Interim oil change - waste of money???

[Boxstercol]

I’m a bit old school & have, until now, paid for a main dealer interim oil change in between the manufacturer scheduled services (2 year / 20k miles). I’ve never liked the standard service schedule & have always taken comfort in getting fresh oil annually.

But I’m starting to wonder if I’m just wasting my money…. especially considering the current costs that BMW are quoting for an oil & filter change.

I part ex’d my previous BMW last September for my new BMW, but the service history didn’t count for anything. Now my ‘new’ BMW is approaching a year old I find myself wondering whether I’d be better off saving my money. However part of me thinks that I’m neglecting my ‘new’ car.

Thoughts??

[Pit Pony]

I dont trust service intervals. I change my own oil every 7k (on a 1.4T astra GTC) because..... I can do it in 40 mins on my drive for £20.

[dirky dirk]

Yep I don’t care what yoh say. What you drive if it’s yours and you need it for work and your keeping or for a while
Do the oil every 6k.
I’ve got a pela pump takes 20mins

[Torquey]

How long do you plan to keep it for?

If you're getting rid at 3-4year old, what is the point? So long as you meet the warranty requirements (every 2 years) what benefit is there to doing more?

If you're planning to keep it for most of its life then there may be justification.

[brillomaster]

As above. If you're planning on shifting it on in a few years, then just do the minimum for it to count as full service history.

If you're actually planning on keeping it a while, do the extra oil changes.

[7 5 7]

Timing chains, turbos, all of which are expensive if they die due to old long service schedules, and all of which BMWs are suspeptical too as the miles go up. Oil changes are still the most important, yet simplest thing you can do for a cars longevity, despite advancements in tech.

Long service schedules are for fleet owners, not personal owners.

I buy a 20L tub that suits both my cars currently, oil changes are seriously cheap if you DIY.

[Boxstercol]

Torquey said:

How long do you plan to keep it for?

If you're getting rid at 3-4year old, what is the point? So long as you meet the warranty requirements (every 2 years) what benefit is there to doing more?

If you're planning to keep it for most of its life then there may be justification.

Good point - I generally keep my cars for longer than most folk. The last BMW I had I ran under extended warranty too, which considering the additional maintenance I undertook was probably a bit over the top. I think the likelihood is that I’ll keep this for circa 8 years, so could make sense to keep on with the additional servicing.

[Sheepshanks]

Boxstercol said:

The last BMW I had I ran under extended warranty too, which considering the additional maintenance I undertook was probably a bit over the top.

There's many thing that could fail that aren't affected by how often the oil is changed.

My view on oil changes is depends on the type of use the car has. I did my wife's diesel Tiguan every year even though it was only doing 5K but most of her journeys were 4-5 miles.

If you regularly do decent runs, say an hour+ of rolling driving, then I'd just go with the request intervals.

[NDA]

I have no idea. But Porsche are adamant that my 911 is every two years (or 20k) and that interims would be a complete waste. I'm pretty sure all my previous cars have been 12 month intervals, so this is a new consideration.

[Simon_GH]

I think many Americans use short oil change intervals to help their cars last the large distances they often cover.

[dickapocalypse]

I bought my old E39 on 140k, having had 15-18k oil services, and took the valve cover off to sort a leak and found it very sludged up inside. Since owning it, I’ve changed the oil every 8-10k and last time I had the valve cover off (c. 180k?) it looked clean as a whistle. It’s now on 210k and going strong! So well worth doing, although not necessarily worth paying main dealer prices for. I do interim changes with a lidl oil pump that goes down the dipstick plus a fresh filter, cheap and easy

[Mr Tidy]

My first 2 BMWs came with the Service Pack and AUC warranty - BMW would only change it at the specified intervals.

Since then I have been running 10+ year old BMWs, mostly with limited BMW SH, so as I'm retired and not doing more than 4,000 miles a year I just get it done every 2 years. The way my 330i gets through oil it gets frequent refreshes when I top it up anyway!

Although if I was still doing higher mileages like 7,500 a year I wouldn't leave it for 2 years.

[Sheepshanks]

Mr Tidy said:

My first 2 BMWs came with the Service Pack and AUC warranty - BMW would only change it at the specified intervals.

Since then I have been running 10+ year old BMWs, mostly with limited BMW SH, so as I'm retired and not doing more than 4,000 miles a year I just get it done every 2 years. The way my 330i gets through oil it gets frequent refreshes when I top it up anyway!

Although if I was still doing higher mileages like 7,500 a year I wouldn't leave it for 2 years.

Does the BMW have an oil temp gauge? On cars that do, it's surprising how long it takes the oil to get hot - into the teens of miles in rolling driving. If you're not regularly running the engine while hot I'd be minded to change more frequently. Condensation in oil turns acidic over time. Although, as you say, if it's using a lot of oil you're effectively changing it anyway.

[Mr Tidy]

Sheepshanks said:

Does the BMW have an oil temp gauge? On cars that do, it's surprising how long it takes the oil to get hot - into the teens of miles in rolling driving. If you're not regularly running the engine while hot I'd be minded to change more frequently. Condensation in oil turns acidic over time. Although, as you say, if it's using a lot of oil you're effectively changing it anyway.

Well yes and no!

My 330i doesn't have any sort of temperature gauge but has an electronic dipstick that only works when the engine is up to temperature and I make a point of checking it every time I use to car to be sure the level sensor is working. I don't do much mileage but most trips are 20 miles or more.

My Z4M has oil temperature and as you say it takes a while to get hot, but I'm always watching it so I know when it's safe to use a heavy right foot. And it never does short trips like Tesco because that's what the other one is for!

[stevemcs]

Simon_GH said:

I think many Americans use short oil change intervals to help their cars last the large distances they often cover.

We look after a few cars owned by Americans, they have a completely different approach to the British and actually have there cars over serviced.

[Pica-Pica]

I ran my E36 for 150k miles and 19 years on condition-based intervals. My current 335d is approaching 9 years and has only ever had services at the condition-based intervals. I see no reason why it won’t survive that regime.

[Sheepshanks]

stevemcs said:

We look after a few cars owned by Americans, they have a completely different approach to the British and actually have there cars over serviced.

I used to drive Mercs and there was uproar from US owners when MB moved to “European” service intervals on cars where the first 4yrs service was included (apparently was common in the US). Dealers ended up offering free Saturday morning drop-in oil change sessions to keep owners happy.

[Haltamer]

Looking at the oil is one option.

On the Jaguar, the manufacturer service interval is around 12K Miles.

The Civic, By comparison is a 6K Interval.

Both 2L, direct injection, Chain driven turbo petrol engines:- When you look at the oil coming out of the Jag at a 6K interim change (Yes, I do them ) it's already in a poor state.

[Stick Legs]

On our F series BMW's I used to suck 4.5 litres out through the dipstick tube at 6000 miles and just replace it.

The filter will do the intervals they state, but refreshing the oil never does any harm.

Cheap and clean to do.

[Chris_i8]

Keep doing what you're doing OP, although I'd do the interim oil change at a local family garage not a main dealer...assuming you don't want to DIY on the drive.