Dealer 2

[wilkoturbo]

I will be needing a service soon inspection 2 where would you lot go ??
Is this a good price ?

[X5Sport]

Prices from my local BMW Dealer in Cambridge

Diesel/Petrol 6-cyl service price.....(petrol V8)
Oil Service = £160 (£170)
Insp 1 = £250 (£270)
Insp 2 = £390 (£460)

Do you have an indy locally to you? Might take £100 off it, more if you provide the oil - which they seem to charge full price for and there are some deals on.

[wilkoturbo]

Yes I have an indy but would you pay the dealer price ?

[fenj66]

the lists of what is done on an inspection does make me laugh.
apart from the obligatory oil/filter change and plugging into a diagnostics machine to find further chargeable work,
all i can see you get done is exactly what you get in an annual £55 MOT test.... check lights, check horn, check pad wear..etc.

the dealer stamp in the service book is the only thing of apparent value. however i still prefer to do it myself and put the money towards a pair of quality tyres!

[bonerp]

do you think on a 6 (at least) year old motor a dealer service is worth it?? I use the dealer for warranty stuff but last service I had was by my local garage who also looks after my Porsche, rep and 1 series BMW. Cost £240 for full service with all filters changed, oil etc, handbrake adjusted etc and service lights reset.

I think a car gets to a certain point and who services it is irrelevant - it doesnt maintain any more value. Had poor experiences by our local bmw dealer and the local Indy, so prefer to trust a garage I've built a relationship with now.

Its quite funny that they call it a value service though..!

[X5Sport]

We stopped using the main dealer for our E53 after the warranty expired. We have a BMW Specialist Indy reasonably close, but I have my doubts as to some of their abilities - either that or they're swinging the lead on jobs that were covered by a WD warranty. For normal servicing though, they were absolutely fine, and about 2/3rds price of the Main Dealer, maybe a little less. Unfortunately they are 30 miles away and the Dealer is 8 or so. Not found any other local garages that in my view have enough knowledge of BMW cars to let them near the E46.

Given it's now a 'Project Car' and SORN'd it won't be going anywhere, but will need to be maintained. The only job I know I can't do is the brake fluid as that needs special equipment to cycle the ABS system modulator. If absolutely necessary I might see if the Dealer will do it using trade plates as they will collect/return cars free of charge. I don't know the implications of them doing that on a car without a valid tax disc, but it may not be an issue.

[shadrack]

the dealer stamp in the service book is the only thing of apparent value. however i still prefer to do it myself and put the money towards a pair of quality tyres! [/quote]

i have seen dealer stamps on ebay before, as well as full stamped dervice books therefore rendering most service history etc a waste of time

[AW8]

I guess it depends on the age/value/mileage of the car. Mine has FBMWSH up until now with exception of last brake fluid change..........it has 110k miles on the clock.

Basic oil service & inspections aren't difficult to undertake - thus stamps from same via the dealer don't always mean the work was conducted by a technician of great skill. Thje higher qulified technicains get to do the bigger repairs.

I know if I go to my indy that the person using the spanners has considerable experience. I know this as I can see the course certificates of staff dispplayed on the reception wall. I also know that the boss was prior trained to tech, senior & master tech levels.

I doubt if taking mine to main dealer for next visit & stamp collection will result in my 10 year old car, (of aforementioned mileage), having any higher residuals.

I appreciate that this isnt an "indy or main dealer ?" query but rather one of main dealer prices. Historically I have always called and asked for best prices, & only then asked for vat inc price of the oil. I then sourced & supplied own, ( watch out for decanter/disposal charges). Prices of servicing can vary and I was able to save approx 1/3 by driving 50 miles for servicing at one dealer rather than using the closest.

Some Indy's use cheaper (than castrol, Mobil etc), to source oils. This can make the real maths harder to work out. I have found a couple of indys a little reluctant to quote inspections and oil services less the oil..........One indy, (who I have never used), would only deduct a small amount for self supply, others have told me they use oil margins to their advantage.

[wilkoturbo]

Many thanks all , thinks its Indy then

[AW8]

Still worth getting quote from main dealer making gthem aware youa re shopping around with a few. Once you have quote then ask them out of interest the vat inclusive oil price within the quote. Deduct that then add cost of your own bmw approved oil at best source price to you - then you have your basis for a dealer quote.

One indy would only knock £50 off for me supplying oil regardless of their standard litreage charge.

Cheapest dealer quote/price paid for Insp 2 was in 2006 & for £288 with me supplying oil. That was Scothall Hampshire but we no longer do business due to me feeling messed about, not happy re some work done & not agreeing on their recommendation for future work........I appreciate there are 2 sides to a story but I haven't been back since.

I have been messed about by indy's before too. One quoted a price then doubled it on arrival on my 1st visit - I drove away. Another indy I used had a great boss but a very rude technician who I caught on a bad day. I had spent thousands there before & would have continued to spend there....Currently use another dealer & a trusted indy get my money & will continue to do so unless I have good cause to jump ship again.

[wilkoturbo]

Wow many thanks I keep thinking should I just service the car myself !!!???

[AW8]

I service the Z3 myself. It has 120k on the clock , the oil changes are easy & inspections are very easy to do. Most of it just visual inspection work..........Look at the service routine & see.

I am seriously tempted to do the Inest service (Insp on my now 110k mileage 10 year old X5 myself changing plugs oil, filter air & cabin filters myself, keeping all receipts for parts, (including the "o" rings for the oil filter dealers seldom change). If I find anything beyond my skill then it could go to an an indy. I even bought my own proper stamp "Owner/Home Maintenance" or something similar.

Nothing to stop someone printing/signing a sheet/list of service/inspection items on a document with correct mileage & date added to same so long as not misleading & obvious this was done by owner. Very important not to mislead though so no mention can be made to ECU flash/update fault scanning in abscence of this being done properly.

If I bottle it then it is because of my fear someone might reject or adversly haggle the car if I eventually decide to sell on..........Not because I am fearful in my ability to do the basic service/inspection work.

[dirtymonkey29]

Usually what I do too. Service myself keep reciepts and a full log of what's been done and when. Although I did have a service 2 at my usual Indy done for £290 which included changing the breather. Technician did knock vac pipe off the vac reservoir though.
I tend to do most things myself so I know there done properly after a few bad experiences in the past. Anything a general garage can do it goes to my local garage which is walking distance, owner is also an x5 owner so knows what he's doing. He also has a good eye for detail and noticed the fat tyres were on the narrow alloys and the narrow tyres were on the fat alloys courtesy of ATS euro master who the company I used to refurb the wheels paid them to remove the old tyres and refit the new tyres I supplied. They wouldn't have been my choice of tyre fitter!
Anything needing a stamp or special tools or diags I can't do myself with my own software goes ti my Indy.