Will BMW tell me the history of my car?

[sparks87]

Just purchased a 1999 528i SE. It has full service history from BMW but very little in the way of paperwork regarding any repairs or work carried out. Is there someone at BMW who could answer a few questions about what was done with my car whilst it was in their care and if any major work has been carried out? BMW Website only seems to deal with current models. Thanks for any help.

[henrycrun]

I think if you go in with your VIN, they should provide you a printout of BMW work carried out

[sparks87]

henrycrun said:

I think if you go in with your VIN, they should provide you a printout of BMW work carried out

To a dealer I presume? They don't seem very welcoming when they realise you don't actually want to buy a car from them... I shall persevere though!

[Vixpy1]

If you go to the service dept of a main stealer and politely ask, they will tell all. I've done this a couple of times.

[sparks87]

Vixpy1 said:

If you go to the service dept of a main stealer and politely ask, they will tell all. I've done this a couple of times.

They charge a fee don't they, any ideas? Not that I mind, but as you said... "main stealer"

[Vixpy1]

sparks87 said:

Vixpy1 said:

If you go to the service dept of a main stealer and politely ask, they will tell all. I've done this a couple of times.

They charge a fee don't they, any ideas? Not that I mind, but as you said... "main stealer"

There should be no fee.

I would'nt use a main dealer for anything else servicing related though

[dan101smith]

You can phone BMW customer services who will be able to tell you when they saw it, and at which dealer. I don't know if they can give you further details over the phone.

You can then call the dealer direct, speak to the service department and request the full detail of what was done. It seems BMW switched systems at some point, as I recently asked for history from 2000 and they needed to "check the other system and call me back", which to their credit they did!

So far all the service departments I've spoken to have been nothing but friendly, so well done BMW there!

[Denis O]

The system used to be free via a call to HQ in Bracknell. They would give date and dealer for every visit within the network. Then call the dealer and they will fill in the details. Catch the dealer at a quiet time and they are very helpful.

New system now. When you phone Bracknell you are given a 0906 number (£1.00 per minute) After that I don't know as I refuse to pay that sort of money on a speculative search. I'm currently looking for an X5 and found the perfect car except it had 7 owners in 4 years

Once I've bought a car I don't mind paying let's say £20 but not until.

[Donut]

sparks87 said:

Just purchased a 1999 528i SE. It has full service history from BMW but very little in the way of paperwork regarding any repairs or work carried out. Is there someone at BMW who could answer a few questions about what was done with my car whilst it was in their care and if any major work has been carried out? BMW Website only seems to deal with current models. Thanks for any help.

PM me the details and I will tell you which dealer/s it has been too

[Vee]

Denis O said:

The system used to be free via a call to HQ in Bracknell. They would give date and dealer for every visit within the network. Then call the dealer and they will fill in the details. Catch the dealer at a quiet time and they are very helpful.

New system now. When you phone Bracknell you are given a 0906 number (£1.00 per minute) After that I don't know as I refuse to pay that sort of money on a speculative search. I'm currently looking for an X5 and found the perfect car except it had 7 owners in 4 years

Once I've bought a car I don't mind paying let's say £20 but not until.

I'm the 7th owner of my 70k mile 2002 330.
It went through 3 owners in the first 2 years.

Seems to be fine and I got it very cheap, partially due to the number of owners.

[Denis O]

Vee said:

Denis O said:

The system used to be free via a call to HQ in Bracknell. They would give date and dealer for every visit within the network. Then call the dealer and they will fill in the details. Catch the dealer at a quiet time and they are very helpful.

New system now. When you phone Bracknell you are given a 0906 number (£1.00 per minute) After that I don't know as I refuse to pay that sort of money on a speculative search. I'm currently looking for an X5 and found the perfect car except it had 7 owners in 4 years

Once I've bought a car I don't mind paying let's say £20 but not until.

I'm the 7th owner of my 70k mile 2002 330.
It went through 3 owners in the first 2 years.

Seems to be fine and I got it very cheap, partially due to the number of owners.

I may be being over cautious and the dealer reckons that the 4.6 is a bit of an "aspirational" car and as such tend to change hands quite often. I know that's true of say the Porsche 996 but have no experience of the X5. I think there may be other reasons why this vehicle has moved around a lot. 4 owners would be about my limit.

[SteveSlowboy]

I recently went through this trying to get BMW to admit they had never changed the fuel filter.

Any work carried out under warranty or service/maintenance packs can be accessed and printed of at the dealers - regardless of which dealer did the work - it appears this is on a different computer system. Normal work outside of warranty or service packs can only be printed out by the dealer who did the work.

HTH
Steve

[bramley]

Denis O said:

The system used to be free via a call to HQ in Bracknell. They would give date and dealer for every visit within the network. Then call the dealer and they will fill in the details. Catch the dealer at a quiet time and they are very helpful.

New system now. When you phone Bracknell you are given a 0906 number (£1.00 per minute) After that I don't know as I refuse to pay that sort of money on a speculative search. I'm currently looking for an X5 and found the perfect car except it had 7 owners in 4 years

Once I've bought a car I don't mind paying let's say £20 but not until.

I called that number before buying my Touring and iirc I was on the phone for less than 4 minutes. All he told me was stuff like date of manufacture, the garage that had done all the servicing, and the options on the car (in my case there weren't many hence it was a cheap call!). Then I rang the garage that had done all the work (normal rate) and chatted to them for quite a while, they were very helpful. A few quid is hardly a bad thing is it when you're spending thousands?

[Hell27]

Hey sparks, was on the original post when you were agonising after which motor to get...you were after a 523 - glad you got the 528, you happy with her?

I've considered buying one myself in the past, but am now after a 330d.

[KENZ]

Vixpy1 said:

sparks87 said:

Vixpy1 said:

If you go to the service dept of a main stealer and politely ask, they will tell all. I've done this a couple of times.

They charge a fee don't they, any ideas? Not that I mind, but as you said... "main stealer"

There should be no fee.

I would'nt use a main dealer for anything else servicing related though

Edited by KENZ on Sunday 2nd November 11:10

[sparks87]

Hell27 said:

Hey sparks, was on the original post when you were agonising after which motor to get...you were after a 523 - glad you got the 528, you happy with her?

I've considered buying one myself in the past, but am now after a 330d.

Very happy thanks, managed to pick up a lovely 1999 528 SE Auto in a light silver colour with full black leather. Its a dream to drive, I'm loving every moment... 240 miles in two days, for my wallets health I think I may have to calm down! Its only going to do (well thats the intention) 5000-6000 miles a year as my other form of transport for work is either walking or a push bike, so it hopefully will feel more special when it comes to actually driving it about. Its a lot of car for around £3000, so glad I chose it over a 2002 1.6 Focus! I might be losing out on fuel but it makes me smile, which is the most important part!