Service time....ouch!!

[mcelliott]

Just collected my car from the BMW main dealer (M E46) after carrying an oil service and replacing rear trailing arm mounts. Came to a tidy sum of £699.35. Not so bad I thought, then the news I'd been dreading (and, to be honest, half expecting). New discs and pads all round. Car booked in next week where I shall spunk another £1,000 (managed to get them to agree to reduce quote from £1,117).

An upcoming trip to the south of France in her will definitely sugar coat this pill. M Power all the way!

[Nedzilla]

Dont take it to a BMW main dealer for pads and discs you numpty!!!
Any old garage will do pads and discs for you and probably save you around £300 in labour!!

Not trying to rub salt or anything but I had an oil service and rear trailing bushes replaced on mine just before I sold it at a very well respected Indy using genuine parts and oil and the bill came to the tidy sum of £290!!

Be carefull!!

Edited by Nedzilla on Friday 22 June 23:24

Edited by Nedzilla on Friday 22 June 23:24

[mcelliott]

Being located where I am, I am very limited to the choice I've got as I've had very bad experiences with small independent garages in the past. Yes I will be paying a lot more but I will also have peace of mind as I've never had any problems with the main dealer before.

Horses for courses

[falkster]

Is there any specialists on the island if not what about one on the mainland or even buy some from ECP and have them delivered and get the local garage fit them.

[Schermerhorn]

There are actually BMW dealers online who sell OEM brake discs and pads for E46 M3 models from significantly less than what other main dealers charge

Case in point:

Ebay item: 190307087596

BMW Sandal in Huddersfield quoted me £1086 for the same items!!!!

[falkster]

But I still think you could get them even cheaper by going to ECP or GSF, obviously still OE quality.

[NBTBRV8]

Buy all the bits off www.bmminiparts.com and just pay the dealer for labour.

[darreni]

mcelliott said:

Just collected my car from the BMW main dealer (M E46) after carrying an oil service and replacing rear trailing arm mounts. Came to a tidy sum of £699.35. Not so bad I thought, then the news I'd been dreading (and, to be honest, half expecting). New discs and pads all round. Car booked in next week where I shall spunk another £1,000 (managed to get them to agree to reduce quote from £1,117).

An upcoming trip to the south of France in her will definitely sugar coat this pill. M Power all the way!

If you buy the pads & discs through the local dealer, they should come in at less than £600.
Easy to fit, a couple of hours on your drive will see it done.

[mcelliott]

Thanks for all the helpful replies

Unfortunately no specialist over here hence forced to use main dealer. I have taken a note of the online contacts for parts and will definitely be making some enquiries when it comes to future work required. I don't mind paying a bit of a premium for labour as there's an element of peace of mind that the work is being done properly, however paying a massive markup for parts doesn't sit so well and if these are genuine parts I will be sourcing my own in the future!

Thanks again.

[Schermerhorn]

falkster said:

But I still think you could get them even cheaper by going to ECP or GSF, obviously still OE quality.

ECP and GSF are O.E equivalent but are not OEM stamped. If you have a car under warranty these things are a must.

[falkster]

mcelliott said:

Thanks for all the helpful replies

Unfortunately no specialist over here hence forced to use main dealer. I have taken a note of the online contacts for parts and will definitely be making some enquiries when it comes to future work required. I don't mind paying a bit of a premium for labour as there's an element of peace of mind that the work is being done properly, however paying a massive markup for parts doesn't sit so well and if these are genuine parts I will be sourcing my own in the future!

Thanks again.

If you're forced then I understand using the dealers for service work etc but something as basic as new discs and pads, it just doesn't make sense to pay probably double a reputable Indy.
BMW, or any other dealers are no better than anywhere else, the art of being a good mechanic is well and truly gone. If you can't plug it in then they don't want to know.
I took my M3 to my local BMW dealer, when I first got it, as I wanted to find some competent to look after it. This is 10 years ago so, at the time, it was just an old M3 but you'd expect BMW mechanics to know what it was. A body kitted 325? Whys it lhd?

[mmm-five]

A common 'scam' with dealers is to say that "Discs and pads are worn, sir!"

Did the dealer give you a measurement/mileage of life left?

I bet they're less than half-worn, and they've told you so. Doesn't mean they're at the end of their life though!

[RossP]

I always do discs and pads myself. One of the easiest DIY jobs there is on a car.

[Nedzilla]

mmm-five said:

A common 'scam' with dealers is to say that "Discs and pads are worn, sir!"

Did the dealer give you a measurement/mileage of life left?

I bet they're less than half-worn, and they've told you so. Doesn't mean they're at the end of their life though!

When I had my M3 I took it to the main dealer for its first service under my ownership which was an Insp 2 at just under £1100.They told me the rear pads needed changing but I said as the service alone was quite expensive I will leave the pads until the warning light comes on.

The warning light came on 19 MONTHS later which was just in time for its next service which was done at a indy specialist who I used ever since and saved an awful lot of money with.