E46 oil change - is it acceptable to supply my own oil??

[andyconda]

Girlfriend's E46 318Ci needs an oil change service, and I've been quoted £180 by the local BMW dealer.

I didn't mind paying £270 for the last Inspection 1 service, but this seems v. expensive for the work involved (as I understand, the oil change service consists of oil and filter change, plus brake disc inspection, and not much else).

I'm told the main reason the service is so expensive is the cost of the fully-synth oil used. Is this correct?? Or does the oil change service involve other work that I'm not aware of?? I wouldn't object to paying £180 if the service involved more work.

[andyconda]

Thanks for the advice.

I'm well aware of the benefits of fully synthetic oil. Seems a bit like overkill on a humble 318Ci, but I suppose it still benefits a (mostly) town-bound car on 15k service intervals.

Have taken the car to the same dealership for the previous two services and have a good relationship with them, so will have a chat with them and see if they're OK with me supplying my own oil...

[andyconda]

muzzer79 said:

I went to an indy specialist who quoted £120 - still a bit steep for 30 minutes work. Upon asking for a quote if I supply my own oil - £80

Fair enough, but decent quality fully synth oil is going to cost £40, so not really much of a saving.

Have found a couple of decent indy garages in my area, but none of them open on Saturday mornings. As my g/f needs the car during the week to get to/from work, I think I'm just going to take it to the franchised dealer and bend over and take the financial shafting.

Thanks for all the comments. Am glad that I'm not the only one who thinks that £180 for an oil change is a pisstake.

[andyconda]

gwaredd said:

It's a very basic 1.8 engine. Why take it to the dealers for an oil change? Any local garage would do it £30 if you were to supply your own oil, £40 if you use their oil.

Actually Gwaredd, it's a two litre Valvetronic engine, and it has always been run on fully synth up until now. With 15000 miles and 15 months between services, I'm happy to pay extra for fully synthetic oil.

Backstreet garages are great, but will they be able to reset the service indicator?? I don't want the car flashing "0 miles to next service" at me all the time. Also, most of them are closed on Saturdays, which is no good to me.