Full bmw service history
Discussion
stevesingo said:
So you have two cars both 20 months old 28000mile
Car A FBMWSH
Car B Independant SH
Most would choose the BMWSH, but what servicing have the cars have had? Probably an oil service an air filter, a microfilter and brake fluid. Nothing an independant could not carry out as well as a dealer. There is a chance that the indy has ignored the CBS indication and changed the oil every 12 months and done the filters at the same time, in which case what would you by now?
Still the FBMWSH car.Car A FBMWSH
Car B Independant SH
Most would choose the BMWSH, but what servicing have the cars have had? Probably an oil service an air filter, a microfilter and brake fluid. Nothing an independant could not carry out as well as a dealer. There is a chance that the indy has ignored the CBS indication and changed the oil every 12 months and done the filters at the same time, in which case what would you by now?
It's 20 months old, why would I want one that somebody has taken to an indy and made up their own servicing routine for? I trust the vehicle manufacturer to devise an acceptable servicing routine for the products they produce. I'd be totally satisfied with a 20 month old 28k mile car that had only had one service because thats exactly what it was due.
It's extremely unlikely the indy will have done anything the dealer didn't do anyway - the only difference being the cost. I'm not that interested in cars that new where the owner was already looking for ways to do things cheaper.
Besides, what is with this myth that 'indy' = 'amazing'? I have had to go through numerous 'indys' for repair work before finding one I feel I can trust - most of them have felt no different to any other random garage.
Many are happy to bungle through diagostics randomly replacing parts at my cost, claiming to fix issues without testing afterwards to find the problem still present, mis-diagnosis, etc. One 'reputable specialist' down here about 7 years ago even got as far as booking my car in to have the head gasket removed because they diagnosied a leaky radiator and the typical M54 cold-weather-mayo as head gasket failure. It was only the fact that it was a bit of a wait to get it booked in giving me the opportunity to do a bit of research that I was able to realise that no, I didn't need to spend £1500 on that.
No different to many main dealers in that regard. It seems these days all a garage needs to do is put 'BMW Specialist' above the door and everyone suddenly thinks they are ultra experts who put all main dealers to shame. They are not - they are garages like anyone else at the end of the day which therefore carry all the risks of any other garage you might use.
Once you find one you can trust it's worth its weight in gold but you've no idea whether that applies to the stamped history you are viewing on a used car unless you've personal experience of that particular indy.
Edited by Fox- on Saturday 12th October 12:09
Fox- said:
I trust the vehicle manufacturer to devise an acceptable servicing routine for the products they produce. I'd be totally satisfied with a 20 month old 28k mile car that had only had one service because thats exactly what it was due.
Providing you never intend to keep one out of the warranty period, you'll get away with that attitude.Lowtimer said:
Providing you never intend to keep one out of the warranty period, you'll get away with that attitude.
I drive an 11 year old 200,000 mile 5 Series which I have owned since it was 4 years old, following the manufacturers service schedule religiously, as did it's only other owner from new. I am long past the warranty period and if it exploded tommorrow it'd still have been an impressive coup for the BMW service requirements.
Lowtimer said:
Lucky you.
Well no, not really. BMW built the engine, so they are best placed to know what it's servicing requirements are. What exactly is the technical basis for the idea that they are completely wrong and the requirements they outline harm the engines?It's not as if this is a new thing is it? BMW have been building cars on a variable servicing schedule with intervals of up to 20k miles for what, almost 20 years at least?
I think I'd tend to agree with Fox on newer cars. In the case of a new model an independent probably won't have ever seen the model before, may not have the service manual and won't have the TSB's, software updates etc. a main dealer will have.
On an older model, then the situation tends to reverse with the main dealer hardly ever seeing that type and no one left in the workshop who knows much about them.
On an older model, then the situation tends to reverse with the main dealer hardly ever seeing that type and no one left in the workshop who knows much about them.
icruze said:
And a very good point you make,
Ok so I've just found a perfect example,
2003 e46 m3 85000 miles full BMW service history 9000
Really clean bodywork.
I say 8500 would be nearer the mark -
I'd want to see BMW for the first 3 years and then a good specialist from 2006 onwards. Ok so I've just found a perfect example,
2003 e46 m3 85000 miles full BMW service history 9000
Really clean bodywork.
I say 8500 would be nearer the mark -
Fox- said:
Agree with this, too. My approach is main dealer for servicing, indy for repairs and diagnostics.
So you trust the indy to find out what's wrong with your malfunctioning car, and to take it to bits and repair it, but you don't trust them to change the oil and filters?Edited by Lowtimer on Sunday 13th October 19:44
Lowtimer said:
So you trust the indy to find out what's wrong with your malfunctioning car, and to take it to bits and repair it, but you don't trust them to change the oil. Brilliant.
As pointed out before the main dealers are largely unfamiliar with older models and don't necessarily know for example the E39 has extensive cooling problems, whereas an indie will. Whenever I've gone to my local dealer for parts I hardly ever see older cars there. However the cost of having an oil service done at an indie is only £20-£30 less than a main dealer. Servicing these cars is not complicated. So in the case of Fox's car with it's fbmwsh it's worth the small amount of cost to keep the BMW history and the stamp in the book. The cost of doing that is tiny compared to the running costs of the average BMW. If mine hadn't been to an indie for servicing before I owned it I'd be tempted to use the same approach, but now it has non BMW dealer network stamps my indie sorts everything. You know BMW charge around £90-£100 an hour labour right? I pay £50 a hour for a guy who knows everything about these cars to do the same job with the same part's. Lowtimer said:
So you trust the indy to find out what's wrong with your malfunctioning car, and to take it to bits and repair it, but you don't trust them to change the oil and filters?
No? I'd trust my local indy to service it (But wow did I have to go through a load of jokers before finally finding a place that I could trust) as well but the main dealer is usually hardly any more expensive and is more convenient so they service it.Edited by Fox- on Sunday 13th October 23:41
After seeing first hand what a FSH car looks like under the bonnet I'd give all main dealers a wide berth.
Every other fastening missing on covers because they can't be f
ked to replace them all.
Had a heater resistor fail. Checked service history and noted it had been replaced once before by the dealer. Checked the pollen filter and it was totally blocked. You have to put your face within about 3 inches of the filter FFS to replace the resistor pack. That was with 120000 miles of Toyota FSH.
But if it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling keeping them in skinny lattes then crack on.
Every other fastening missing on covers because they can't be f
ked to replace them all. Had a heater resistor fail. Checked service history and noted it had been replaced once before by the dealer. Checked the pollen filter and it was totally blocked. You have to put your face within about 3 inches of the filter FFS to replace the resistor pack. That was with 120000 miles of Toyota FSH.
But if it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling keeping them in skinny lattes then crack on.
Lowtimer said:
Fox- said:
I trust the vehicle manufacturer to devise an acceptable servicing routine for the products they produce. I'd be totally satisfied with a 20 month old 28k mile car that had only had one service because thats exactly what it was due.
Providing you never intend to keep one out of the warranty period, you'll get away with that attitude.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff