BMW Service Standard Pricing - Beware!
Discussion
Driver101 said:
Swervin_Mervin said:
Independent specialist servicing ftw. Microfilters done when needed, not every service. And a £411 BMW priced oil and plugs change comes in at just £150 all in, with OEM bits.
What service costs £411 these days? With the value servicing that BMW offer now, the big service for the 335i was just over £250. That includes plugs and filters.
Swervin_Mervin said:
See above. £411 quoted on the BMW Service page. Doesn't quite tally with hornetrider's price for 8 though!
Didn't see that. It doesn't match the prices I get for the 335i either. £189 for an oil service and filters. £254 with plugs.
Both quotes make your price look very excessive.
hornetrider said:
I've just put my reg in, interesting results!
Oil service plus microfilters: £212.
As above plus air filter AND 8 PLUGS: £232.
Doesn't really tie in with the 650i quote above does it! Twenty squid for air filter and plugs!
What mileage is yours on? My 650 is an '06 and has just ticked over 99,000 miles.Oil service plus microfilters: £212.
As above plus air filter AND 8 PLUGS: £232.
Doesn't really tie in with the 650i quote above does it! Twenty squid for air filter and plugs!
Not that mileage should make any difference whatsoever to the cost of service items, mind. But given that the engine in your 550 is presumably identical to mine, it does beg the question as to what BMW base the difference on!
4rephill said:
It's a top of the range, prestigious luxury car that cost £65K + when new, not a £12,995 Ford Fiesta.
BMW base their service pricing on the theory that if you can afford to spend £65K + on a car then you can afford £346 to supply and fit spark plugs.
It's a similar theory as to why Rolls Royce's, Ferrari's, Lamborghini's and such like cost even more to service than BMW's, they're not supposed to be cheap cars.
The fact that 650i's eventually become @ £10K cars doesn't alter BMW's service charge by that much.
Basically, expensive cars are expensive to service, it's not that hard to understand TBH.
This mentality is the problem with car dealerships and naive car owners. I have a 730d, which has the SAME engine and SAME gearbox as a 530d. The only difference with mine is the body is bigger and there are more gadgets (fancy dashboard, headlights, infotainment system, seats, etc), nothing that is relevant to engine servicing, yet I get charged more.BMW base their service pricing on the theory that if you can afford to spend £65K + on a car then you can afford £346 to supply and fit spark plugs.
It's a similar theory as to why Rolls Royce's, Ferrari's, Lamborghini's and such like cost even more to service than BMW's, they're not supposed to be cheap cars.
The fact that 650i's eventually become @ £10K cars doesn't alter BMW's service charge by that much.
Basically, expensive cars are expensive to service, it's not that hard to understand TBH.
Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc are more expensive to service because of their *performance*, not their cost. The parts are subject to greater stress because they perform at much greater speed, torque, etc so are manufactured to higher spec with higher grade materials, therefore are more expensive (plus the time taken to ensure all parts are working properly and safely is much greater and requires more expertise). That's no excuse for the charges for my car.
Mine was £70k new, I bought it for £23k used, because it was cheaper than the equivalent used 5 series (dumb, right?), service charges should reflect the *actual* parts in the car, not what the dealer thinks they can get away with.
sapphirehollow said:
This mentality is the problem with car dealerships and naive car owners....
How can the higher cost that BMW charge for servicing and repairing a 7 series compared to a 3 series be anything to do with naive car owners?
sapphirehollow said:
....I have a 730d, which has the SAME engine and SAME gearbox as a 530d. The only difference with mine is the body is bigger and there are more gadgets (fancy dashboard, headlights, infotainment system, seats, etc), nothing that is relevant to engine servicing, yet I get charged more.
So there you go, My point from two and half years ago still stands, you pay more to service/repair your 7 series purely because it was a more expensive car when new, which is how BMW have always set their service pricing - The more expensive the model, the more you pay for servicing and repairs.Feel free to go into your local BMW dealership and demand that they service/repair your 7 series for the same price as a 3 series and then let us all know how you got on!
sapphirehollow said:
.....Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc are more expensive to service because of their *performance*, not their cost. The parts are subject to greater stress because they perform at much greater speed, torque, etc so are manufactured to higher spec with higher grade materials, therefore are more expensive (plus the time taken to ensure all parts are working properly and safely is much greater and requires more expertise).....
So the door mirror on a Ferrari 355, which cost @ £2500 each (unpainted!) from Ferrari when the cars were new, were made to a much higher specification than the £600 (painted) door mirrors fitted to BMW's of the time because they were under more stress?
Ferrari didn't manufacture the door mirrors - They had them made by the same outside companies that other manufacturers use, to the exact same standard! (In fact, the door mirrors on My Ferrari 348 were no where near as sturdy as any of the door mirrors I've had on My various BMW's!)
Back in the late 80's I had a FIAT X1/9, that one day needed a new headlight lift motor, so I ordered one from a FIAT dealer for @ £90 brand new. Knowing that the Ferrari 308/328 series used the exact same lift motors, out of interest, I contacted a Ferrari dealer to ask how much a lift motor would cost from them. As I recall, their price was in the region of £370! Same motor manufacturer, same model motor!
Yes some thing are made bespoke for the likes of Ferrari/Lamborghini/Maserati etc., etc., and because they are not mass produced, do cost more, but those manufacturers also charge a lot more for parts that are more commonly available for other, lower end marques because they know they can get away with it (especially when it comes to rich customers who simply don't care about the costs!)
sapphirehollow said:
.....Mine was £70k new, I bought it for £23k used, because it was cheaper than the equivalent used 5 series (dumb, right?)......
Dumb? - Not really. The 7 series is a bigger car than the 5 series, and it's more expensive to put right when it goes wrong because of the costs of servicing/repairing them. For people with a family looking for a nice used car, the 5 series is the ideal size, so there's a big market for them. The 7 series on the other hand is just too big and expensive to run for most people in the used market, so the demand for them is a lot less than a 5 series.sapphirehollow said:
.......service charges should reflect the *actual* parts in the car, not what the dealer thinks they can get away with.
What fantasy World are you living in? People in just about every single business in the capitalist World charge as much as they think they can get away with, to maximise their profits.
Just because you got your 7 series for a bargain price, doesn't mean that BMW should have to offer you bargain servicing and repair bills - The very reason you got your bargain buy is because of BMW's service and repair pricing!
That site is a joke.
It says £619 for an oil service on my Z4M!
That's about the same price as I pay for an Inspection 2 at an indy, or an Inspection 1 at a local dealer.
It also doesn't mention gearbox/diff oil changes, or valve clearances on the £1300 inspection 1 price.
Although, to be fair, it's obviously still fekked, as when I first saw that site some years ago, it was offering an Inspection 1 for £400, but then the dealerships would argue and tell you that it wasn't for M's and the website was wrong.
It says £619 for an oil service on my Z4M!
That's about the same price as I pay for an Inspection 2 at an indy, or an Inspection 1 at a local dealer.
It also doesn't mention gearbox/diff oil changes, or valve clearances on the £1300 inspection 1 price.
Although, to be fair, it's obviously still fekked, as when I first saw that site some years ago, it was offering an Inspection 1 for £400, but then the dealerships would argue and tell you that it wasn't for M's and the website was wrong.
Driver101 said:
What service costs £411 these days?
With the value servicing that BMW offer now, the big service for the 335i was just over £250. That includes plugs and filters.
Try an E46 M3. Even from a good specialist you won't get much change from £500 for an Inspection 1 and with good reason ; mine came to £200 in parts for the I1 and took me a day if you account for me not having the parts to hand. I2? Not much change from £700. They're even more from BMW.With the value servicing that BMW offer now, the big service for the 335i was just over £250. That includes plugs and filters.
4rephill said:
My point from two and half years ago still stands, you pay more to service/repair your 7 series purely because it was a more expensive car when new, which is how BMW have always set their service pricing - The more expensive the model, the more you pay for servicing and repairs.
Read my comments properly before mounting your high horse. I wasn't saying it DOESN'T cost more, I'm saying it SHOULDN'T because the parts are exactly the same.4rephill said:
So the door mirror on a Ferrari 355, which cost @ £2500 each (unpainted!) from Ferrari when the cars were new, were made to a much higher specification than the £600 (painted) door mirrors fitted to BMW's of the time because they were under more stress?
Yes, you know how speed and aerodynamics work, right? Higher speed - more stress on parts, especially those that are sticking out of the side of the car on a little stalk...4rephill said:
sapphirehollow said:
.....Mine was £70k new, I bought it for £23k used, because it was cheaper than the equivalent used 5 series (dumb, right?)......
Dumb? - Not really. The 7 series is a bigger car than the 5 series, and it's more expensive to put right when it goes wrong because of the costs of servicing/repairing them. For people with a family looking for a nice used car, the 5 series is the ideal size, so there's a big market for them. The 7 series on the other hand is just too big and expensive to run for most people in the used market, so the demand for them is a lot less than a 5 series.rep4hill said:
sapphirehollow said:
.......service charges should reflect the *actual* parts in the car, not what the dealer thinks they can get away with.
What fantasy World are you living in? People in just about every single business in the capitalist World charge as much as they think they can get away with, to maximise their profits.
On, and regarding...
It's called Google, a search engine that led me to this thread. Welcome to the internet.
sapphirehollow said:
This mentality is the problem with car dealerships and naive car owners. I have a 730d, which has the SAME engine and SAME gearbox as a 530d. The only difference with mine is the body is bigger and there are more gadgets (fancy dashboard, headlights, infotainment system, seats, etc), nothing that is relevant to engine servicing, yet I get charged more.
It's worse than that, the The F01 7 series and F10 5 series cars share the same platform, the seats as well, the infotainment system options, headlight options etc...there are no more gadgets that can't be specced on either, the dash is arguably better on the F10 as it's less slab fronted but uses the same materials and design theme. The 7 is just a larger 5.
Wills2 said:
It's worse than that, the The F01 7 series and F10 5 series cars share the same platform, the seats as well, the infotainment system options, headlight options etc...there are no more gadgets that can't be specced on either, the dash is arguably better on the F10 as it's less slab fronted but uses the same materials and design theme.
The 7 is just a larger 5.
As far as I can see this is the same for the latest (7 - G11 & 5 - G30) models too :/The 7 is just a larger 5.
jamoor said:
They just charge whatever they think they can get away with
Indeed.Earlier this month I found myself feeling slightly apprehensive when I asked my local BMW dealership to match the BMW UK online quote of £199.00 for an oil and microfilter Value Service for my 330i. "Whatever you like,sir" came the reply which did leave me feeling slightly non-plussed as I thought these things were pretty much non-negotiable, especially as the same service plus a brake fluid change 3 years prior had cost me almost £400 at the same garage. However, I confirmed that "I did like", and duly booked it in. Meanwhile, I decided to have a gander at the dealership's own website, and to my surprise I found that they too were quoting fixed price Value Servicing, but at only £189.00 all in, thus undercutting BMW UK by £10.
When I duly took the car in to the ivory towers at Croydon, I didn't mention this pricing difference at first, waiting to see if he would raise the matter himself. However, he simply read out the quotation agreed by phone several days before, and prepared the vehicle paperwork. I then casually mentioned the pricing discrepancy, and asked why that should be so, especially since he then declared that they operated their own pricing policy and were not a participating dealership in the BMW UK service plans. I asked him if I could quote him on that, as BMW UK seemed to be under a different impression. But he then offered to price match his own website, so I decided not to push my luck and accepted the reduced quotation without quibble.
I should also add that I had also rung 2 independent garages for a 'manufacturer's service' quotation, as I was keen not to invalidate my BMW Insured Warranty by using non-BMW approved parts. The cheapest quote I got was for £209.00 all-in. So at £189.00, not only was it the best deal. but I also got the BMW stamp in the service book to boot. Unsurprisingly, you don't get a loan car thrown in for that though, but I was offered a free valet.
Moral of the story? - Don't assume the dealership is the most expensive, and if you don't ask, you probably won't get!
RafflesNH said:
Moral of the story? - Don't assume the dealership is the most expensive, and if you don't ask, you probably won't get!
This.At a minimum check the prices before you book and agree them on the phone. If you have a bit more time you can normally knock a little bit off and try it for size at a few dealers.
I also normally check my last inspection for other jobs I think they might raise - I check the prices for those so I'm prepared - I ask for a call before additional works so I can agree prices on that too. Saves surprises when you pick the car up.
One thing that has always surprised me with my local BMW dealer is that their prices for tyres are so competitive that I normally get them done.
The only things I'd really fault them with are:
1) wanting to prematurely change wearing parts before they're properly worn
2) wanting to 'service' my air conditioning every time - even if the car had only been in the month before
Otherwise for standard servicing they're no worse than the Indy I use for the other car
Had the wife's 2007 330i serviced and MOT'd at my local dealer this week. The BMW UK online price finder suggested £578 for oil service with microfilter, air filter and spark plugs, along with vehicle service check and MOT.
Cost me £442 at the dealer inc loan car and valet. I think there are some regional variations, so yes don't assume the dealers are always going to be pricey.
Cost me £442 at the dealer inc loan car and valet. I think there are some regional variations, so yes don't assume the dealers are always going to be pricey.
mmm-five said:
That site is a joke.
It says £619 for an oil service on my Z4M!
That's about the same price as I pay for an Inspection 2 at an indy, or an Inspection 1 at a local dealer.
It also doesn't mention gearbox/diff oil changes, or valve clearances on the £1300 inspection 1 price.
Although, to be fair, it's obviously still fekked, as when I first saw that site some years ago, it was offering an Inspection 1 for £400, but then the dealerships would argue and tell you that it wasn't for M's and the website was wrong.
When I phoned my local dealer they confirmed that these were in fact Inspection I and II prices and wouldn’t offer any discount. They did tell my they could do the Inspection II ‘while you wait’ which surprised me as my understanding was that the engine had to be stone cold to measure and correct the valve clearances. It says £619 for an oil service on my Z4M!
That's about the same price as I pay for an Inspection 2 at an indy, or an Inspection 1 at a local dealer.
It also doesn't mention gearbox/diff oil changes, or valve clearances on the £1300 inspection 1 price.
Although, to be fair, it's obviously still fekked, as when I first saw that site some years ago, it was offering an Inspection 1 for £400, but then the dealerships would argue and tell you that it wasn't for M's and the website was wrong.
My experience with franchised dealers is that they’re only really useful for servicing the current generation cars, after that you’re better off with a Indy / specialist. Their business model seems to have shifted to having large numbers of junior mechanics hoovering out oil and swapping filters while charging £100+ hourly rates and fewer senior mechanics doing diagnostics , fixing things when they go wrong. Fair enough if that works for them, but for older cars the more complex services are so high in cost I can’t see many people paying the price.
Had to laugh when my 335i was in for a oil, air and micro filter service though. The customer service agent phoned me to say my car had arrived (they collect) and that the service would be £454. I pointed out that they advertise it at 199 plus whatever the air filter costs. His response was ‘well, we could bill it that way if you prefer’ - I asked him if he could think of a reason why I would want to pay almost double the price for exactly the same product/service - ‘fair point’ came the reply. I’m guessing they use this approach as a percentage of customers just say fine and don’t question / haven’t seen the price.
cgauk said:
One thing that has always surprised me with my local BMW dealer is that their prices for tyres are so competitive that I normally get them done.
Same for me. I’m needed four new tyres a few months back and my BMW dealer was the cheapest after I called around a number of tyre places.Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff