1200 mile running in service
Discussion
As I understand it the 1200 mile service is a running in service to change to a different grade of oil and I presume to remove any rubbish that's floating around the sump.
The problem comes from there is potentially the wrong grade of oil and all that rubbish floating around the oil system for the first 8/10/12 miles depending on how soon it was serviced.
However since the car is 14 years old and probably done neck end of 100k if it was going to be a terminal problem the car would have suffered a long time ago.
The real issue you have, is exactly why you are asking the question now is that it looks bad in the service book, and M cars are very sensitive to the contents of the service book. It can add or subtract a considerable amount of value from the car. Rightly so of course as it does at least point towards the car being looked after. My concern would be how hard is it going to be to sell when you come to move on and the car would have to be cheap... But if its cheap you could then budget for an engine rebuild IF anything goes wrong, or just do it as a matter of course and have peace of mind.
The problem comes from there is potentially the wrong grade of oil and all that rubbish floating around the oil system for the first 8/10/12 miles depending on how soon it was serviced.
However since the car is 14 years old and probably done neck end of 100k if it was going to be a terminal problem the car would have suffered a long time ago.
The real issue you have, is exactly why you are asking the question now is that it looks bad in the service book, and M cars are very sensitive to the contents of the service book. It can add or subtract a considerable amount of value from the car. Rightly so of course as it does at least point towards the car being looked after. My concern would be how hard is it going to be to sell when you come to move on and the car would have to be cheap... But if its cheap you could then budget for an engine rebuild IF anything goes wrong, or just do it as a matter of course and have peace of mind.
Didn't post before as have no experience with my car as I checked it had had it done but I agree with what quavey is saying. If you have two cars similar condition and price then I would definitely favour the one that did have a 1200 mile service over the one that didn't. Whilst I can see what he means about any major problems coming to the surface before the next 100,000 miles have passed I can't help thinking that running on the old oil for that long with all the swarf knocking around in there is going to potentially have an effect in how soon certain things let go down the line due to their wear being accelerated in that initial period. e.g. perhaps the rod bearings go at 150,000 miles when they might have otherwise lasted until 160,000 miles. You won't be able to pick that kind of thing up when examining the car so I'd want a suitable price reduction to counter that additional risk factor (although in my case it would have been a deal breaker I think and I would have walked).
161BMW said:
Get the running in service done Before 1200 miles.
If the service indicator says to get done now then get done now
I think he may be 14 years too late............ If the service indicator says to get done now then get done now
On a serious note, on more recent cars such as E46 M3 & Z4M a lot of people wouldn't touch one with a barge pole if it hadn't been done and made a couple very very hard to sell. I don't know if this applies to the E39.
It is a bit of a grey area because as been previously stated, any damage caused may not show up until x number of year/miles and even then how easy is it to attribute it to the missing 1200 service??
Personally I wouldn't proceed any further as not only is there a potential higher risk of engine failure, I would also question how well the car had been looked after in its early days if the first owner who has spent a lot of money on the car cannot even be bothered to get the first, important service done correctly.
I would look elsewhere
I think on current cars it is chargable, but on earlier cars like the E39 M5 it was included in the purchase price.
On the E39 it's the engine oil, gearbox oil and diff oil that's changed.
When I bought mine the salesman was very keen to point out that it had been done, and stressed how important it was, and that they weren't allowed to retail it as an AUC car if it hadn't been.
I imagine the importance of getting it done is also pointed out to new car buyers, and as has been said above, it tells you something about the owner if they can't be bothered to get it done, especially when they've already paid for it in the price of the car.
On the E39 it's the engine oil, gearbox oil and diff oil that's changed.
When I bought mine the salesman was very keen to point out that it had been done, and stressed how important it was, and that they weren't allowed to retail it as an AUC car if it hadn't been.
I imagine the importance of getting it done is also pointed out to new car buyers, and as has been said above, it tells you something about the owner if they can't be bothered to get it done, especially when they've already paid for it in the price of the car.
The car is now 14 years old so depending on the mileage i would imagine the running in service being missed would have no effect on the cars performance.......accept on its value. People like to see a stamped up service history book so missing that one when there is such panic regarding its importance, will probably mean if you ever come to sell the car on, then the new potential buyer will have the same dilemma.
Just remember its 14 years old! Buy on current condition no what someone forgot to do 14 years ago.
Just remember its 14 years old! Buy on current condition no what someone forgot to do 14 years ago.
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