to service or not to service..
Discussion
so, thing is, that horrible little service light has started to pop up on the display. it was only a matter of time of course, but all the same, when it started, my heart sank a bit. its time my 1996 E39 540 got dropped off for inspection 1.. the BIG one!
ive started to wonder if its really worth me taking the car to be serviced by my usual indie BMW chap (he looked after my E34 for 6 years). reason being, its now done 150.000k. it has a full BMW service history so far. thing is, its really not worth a great deal these days, its old and it drinks fuel like drinking is the new black. so is it worth it getting it serviced by an indie? or shall i just drop it off at the local garage and get them to do a basic service, oil/plugs etc.?
it still drives really very nicely, perhaps because of the BM service history, but im struggling to decide if there's any point in keeping on with the BMW service route.. and taking the shiney, cheap option...
would really appreciate some opinions on my little woe....
cheers
nerf
ive started to wonder if its really worth me taking the car to be serviced by my usual indie BMW chap (he looked after my E34 for 6 years). reason being, its now done 150.000k. it has a full BMW service history so far. thing is, its really not worth a great deal these days, its old and it drinks fuel like drinking is the new black. so is it worth it getting it serviced by an indie? or shall i just drop it off at the local garage and get them to do a basic service, oil/plugs etc.?
it still drives really very nicely, perhaps because of the BM service history, but im struggling to decide if there's any point in keeping on with the BMW service route.. and taking the shiney, cheap option...
would really appreciate some opinions on my little woe....
cheers
nerf
It really depends on who the 'local' garage is.
Are they a trusted outfit, do they really know what to look out for,do they use the correct oils, quality parts etc. With indie you are getting the quality that is keeping your 540 together.
If you go local then pick carefully...there are also alot of rogues out there.
Are they a trusted outfit, do they really know what to look out for,do they use the correct oils, quality parts etc. With indie you are getting the quality that is keeping your 540 together.
If you go local then pick carefully...there are also alot of rogues out there.
To me it would depend on a couple of things.
Firstly, how much do you like the car? It has a big engine so presumably you enjoy to 'use' that power? For me, I would want to spend the money and have the piece of mind that a good specialist can give.
Are you planning on selling soon? If so, have the service done by the specialist to make it more
desirable.
If you can find a good local independant then they should service the car using BMW approved fluids and adhere to the required service schedule.
Doing the work yourself? Unless you know your motors, you wont spot any potential preventative mantainance points or any dangerous issues you will see when the car is on a ramp.
Secondly, the fluids, engine, diff and gearbox must be kept fresh in a car of your vintage. The quality and frequency of the changes will almost be in direct correlation to those parts longevity.
For me, I would find a trusted local garage and use them.
Neil
Firstly, how much do you like the car? It has a big engine so presumably you enjoy to 'use' that power? For me, I would want to spend the money and have the piece of mind that a good specialist can give.
Are you planning on selling soon? If so, have the service done by the specialist to make it more
desirable.
If you can find a good local independant then they should service the car using BMW approved fluids and adhere to the required service schedule.
Doing the work yourself? Unless you know your motors, you wont spot any potential preventative mantainance points or any dangerous issues you will see when the car is on a ramp.
Secondly, the fluids, engine, diff and gearbox must be kept fresh in a car of your vintage. The quality and frequency of the changes will almost be in direct correlation to those parts longevity.
For me, I would find a trusted local garage and use them.
Neil
There really isnt that much difference in price between an Inspection 1 and an oil change @ Main dealer so... may as well.
How much longer do you want to keep the car? Another 12 months if so you may as well for a little more piece of mind motoring.
If your going to sell private - its going to appeal to a whole lot more people recently serviced than in need of a service. In fact if I was the punter I would negotiate on price with you & with the caveat that it is serviced/12months MOT.
How much longer do you want to keep the car? Another 12 months if so you may as well for a little more piece of mind motoring.
If your going to sell private - its going to appeal to a whole lot more people recently serviced than in need of a service. In fact if I was the punter I would negotiate on price with you & with the caveat that it is serviced/12months MOT.
With my accord type r I printed off the list of what Honda mechanics are supposed to do at the various service intervals and gave that to a local garage I trust and they carried out the service according to that. If I hadn't given them that list they would only have done a basic service as they wouldn't have known exactly what to do.
I'd suggest you find a similar list for your car (or the list for Inspection I and Insp II) and give that to a garage you trust. There's so much info out there these days on forums to make diagnosing problems yourself a lot easier than it used to be, so by passing this info to trustworthy local garages you can save yourself a few quid. Of course it's worth asking your garage if there are any items on the list that they can't do due to lack of specialist tools/knowledge etc, before you go ahead.
I'd suggest you find a similar list for your car (or the list for Inspection I and Insp II) and give that to a garage you trust. There's so much info out there these days on forums to make diagnosing problems yourself a lot easier than it used to be, so by passing this info to trustworthy local garages you can save yourself a few quid. Of course it's worth asking your garage if there are any items on the list that they can't do due to lack of specialist tools/knowledge etc, before you go ahead.
thanks for your input guys, much appreciated. i like the idea of getting all the fluids done/engine, box, diff oils etc, i will be keeping the car for a little while longer despite wincing each time in pull in for fuel. im going to ring my BMW indie now and throw some costs around.
thanks again chaps...
n
thanks again chaps...
n
Call BMW main dealer too first to give you a benchmark & then the indy (& then go back to the maindealer with the lower price - they may match it/lower their offer for your trade).
If your keeping it for some time to come then even considering not servicing it is very silly - it will die much sooner & without servicing it will use more fuel to boot.
If your keeping it for some time to come then even considering not servicing it is very silly - it will die much sooner & without servicing it will use more fuel to boot.
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