BMW servicing

[Marto303]

No worries Norm

Like this topic proves, we all have different views on stuff.

I'm simply saying that for those of us who don't like to pay dealer rates for basic servicing, in my experience its no longer a concern with regard to maintaining your warranty.

Whether non dealer history has any effect on residual values is another debate as there are so many factors that contribute to that value, how long is a piece of string?

[Norman Verona]

I do agree with you, there's no point in paying twice the price. I was only pointing out there is a downside to not using the dealer in VAG cases. Maybe others, I'm not sure. Probably doesn't matter if the car is going to be changed at, say, 3 years. But if planning to keep longer it may have a long term cost implication.

[dombanks]

how about using a dealer at 3 yrs for that service, they will plug it in and see all the warranty stuff that we dont see and then just do it all in 1 go...

[Norman Verona]

Probably. But maybe they won't as they have not done the previous services. 

[Stuart]

My youngest lad has a 12 plate Kia Rio and the service package is £299 for the first 3 years.  Very reasonable I reckon - certainly doesn't make it worthwhile not using a main dealer IMHO

[Norman Verona]

Stuart, I think that's why the individual service cost are extortionate.  

[iain m]

My BMW dealer offers reduced cost servicing for cars over 3 years old to maintain the service custom and I never considered them to be OTT as the service intervals are quite lengthy if you drive sensibly. My last visit ( before I bought a Merc ) I overheard a heated argument between the Sales and Service Manager over a new M3, the owner had covered less than 3000 miles from new and required a service which he was refusing to pay for, the Service Manager was dying to say this is what happens when you drive like a K**b but it was never going to happen.

[dombanks]

Probably. But maybe they won't as they have not done the previous services. 

so what would you do if you move house? are you supposed to go back to the place where you bought the car. im not having a go norm but it seems like the argument of "a dealer does a load of stuff you dont see" is a bit of a w4nk reason for the high costs. if they only do then if you'd been there from new.

 

these service costs do seem to be agood deal tho as a few people around the office have bought them and all seem a good plan. i take these stay with the car but wouldnt transfer if it was sold before they were all used type thing

[dombanks]

My BMW dealer offers reduced cost servicing for cars over 3 years old to maintain the service custom and I never considered them to be OTT as the service intervals are quite lengthy if you drive sensibly. My last visit ( before I bought a Merc ) I overheard a heated argument between the Sales and Service Manager over a new M3, the owner had covered less than 3000 miles from new and required a service which he was refusing to pay for, the Service Manager was dying to say this is what happens when you drive like a K**b but it was never going to happen.

i guess where they shoot themselves in the foot is when it comes to cars that are that bit too old and people aer at that point of thinking its got no waranty left so why bother?

 

my Z is due an oil service in 6K (according to the computer) but there is no way im going to pay main dealer prices for it. i know the oil it needs is the 0w30 castrol edge stuff or a LL4 equivalent and this alone will be the best part of £70  on its own so maybe if they were quoting £100 it might be tempting to just drop it in. but i doubt it that much. ill prob go to a specialist everyone here seems to recomend

[Norman Verona]

Dom, I didn't link the warranty work carried out by the dealer when the car was in for service with the high cost of servicing.

 

If you move, even to another country, the dealer will still do any warranty work the main system tells them needs doing. 

 

The high cost is due to the manufacturers requirements for admin in running the workshop.

 

Many dealers offer owners of cars out of warranty reduced rates.

 

The dealer doesn't get the full rate for warranty as his retail rate. Many dealers now have 60% warranty billing. This is interesting. Many years ago the dealers complained about the low cost of warranty labour. In some cases it was ridiculous, when I was a Nissan dealer we got £4 ph warranty and were charging about £30 retail*.  The manufacturers did some research and decided they would pay the same rate the dealer charged their sales departments, at the time about 1/3rd retail. So, what happened. You got it, the dealers increased the internal rate to retail. Now the rate is set by the manufacturer on a regional basis. From what I've seen it isn't that bad. Put it this way if I had one customer who filled my shop with 60% of the work they would get about the same rate.  

 

 

 

 

 

*Nissan (UK) said it was largely irrelevant as most dealers warranty billing was less than 10 hours a year. Many claimed nothing as the claims were so small the admin would cost more. All of which was true. However as we had a good technical base they referred all the London problems to us. Our warranty claims were the highest in the UK. I got a special rate but had to swear to secrecy.

[XTR2Turbo]

I do wonder about the sustainability of the massive, multi level new all shiny dealerships that have popped up in the last few years.

 

It's hell of an overhead just to sell and service cars.

 

I'm guessing they are probably financed with cheap loans from the manufacturers but you would need hell of a turnover.

 

Most of the big PLC dealer groups e.g. Pendragon etc seem to be financial disasters.

 

The whole business model seems to be based on growth of cars sales and numbers of sales that we may never return to.

[Norman Verona]

The majority of Audi dealerships are owned by Audi. 

 

Beginning to see why the charges are so high. 

 

I think I gave better service from a dirty, greasy little garage in the West End than these gin palaces do. No one came to me with a problem with their car and didn't get the problem taken away and the car fixed. Not my experience of today's dealerships.

[Wile E. Coyote]

My youngest lad has a 12 plate Kia Rio and the service package is £299 for the first 3 years.  Very reasonable I reckon - certainly doesn't make it worthwhile not using a main dealer IMHO

 

You do sometimes have to go into these with your eyes open and check the service schedules - increasingly there are lots of "long life" oils/components used that would just outlast 3yrs/30k miles.

 

FWIW, I generally don't trust main dealers.  Couple of examples:

 

1) "Tyres need replacing": but they have 3mm left.

2) "That scratch on your car?  Must have been vandal damage after you collected it": how many vandals use touch up pen?

3) "Your mirror housing's painted and fitted"*: why, from the other side of the car park, can I already see it's a different shade?

4) "Your wing's been repaired and painted"*: why are there deep scratches in the filler? Then...

5) "Your wing's been refilled and painted"*: what are these yellow marks in the (silver) paint?

6) To marque itself: any chance you can tell me how much oil my car takes for an oil/filter change? Why do I want to know? Well, I'd like to try to understand why the amount of oil I get billed for varies by up to 30% depending on which of the three closest dealers I take it to... (no satisfactory explanation forthcoming)

 

(* bl**** airport parking!)

 

Compare that to the indie I use: "No mate, we didn't fit the new cup holder.  Spring had just slipped off, 10 minute job to fix."

[dombanks]

never mind normit doesnt matter, the cost of main dealer servicing is rediculous. maybe its gone that way to get people to buy these service plans? if you say its due to them having shiney new buildings and having to have too many admin staff then ill take your word for it. I still think its a rip off what they charge and i thnk that these costs put alot of people like me who dont buy new off.

 

i hate to think how much and inspection 2 would be for my Z.... probably not worth it at BMW due to its age but maybe an indipendant place.

[Norman Verona]

Dom, I agree 100% with you. The trade has allowed itself to be ruled by people who have no idea about service but everything about presentation. They specify what furniture, desks, coffee machine, ramps and lots more. All the highest price stuff of course. Funny thing is that in France the dealers just ignore all these rules and carry on as they always did. If a UK dealer did that they would get notice. They are held over a barrel due to the investment they have made in the dealership for the current franchise.

 

Wile, those are the practices that give dealers a bad name. If we damaged a customers car we lent the customer a car, fixed his and then delivered it back to him and asked if was happy with the repair. I always inspected thse cars before they were returned. If anyone was guilty of overbooking materials to a job they were sacked as per their contract of employment. It's theft, nothing less. (Normally oil is overbooked so the mechanic can build up his own stock for his moonighting)