subarashi

Alright - so here's my beef for the day......

I'm a third generation BMW owner so don't get me wrong, I'm proud of the heritage...

BUT...

I've had my 545i for almost three years now and although I love the vehicle - what kills me though is the BMW media hypocrisy and all these commericals I keep seeing about BMWs excellent maintainence plan. Then there's the coffee stall at the dealership that reads "this costs more to maintain than your BMW."

IMHO, that's a bunch of BS, esp after you cross 50K and get on that extended warranty fraud scheme [but that's another story].

Sure, wipers, brake pads, oil changes and fluids are taken care of [when you ASK for them!!!] When has your dealer or SA told you that it's time to change the wiper blades after all??? Or you know what, let's top off your fluids while you are here!! Over four dealerships I have been to NEVER do this unless you ask them or the iDrive signals there's a need to replace windshield wiper fluid, for example....

Also, why aren't tyre rotations and scheduled wheel alignments not included? Is it just me or isn't that part of maintaining your ride?!

Every time I go to my dealer, I pay for rotating my tyres and it ain't cheap over the cost of the car. This is just a common sense thing to do. I know other members here even change their oil out more frequently than the iDrive reccomends, so obviously there are more of you that see this as being somewhat of a hypocrisy... Where's the justice you guys at BMW NA???

Has anyone ever calculated what it would cost BMW to actually do simple maintainence [as they currently do], for 50K??? I betcha it won't be as much as we thought it was. After all, they are clearly shaving corners wherever they can... If BMW truly wants to lead the industry, make it easier on all of us and do everything the right way. Don't make your 50K clients shell out 30 bucks just to maintain their car when you're out there telling the world that it's all on you.... It just ain't right....

EBMCS03

Ya I hear ya... I feel the same way but just not as strong. If you calculate the cost to maintain a BMW the way BMWs maintenance maintains it... it wont cost that much... Neighboring $2K A lot of it has to do with your dealer... I know my dealer will do top offs for free...

12K miles a year or 1 year... average driver = 12K miles / year. lets go with that...

Lets see 4 oil change. = $400
2 brake flushes = $400
at most 2 wiper blade change = no idea lets guess $100 and thats A LOT
1 micro filter = $60
Brake pads = $500?

I doubt you'll need new brake pads and rotors in 50K miles unless you really drive a lot of city traffic.

I think thats it... = ~ $1500 for the average driver...

Plus the "inspections they do" riiight alll the "inspections they do." shall we tack on $1000 of labor? so $2500 for 4 years to maintain using BMWs recommendations?

Your milage may vary.

For the crazy people who drive twice as much, now this will be worth it...

oil change 8X = $800
2 brake flushes every 2 years = $400
Wipers = $200
Micro filters = $120
Brake Pads and Rotors =$1200

Whats that? $2700 tack on the now twice as much inspection cost $2000 = $4700 WOZERS! BMWs free maintenance plan isnt that bad after all

Not sure if I left out any other maintenance stuff... top offs? Some dealers dont even do them for free... and that cost is negligible... so scratch it.

In the end I still like BMWs maintenance plan. I like knowing I dont have to plop down $200 everytime I walk into the dealer at least for 4 years. For 4 years whatever the heck happens its free to me.

subarashi

EBMSC03,

You make a valid point -- but you forget that BMW is already including this up front in the cost of the car. Sure, it doesn't come out of your pocket when you get there but is it truly free? I could argue that the 2 or 4K would work better for you at 5% interest in a money market account somewhere.... In other words, they're taking a downpayment for their maintainence and earning interest on it...

Im not bitter...I love the service they provide! I just wish they would call it like it is. This forum is full of horror stories on how folks got 'ripped' by statements like 'this is not included in your warranty.'

case in point -- the chrome trim from my drivers side door was peeling off, just lifting off really. i take it to bmw with 51k miles on my car. Guess what, not included in the "extended" warrranty... That's another 200 bucks out of my pocket...

gets old pretty quick my friend.....

EBMCS03

Ah the interest / make your money work for you argument... I know. And I knew someone will point that out too. Even if BMW doesnt offer the free maintenance starting tomorrow do you think BMW will reduce their cars by $4000? Highly doubt it. I look at it exactly what they call it. "free" take it as a perk that they throw in for free. If it works and you dont have to pay great! if not... oh wells... like me... I change my oil in between the recommend time intervals...

So far I've gotten lets see... 2 oil changes, a brake flush, and microfilter replacement that i had to FIGHT for... literally argue for. so how much was that Free Maintenance worth? less than $500. I totally got ripped off. Yet the stupid Lexus that i had for less than a year I dumped $400+ in it for "maintenance" oil change every 5K miles and "inspections"

bobr2001

i had my door trim replaced for free, and the CD player, and the CCC unit and the wipers and the cabin filter and the ........

EBMCS03

Those sound like warranty issues not maintenance... besides the wipers and cabin air filter...

subarashi

Yeah -- the warranty is one thing and I think that's great. My issue is that the maintainence really tries to cut corners. I would much rather have it than not but I wish a company like BMW who literally pioneers the automotive industry would do it and do it 100 percent right. Set the benchamrk for others NOT to be able to reach it rather than leave it short of flawless.......

Look at the flip side --> would you NOT buy a BMW if maintainence were NOT included??

I STILL would and I STILL would be happy. But let's call a spade a spade --- its "some maintainence included" rather than "worry free" maintainence, which by a lot of admissions on this forum, it is not.

As for them reducing the cost of the car, only if hell freezes over they may. Remember that the labor costs in the EU are much higher than the US where the warranty and maintainence is also offered! I suspect different markets have different drains on their pockets and the US market is probably not as much of a concern to them as is the European market...

Well, that's my $0.02. I love these cars but would like to think of luxury being a thing you shouldn't have to fight for!!!

corporate

I have a few comments....I understand why you are upset with gimmic..part of it is convenience factor etc. to have maint. paid for.
The coffee stand is a little corny, but its sales...are u in sales ? Im just saying nothings perfect, if you want perfect well, nevermind it'l never happen....
My big question is why did you have to FIGHT for your services, etc....
Tyre rotations are subjective, some need it some dont, you cannot put time frame or mileage on it, plus it drives tyre sales, plus more then half the cars have staggered setups...hang in there.....i paid 1200 for maint. on M5 back in the day and saved me alotta money on services.....but seems now these cars dont need much til 100k etc....
keep up the good work....

DrLev99

I took mine in for its first "real" service for state inspection/emissions.....although that part was not free, the dealer did change my wiper blades under warranty without my having to ask ($10 part normally, as seen on my invoice). And that was a surprise, since it's not something I expected considering my past experiences with them.

Some basic service retail chains like Monro here in the states will rotate tires for free during inspection, so if they can do it, BMW certainly should. As for alignment, one/year would be reasonable, but I think that would be too time consuming and costly for BMW. People might not have any issues at all, and it takes a pretty good amount of time to throw a car up on a rack and attach all of the gear.

subarashi

Thanks for the feedback..glad I see we have a real conversation going.
I agree ~ nothing is perfect and No, I am not in sales [thank god]. Acutally, I'm in the healthcare industry and in a way, thus the service industry. When I take care of sick folk in the hospital -- there is an unsaid agreement that the care provider will go out of their way [really], to do their best job for you while you are here... Why is this no different when you put your car [which could easily be your life in the event that maintainence isn't properly attended to], is in for service?

I have frequently had to fight for things that I felt were necessary that my dealer thought "were not really indicated." If you browse this forum, you will see many folk out there have had similar issue [see EBMs Microfilter issue above]. These have included brake pads that were squealing, wiper blades that needed changing, and even re-aiming of my headlights that "is not covered" under BMW NAs maintainence plan...

My point to all you browsers of this forum is simply this:
it's not a Honda or a Hyundai, it's a freaking Beemer and the clients/folks that buy these cars are not simplistic individuals but keen auto enthusaists who love their vehicle and their driving experience. So -- why not garnish their passion with truly top class service??? Seems to me that would make you come back for more and more rather than have to think about arguing or taking BS from your SA [who doesn't know as much as half of these forum members know, btw].

It's great when your dealer actually comes to you and says, "Oh...and btw...we checked your windshield wiper fluid and it was low so we topped it off!" Contrast this with getting home to realize your windshield wiper fluid low light is on [yep, getting home after the dealership where you just picked up your car buddy].

To answer your particular point: Tyre rotations, while they vary slightly from setup to setup, are really not that big of an issue and can easily be included in your worry free maintainence. As can brake pads and spark plugs and all the other stuff that IS included. When I asked for it on my last visit -- I had to pay 29.99 for it! Hmm...not that I care about the money, but don't you really jipped paying 30 bucks to have something done to prevent uneven wear on your tyres. AND -- after they were rotated, you'd think they would check the tyre pressure to make sure this was adjusted....but right again...no go bro!

Maybe I'm just over-reacting, but get to my mileage [65K] with an extended warranty and this seems rather a drawn out affair with mucho ado about nothing ...... BMW, on behalf of the over 50K mile folk out there ---> are you listening????