven't got much time to phone around as i need my MOT done by Friday and it's easier for me to get it done all at the same time. Thanks for the suggestion and earlier advice though.

 

[Dr Phibes]

Cheers LEC

 

[The Moo]

Have to say that I am a bit old fashoined perhaps and feel really uncomfortable about going more than 12 months without fresh oil in the engine. I had oil service done in Dec 09 and currently OBC is saying that there is still 8K miles before inspection.

I therefore had my oil changed by indie in Dec 10 and asked him not to reset service interval indicator and not enter the details in service record. (I maintain a seperate folder of maintenance records)He also changed brake fluid and reset that indicator which was showing.

I will have Inspection 1 done when the OBC says which on current form I estimate will be Sept/Oct of this year.

 

[mason storm]

I'm getting quotes for my car's fist Oil service, so far i have been quoted

1) Schothall Ruislip £258.35
2) Schothall Watford £280.25

Both seem really expensive compared to what you gays have been paying, I will keep trying more dealers to see what they come up with.

 

[mason storm]

Just got two more quotes:

1) Specialist Cars Tring £245
2) Specialist Cars Luton £231.13

So from highest to lowest quote there is a £49 difference! That's ridiculous how can they justify such different prices, I thought that BMW franchises were meant to charge the same labou rates?

Still waiting for one more quote but it looks Like Luton has got my business so far

 

[mmm-five]

So from highest to lowest quote there is a £49 difference! That's ridiculous how can they justify such different prices, I thought that BMW franchises were meant to charge the same labour rates?

Labour rates are set by individual franchises, not by BMW.

All that is set by BMW is the cost of parts and the book time for specific jobs.

Are these prices for an ///M, or not, as they certainly look like ///M prices - although I got mine done along with an air-con refresh for that price.

 

[mason storm]

So from highest to lowest quote there is a £49 difference! That's ridiculous how can they justify such different prices, I thought that BMW franchises were meant to charge the same labour rates?

Labour rates are set by individual franchises, not by BMW.

All that is set by BMW is the cost of parts and the book time for specific jobs.

Are these prices for an ///M, or not, as they certainly look like ///M prices - although I got mine done along with an air-con refresh for that price.

I wish it was an M but no quotes are for a 3.0 si sport coupe

 

[mmm-five]

I wish it was an M but no quotes are for a 3.0 si sport coupe

Seems a lot considering you're not paying '///M Tax'.

Where are you based? Can you get an indy/specialist to do a quote for the BMW dealer to price match?

 

[Paul]

As above I had mine serviced over Xmas @ 27K. As it was four years old it was due Oil Service at the very least along with Brake service, all three dealers I phoned said it needs Inspection 1 without prompting although this is of course a revenue generator.

I did however opt for Inspection 1 although there were 7k until this was technically due as I believe it will make the car easier to sell as if anything it has been over serviced. The cost for the Inspection 1 at my local main dealer was negioated down to £199 from there original £370.

My advise is get the Inspection 2 otherwise it will cost you a lot more as you will get an oil service now and again in 3K time when you do the inspection 2. Simples :wink:

Which dealer did your service for £199 may I ask?

Also, how did you get your paintwork to come up so well? I've got a 2006 2.5si as well and your's puts mine to shame!