Use the specialist or self service...?
Discussion
Hi guys
I've been an avid self servicer for several years now! And by this, of course I mean I carry out my own car maintenance. In the past, I've spent £3k ish on a car and set to doing my own oil changes, discs and pads and other basic stuff. More complicated and it gets thrown at the local Indy. I cover around 25k miles per year for work.
Now, I have just taken the plunge and dropped the most I ever have on a car, at £5.5k it is quite a jump! The car in question is an e61 525i, with LPG fitted and a full specialist service history on BMW's condition based servicing model, I.e. do it when iDrive says so! It has done 135k miles.
So, I plan to run the car until its on 200k plus miles, then turn it around for another. Obviously I will get the LPG professionally serviced, but what's the general consensus on relative effect on value of servicing myself vs. specialist stamps all nicely in the book. I think I'm looking at £40 for inspection and £150 per oil change (unknown interval on CBS) plus whatever brakes cost etc.
So, opinions a plenty please.
I've been an avid self servicer for several years now! And by this, of course I mean I carry out my own car maintenance. In the past, I've spent £3k ish on a car and set to doing my own oil changes, discs and pads and other basic stuff. More complicated and it gets thrown at the local Indy. I cover around 25k miles per year for work.
Now, I have just taken the plunge and dropped the most I ever have on a car, at £5.5k it is quite a jump! The car in question is an e61 525i, with LPG fitted and a full specialist service history on BMW's condition based servicing model, I.e. do it when iDrive says so! It has done 135k miles.
So, I plan to run the car until its on 200k plus miles, then turn it around for another. Obviously I will get the LPG professionally serviced, but what's the general consensus on relative effect on value of servicing myself vs. specialist stamps all nicely in the book. I think I'm looking at £40 for inspection and £150 per oil change (unknown interval on CBS) plus whatever brakes cost etc.
So, opinions a plenty please.
Well, when I was doing ridiculous mileages for work a few years back, I ran several cars over the years, all with a starting value of around 4 grand. One of them I had converted to LPG (which saved me £12,000 over 3 years!)
I was putting starship mileage on them (1,000 a week) so, most weekends, I found an hour to generally go over the car, brakes, tyres etc. and do any routine servicing myself, because they were being used so hard. I was eagle-eyed with the cars, and spotted / rectified any potential issues before they started really.
I kept all the receipts for any parts, oil and servicing items, and wrote in the service book myself what I'd done and when.
When I came to sell each of the cars, I used ebay each time. I took millions of photos, and wrote a completely honest description and was clear that I did all the servicing and repair work myself. I did pop a sweetener into the adverts, saying (truthfully) that I am an ex-mechanic for teams that raced motorbikes, and that probably helped to back up my credentials.
To be honest, the lack of dealer or specialist servicing didn't seem to be an issue for the buyers, or the final price the cars sold for. I think that people were happy to see nice, well-kept and well-presented cars, albeit with high miles, with a huge wedge of receipts for parts to back them up, alongside seeing my nicely-equipped garage / workshop when they collected the cars.
HTH
I was putting starship mileage on them (1,000 a week) so, most weekends, I found an hour to generally go over the car, brakes, tyres etc. and do any routine servicing myself, because they were being used so hard. I was eagle-eyed with the cars, and spotted / rectified any potential issues before they started really.
I kept all the receipts for any parts, oil and servicing items, and wrote in the service book myself what I'd done and when.
When I came to sell each of the cars, I used ebay each time. I took millions of photos, and wrote a completely honest description and was clear that I did all the servicing and repair work myself. I did pop a sweetener into the adverts, saying (truthfully) that I am an ex-mechanic for teams that raced motorbikes, and that probably helped to back up my credentials.
To be honest, the lack of dealer or specialist servicing didn't seem to be an issue for the buyers, or the final price the cars sold for. I think that people were happy to see nice, well-kept and well-presented cars, albeit with high miles, with a huge wedge of receipts for parts to back them up, alongside seeing my nicely-equipped garage / workshop when they collected the cars.
HTH
VinceM said:
Can the service interval indicator be reset without being ripped off by BMW?
Not sure. On my old vag cars, it was a dash combo. I have received in the post today a modern BMW version of the obd cable, ready to see what I can do with software.To the first reply. You think I could get away with calling myself an engineer as a self servicer? It's technically true, I'm a systems engineer.
If you plan to run the car until 200k miles the dealer stamps in the service log will make no difference to the resale value, anyone buying a 200k mile car is buying on condition not service history.
I do all the work on the bikes myself but as cars have become more and more complicated I do less and less on cars. Simple stuff like brake pads and disks are worth doing yourself but theres so much electronics in car engines nowadays I wouldn't know where to start.
I do all the work on the bikes myself but as cars have become more and more complicated I do less and less on cars. Simple stuff like brake pads and disks are worth doing yourself but theres so much electronics in car engines nowadays I wouldn't know where to start.
eltax91 said:
I've been an avid self servicer for several years now!
Me too!eltax91 said:
And by this, of course I mean I carry out my own car maintenance.
Uhm, yeah, that's what I mean too 
I'd be inclined to do the majority of the servicing myself. In my '03 plate E46 coupe, I've had it in to have annoying jobs like bleeding the cooling system done, as it was annoying me, but after it came back with more air in it than when it started, I'll do everything on that car.
My '08 XF is different; brakes I'll do, as I do tend to do a few miles, but engine servicing will be done by the dealer.
chrisw75 said:
Uhm, yeah, that's what I mean too
I'd be inclined to do the majority of the servicing myself. In my '03 plate E46 coupe, I've had it in to have annoying jobs like bleeding the cooling system done, as it was annoying me, but after it came back with more air in it than when it started, I'll do everything on that car.
My '08 XF is different; brakes I'll do, as I do tend to do a few miles, but engine servicing will be done by the dealer.
Is the e46 of a generation where BMW did away with a dipstick in place of a sensor and an indicator in-car like mine? Bloody useless thing!I'd be inclined to do the majority of the servicing myself. In my '03 plate E46 coupe, I've had it in to have annoying jobs like bleeding the cooling system done, as it was annoying me, but after it came back with more air in it than when it started, I'll do everything on that car.
My '08 XF is different; brakes I'll do, as I do tend to do a few miles, but engine servicing will be done by the dealer.
Once assumes I just need to make doubly sure I drain all the all and top up with 80% of the designated quantity before topping it off a bit at a time!?
Any e60/61 owners out there verify?
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