BMW M Value Servicing - E39 M5 / E46 M3
Discussion
http://www.approved.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/owner/service_...
Do any fellow PHer's have experience of this? Obviously service will vary from franchise to franchise but I am considering (after several services at specialists) switching my car back to main dealer servicing going on what I perceive to be a decent price for maintaining a solid Service History.
Some of the items such as washing the car and "checking the spare wheel pressure"; on an M5.... appear to me as unconsidered marketing bluff. Perhaps that is what the scheme is and E39 M5s are best looked after in the hands of a specialist such as Munich Legends these days...
Comment and opinion appreciated.
Rob
Do any fellow PHer's have experience of this? Obviously service will vary from franchise to franchise but I am considering (after several services at specialists) switching my car back to main dealer servicing going on what I perceive to be a decent price for maintaining a solid Service History.
Some of the items such as washing the car and "checking the spare wheel pressure"; on an M5.... appear to me as unconsidered marketing bluff. Perhaps that is what the scheme is and E39 M5s are best looked after in the hands of a specialist such as Munich Legends these days...
Comment and opinion appreciated.
Rob
I've used the 'Value Service' on my E39 M5, it's OK but nothing special (content or price wise). Pretty much the only reason for using the main dealer was that it is easy walking distance and the nearest good independent that I know of is more then 20 miles away. If I knew of a good independent that was closer then I'd use that. For larger jobs I've used CPC even though Phil is over 200 miles away.
I have issues with this main dealer servicing malarkey.
Whilst to the uninitiated a franchised dealer stamp in the service book buys some notional peace of mind for the owner and prospective future buyers of the car, what does a service at one of these plate glass/plush carpetted/"free" coffee-dispensing establishments with fragrantly-perfumed receptionists actually get you?
Overheads for a start.
And in the workshop? The trend towards 'clean room' workshops with beautifully tiled floors and fully ducted exhaust extract for each 2 or 4 post lift is all fine and good, just as long as the guys on the tools are knowledgeable and experienced in their craft and understanding of the marque.
Sending a 14yr old M-car in for an Inspection II service will not necessarily mean you get the Master Technician working on your car and doing the inspection side of what is otherwise a plugs/filters/fluids change job. The Master Tech will in all probability be fathoming some obscure fault code that won't go away on the latest £60k diesel model. More likely you'll be getting the apprentice (certainly someone much lower down the workshop food chain) who will lack the necessary experience to know, for example, that the bushes on the tension struts are probably shot at 'x' mileage even though the pry bar test shows nothing untoward wrong. The workshop foreman will probably, but not necessarily, be checking the apprentice's work but he will also be under time constraints with other more pressing jobs to troubleshoot himself. The workshop will be under intense pressure to get jobs in, done and then out of the door ASAP. There's significant potential for quality 'slippage' in environments such as these. The customer paying north of £120 per hour thinks they're buying premium quality unattainable elsewhere. Not necessarily so.
A good independent specialist (and you need to find a 'good' one - they do vary) will have way fewer overheads (therefore cheaper) and will in all probability be a knowledgeable and very experienced Tech, possibly a Master Tech. If he owns his own business he'll want to do a good job in order to gain repeat business (the guys on the tools in the franchised dealership will regard your vehicle as just another job number). Also you'll probably get more immediate verbal feedback from the indi and not just a series of ticks on a job sheet.
My local well-respected BMW indi (ex-BMW Master Tech) in Inverness invariably greets me with the offer of a handshake with his filthy latex-gloved & outstretched hand when I enter his workshop (and I never refuse to shake it..it's a sort of bonding ritual thing & t'would be rude to refuse!). He then listens to my somewhat OCD requirements for my car, tells me 50% of what I want is bulls**t and doesn't need doing but concedes when I press him. If I wanted coffee he would point me in the direction of the faint whiff of frying onions from the semi-permanent "mobile" burger van that seem obligatory on most light industrial estates nowadays. I get phone calls from him if there are problems during the job but always take his guidance as he has yet to be wrong. I'm never offered a courtesy vehicle because he says quite rightly that he'd have to charge more. All this for £50 per hour. Absolute gold.
There's a lot of fear out there amongst consumers. The franchised dealers understand this and market the servicing side of their businesses accordingly. The stamp in the service book with the reassuring branded logo helps quell the fear for consumers even though the confidence is based on nothing more than confidence in the brand...whatever that is. (Don't get me started on brands and branding.....)
Go and find yourself a good indi - ask around for recommendations. You've nothing to fear but fear itself.
Whilst to the uninitiated a franchised dealer stamp in the service book buys some notional peace of mind for the owner and prospective future buyers of the car, what does a service at one of these plate glass/plush carpetted/"free" coffee-dispensing establishments with fragrantly-perfumed receptionists actually get you?
Overheads for a start.
And in the workshop? The trend towards 'clean room' workshops with beautifully tiled floors and fully ducted exhaust extract for each 2 or 4 post lift is all fine and good, just as long as the guys on the tools are knowledgeable and experienced in their craft and understanding of the marque.
Sending a 14yr old M-car in for an Inspection II service will not necessarily mean you get the Master Technician working on your car and doing the inspection side of what is otherwise a plugs/filters/fluids change job. The Master Tech will in all probability be fathoming some obscure fault code that won't go away on the latest £60k diesel model. More likely you'll be getting the apprentice (certainly someone much lower down the workshop food chain) who will lack the necessary experience to know, for example, that the bushes on the tension struts are probably shot at 'x' mileage even though the pry bar test shows nothing untoward wrong. The workshop foreman will probably, but not necessarily, be checking the apprentice's work but he will also be under time constraints with other more pressing jobs to troubleshoot himself. The workshop will be under intense pressure to get jobs in, done and then out of the door ASAP. There's significant potential for quality 'slippage' in environments such as these. The customer paying north of £120 per hour thinks they're buying premium quality unattainable elsewhere. Not necessarily so.
A good independent specialist (and you need to find a 'good' one - they do vary) will have way fewer overheads (therefore cheaper) and will in all probability be a knowledgeable and very experienced Tech, possibly a Master Tech. If he owns his own business he'll want to do a good job in order to gain repeat business (the guys on the tools in the franchised dealership will regard your vehicle as just another job number). Also you'll probably get more immediate verbal feedback from the indi and not just a series of ticks on a job sheet.
My local well-respected BMW indi (ex-BMW Master Tech) in Inverness invariably greets me with the offer of a handshake with his filthy latex-gloved & outstretched hand when I enter his workshop (and I never refuse to shake it..it's a sort of bonding ritual thing & t'would be rude to refuse!). He then listens to my somewhat OCD requirements for my car, tells me 50% of what I want is bulls**t and doesn't need doing but concedes when I press him. If I wanted coffee he would point me in the direction of the faint whiff of frying onions from the semi-permanent "mobile" burger van that seem obligatory on most light industrial estates nowadays. I get phone calls from him if there are problems during the job but always take his guidance as he has yet to be wrong. I'm never offered a courtesy vehicle because he says quite rightly that he'd have to charge more. All this for £50 per hour. Absolute gold.
There's a lot of fear out there amongst consumers. The franchised dealers understand this and market the servicing side of their businesses accordingly. The stamp in the service book with the reassuring branded logo helps quell the fear for consumers even though the confidence is based on nothing more than confidence in the brand...whatever that is. (Don't get me started on brands and branding.....)
Go and find yourself a good indi - ask around for recommendations. You've nothing to fear but fear itself.
Edited by Depthhoar on Friday 11th July 14:34
Edited by Depthhoar on Friday 11th July 14:36
Well I phoned up my local BMW main dealer to enquire about M Value servicing on my E39 M5. The conversation that followed ensured I sent it to a specialist instead. The service adviser had never heard of M Value service and told me they would need the car for two days (inspection II) in order to 'calibrate' the oil, something you categorically don't need to do on an E39. The result was that instead of driving 5 miles to said BMW dealer in West Berkshire, I drove 65 miles to CPC Performance in Amersham. They don't have coffee and blonde receptionists but they do seem to know what they're on about, even if they did fail to reset the service indicator.
Specialist nearly everytime IMO.
I had dealers tell me that M cars are race cars for the road and as such the prices reflect this or the Z4M Ins II is significantly different to the E46 M3 and all sorts of rubbish. Then when I tried to get a quote or price match I never ever got a call back.
Rang up Technosport (the owner has an E46 race car and a Z4M ) and got quoted £200 cheaper than a dealer and they did the A/C belt. Car had all the shuts greased, no excessive mileage, no marks, etc... I was very impressed
I had dealers tell me that M cars are race cars for the road and as such the prices reflect this or the Z4M Ins II is significantly different to the E46 M3 and all sorts of rubbish. Then when I tried to get a quote or price match I never ever got a call back.
Rang up Technosport (the owner has an E46 race car and a Z4M ) and got quoted £200 cheaper than a dealer and they did the A/C belt. Car had all the shuts greased, no excessive mileage, no marks, etc... I was very impressed
For me its all down to the Service type if it is a basic oil Service then BMW Approved Dealerships are qualified however if its a Insp1 or 2 I Take it to Munich Legends as they know what a M3 / CSL is! Just had mine done and I cannot fault them a good price and you know these chaps love the BMW. As recommended in above posts go find that Indy and save yourself a lot of hassle and expense!
KentChris said:
For me its all down to the Service type if it is a basic oil Service then BMW Approved Dealerships are qualified however if its a Insp1 or 2 I Take it to Munich Legends as they know what a M3 / CSL is! Just had mine done and I cannot fault them a good price and you know these chaps love the BMW. As recommended in above posts go find that Indy and save yourself a lot of hassle and expense!
What did you get done and cost?I had an Inspection 1 carried out at Sytner High Wycombe on my e46 M3
Cost was £699, exactly as stated on the website.
They kept it overnight to check valve clearances, also replaced the rocker cover gaskets.
From previous experience, they're pretty good at fault finding, they were quick to point out a leaking air pump.
Also had regular value servicing, e46 330ci at the same dealership.
IIRC that cost me £150 for an oil service, again list of problems they picked up with the car, buckled alloy, leaking water pump etc.
Not really had any problems, they're service has been good.
Cost was £699, exactly as stated on the website.
They kept it overnight to check valve clearances, also replaced the rocker cover gaskets.
From previous experience, they're pretty good at fault finding, they were quick to point out a leaking air pump.
Also had regular value servicing, e46 330ci at the same dealership.
IIRC that cost me £150 for an oil service, again list of problems they picked up with the car, buckled alloy, leaking water pump etc.
Not really had any problems, they're service has been good.
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