M5 indy specialist North West
Discussion
Having had a few bad experiences with supposed 'M' specialists in the area, Im trying to find someone who really knows the M cars inside out, and has a real passion for his work.. Am I asking too much? I seem to recall an indy in Bolton being mentioned before but cant find any info on him.. Am prepared to travel anywhere in the NW for the right service.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
I would advise just going to the BMW dealer, but choose a good one, who offer a careful service, and price competetively with other local dealers.
I have gone down the route of using an Indy, but I won't be doing that on the next car that I buy.
At a main dealer they are specially trained in how to work on each car in the model range, have all the specialist equipment for BMW's, and are privvy to quietly issued service update bulletins etc. from BMW UK.
Also, they have a list of procedures to go through for each Inspection / Service etc. An Indy will sometimes offer a full inspection 2, but then not change the gearbox oil, or the diff oil etc. I realise there is no guarantee of exactly what is done at the main dealer, but I feel it is more likely to get done if it is there as a written instruction.
You may save a couple of hundred quid a year by not going to a dealer, like I have done, but it is not an experience I would repeat with my next car, which will of course have full dealer history, which I will continue.
I have gone down the route of using an Indy, but I won't be doing that on the next car that I buy.
At a main dealer they are specially trained in how to work on each car in the model range, have all the specialist equipment for BMW's, and are privvy to quietly issued service update bulletins etc. from BMW UK.
Also, they have a list of procedures to go through for each Inspection / Service etc. An Indy will sometimes offer a full inspection 2, but then not change the gearbox oil, or the diff oil etc. I realise there is no guarantee of exactly what is done at the main dealer, but I feel it is more likely to get done if it is there as a written instruction.
You may save a couple of hundred quid a year by not going to a dealer, like I have done, but it is not an experience I would repeat with my next car, which will of course have full dealer history, which I will continue.
M3Driver said:
I would advise just going to the BMW dealer, but choose a good one, who offer a careful service, and price competetively with other local dealers.
I have gone down the route of using an Indy, but I won't be doing that on the next car that I buy.
At a main dealer they are specially trained in how to work on each car in the model range, have all the specialist equipment for BMW's, and are privvy to quietly issued service update bulletins etc. from BMW UK.
Also, they have a list of procedures to go through for each Inspection / Service etc. An Indy will sometimes offer a full inspection 2, but then not change the gearbox oil, or the diff oil etc. I realise there is no guarantee of exactly what is done at the main dealer, but I feel it is more likely to get done if it is there as a written instruction.
You may save a couple of hundred quid a year by not going to a dealer, like I have done, but it is not an experience I would repeat with my next car, which will of course have full dealer history, which I will continue.
You have exactly the opposite experience I've had, and ended up having to take my M5 to a dealership over 100 miles away to avoid the local BMW-trained 'professionals' who'd forget to put oil/coolant in the engine, or forget to put the filler cap back on the engine to prevent expensive oil covering the engine bay, or who insist suspension components need to be replaced in pairs one week and then tell you the opposite once you've paid for the both sides, or who do £1000 worth of extra work without your say so and threaten to call the police and charge storage when you refuse to pay.I have gone down the route of using an Indy, but I won't be doing that on the next car that I buy.
At a main dealer they are specially trained in how to work on each car in the model range, have all the specialist equipment for BMW's, and are privvy to quietly issued service update bulletins etc. from BMW UK.
Also, they have a list of procedures to go through for each Inspection / Service etc. An Indy will sometimes offer a full inspection 2, but then not change the gearbox oil, or the diff oil etc. I realise there is no guarantee of exactly what is done at the main dealer, but I feel it is more likely to get done if it is there as a written instruction.
You may save a couple of hundred quid a year by not going to a dealer, like I have done, but it is not an experience I would repeat with my next car, which will of course have full dealer history, which I will continue.
Some BMW dealers are a
s, and nothing better than a bunch of thieving, money-grabbing, incompetent, bds! And I bet half of the cars that BMW dealers see for 'valve clearances' never actually have them checked/adjusted - especially when you read about the amount of cars that come back from an inspection in less than 4 hours from dropping them off.An indy might not know ///M cars or their requirements, but a specialist will, and you should make sure you're comfortable with them knowing what they're doing before handing over your car to them.
I'd rather pay a specialist £400 to not do the work, than spend £1000 for a dealer to not do the work. If I'm going to be shafted either way then I'll take the cheaper option.
I'm not going to name & shame, but I'd avoid the BMW dealership in city centre Liverpool.
mmm-five said:
You have exactly the opposite experience I've had, and ended up having to take my M5 to a dealership over 100 miles away to avoid the local BMW-trained 'professionals' who'd forget to put oil/coolant in the engine, or forget to put the filler cap back on the engine to prevent expensive oil covering the engine bay, or who insist suspension components need to be replaced in pairs one week and then tell you the opposite once you've paid for the both sides, or who do £1000 worth of extra work without your say so and threaten to call the police and charge storage when you refuse to pay.
Some BMW dealers are as, and nothing better than a bunch of thieving, money-grabbing, incompetent, bds! And I bet half of the cars that BMW dealers see for 'valve clearances' never actually have them checked/adjusted - especially when you read about the amount of cars that come back from an inspection in less than 4 hours from dropping them off.
An indy might not know ///M cars or their requirements, but a specialist will, and you should make sure you're comfortable with them knowing what they're doing before handing over your car to them.
I'd rather pay a specialist £400 to not do the work, than spend £1000 for a dealer to not do the work. If I'm going to be shafted either way then I'll take the cheaper option.
I'm not going to name & shame, but I'd avoid the BMW dealership in city centre Liverpool.
Im definately with you on this one... My experience with main dealers has been less than satisfying to say the least, Even an indy less than a mile from your aforementioned main dealer above, didn't impress me in the slightest.. I just feel that the M cars are a lot more specialised than standard 3-5 series cars and therefore require the 'right man' for the job, Not someone who has an hour to finish your inspection 1 before the next car is brought in.Some BMW dealers are a
s, and nothing better than a bunch of thieving, money-grabbing, incompetent, bds! And I bet half of the cars that BMW dealers see for 'valve clearances' never actually have them checked/adjusted - especially when you read about the amount of cars that come back from an inspection in less than 4 hours from dropping them off.An indy might not know ///M cars or their requirements, but a specialist will, and you should make sure you're comfortable with them knowing what they're doing before handing over your car to them.
I'd rather pay a specialist £400 to not do the work, than spend £1000 for a dealer to not do the work. If I'm going to be shafted either way then I'll take the cheaper option.
I'm not going to name & shame, but I'd avoid the BMW dealership in city centre Liverpool.
mr sagman said:
Im definately with you on this one... My experience with main dealers has been less than satisfying to say the least, Even an indy less than a mile from your aforementioned main dealer above, didn't impress me in the slightest.. I just feel that the M cars are a lot more specialised than standard 3-5 series cars and therefore require the 'right man' for the job, Not someone who has an hour to finish your inspection 1 before the next car is brought in.
I know the one you mean, and have left there without paying the bill as they didn't know how to reset the rear SLS on my M5 and suggested I take it to the dealer over the road and pay them to 'fix' their error.They're fine for general stuff where you want to save on labour, but anything ///M-specific you need a specialist
My specialist is all the way down near Braintree in Essex - and he's worth the trip). So much so that he's now a good friend, and his 3000+ laps (for Aston & Ford) of the 'Ring mean he's a handy tutor for when we go over there.
The other issue you have with dealers, is where you get one person extolling their virtues and another criticising them equally vehemently. The one's who are happy may simply not realise the job's been cocked up and take the dealer's assurances at face value - 'ignorance is bliss' as the saying goes.
Edited by mmm-five on Thursday 23 June 13:36
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