image969

So I'm coming up on my first oil change and BMW quotes me price of 130.00.
Seemed a bit high, but I could be wrong.
Anyways.. I called a few places and Sears for example quoted me 73.00

Now BMW told me its full synth 5w30 that they use.

Sears had same exact thing coming up in system.

Is there anything special that im missing as to why Id wanna pay 130 instead of 73?

just wanna make sure Im not doing anything to hurt my car.. Cause Ill pay the 130 if you guys recommend it for specific reason. Thanks.

EddieboyS

BMW recommends high temp/hi shear long life synthetic, 5w30 or 0w40. I would probably go for it If Sears is providing that and a quality filter. Acceptable brands/weights are listed on the site in multiple locations if you do a search.

image969

OK cool.. So the fact that theirs is stamped BMW on the bottle isn't the bigger concern..

5w30 is what makes it "high temp/hi shear long life synthetic"?

EddieboyS

It's basically the Long-life (LL-01) HT/HS formulation and rating.

Approved Synthetic Oils for the US Market below, others may have been added since these were posted

Castrol Syntec European Formula SAE 0W-30
Mobil 1 SAE 0W-40
Pennzoil Platinum European Formula Ultra SAE 5W-30
Valvoline SynPower SAE 5W-30
BMW Synthenic Oil 5W-30

NOCTRNAL

Personally, I use Lubro Moly oil, and wouldn't really go with anything else. Oil is something it's definitely not worth cheaping out on, especially in a higher end vehicle. Not all synthetics are equal.

tpaxadpom

my dealership charged me $90. Another local dealership quoted $100 for oil change. That's for 550i that takes 8.5qt of oil. I don't know if you have 550i or not. Oh and the indy shop quoted $120! To purchase filter and oil from dealership
I am going to change oil/filter myself next time. Walmart started to carry Mobil 1 SAE 0W-40. I will buy filter online and stay away from dealership for any maintenance work as much as possible.
It is not difficult to change oil and there are videos on youtube showing how to do that. I doubt sears will use BMW approved oil but I would check with them to make sure. $73 sounds like a good deal otherwise.

BimmerFan52

If you want to be precise, use a BMW approved LL-01 oil (you can find the list using Google).

However, that being said, if you stick to the bigger name brand oils and use a synthetic, it really doesn't matter too much which brand you use, as long as you are cognizant of your individual driving conditions and understand that you need to change the oil while it still has enough of the additives left. Don't follow the BMW iDrive CBM. If you error, error to the conservative side and change your oil more often. This will keep your engine clean, it will run cooler and your gaskets will tend to last longer.

Oil doesn't age by the mile, but rather by hours of engine operation. Highway driving means less hours per thousand miles, whereas city driving is more hours per thousand miles. Short trips tend to cause water to condense in the oil as the engine doesn't reach full operating temperature.

The magic of modern multi-grade synthetic oils in first in the base stock quality, and secondly, but every bit as important, the additives, many of which are sacrificial (they get used up suspending dirt, fighting oxidation and fighting a natural move towards an acidic pH as the oil oxidizes.

Good rule of thumb: Change oil every 300 hours of operation, every 6000 miles of operation or once per year, which every comes first.

RE: Where to change your oil
I am a DIY guy. I buy Mobil 1 0W-40 (LL-01 oil) for $22.47 per 5 quart jug and use Hengst oil filter @ $10. Cost is less than $50 per oil change (using 8.5 quarts in a 545i). I am sort of anal in that I want to know it is done right. I get to look under the engine for leaks, check belts and filters, listen up close to how it is running and check all of the other fluids.

But DIY is not for everyone. First you might want to watch out for dealer specials. Or talk to an independent BMW mechanic (specializing in BMWs) and see what they charge. You might be able to bring your own oil and save some money.

I used Walmart's tire and lube center successfully for years, but if you take your car to any big oil change place you must check their work. The group at my Walmart in Scottsdale, AZ doesn't see a lot of turnover, so they did pretty good work, but I still checked the drain plug, filler cap and watched for leaks each time.

Any place that hires untrained people and has high turnover is a risk for your car. They can short fill, overfill, strip the drain plug thread, leave the drain plug loose, use the wrong oil, install the filter wrong, leave fasteners loose in splash pans, etc., etc.

You should be able to find a good quality shop that will do just the labor for $25-$30 (especially if you are a little flexible as to which day or time so the shop can use your oil change as "fill work" when they are slow). If you bring your own oil & filter you should be able to stay under $80 total.

Good luck.

tpaxadpom

BimmerFan52, where do you buy Hengst oil filter if you don't mind me asking?

BimmerFan52

Usually mail order - AutohausAZ. They are on sale for $7.99 right now in fact. They are a reputable house. Shipping isn't cheap so try to combine orders with something else or order a couple of filters at a time.

Last year I scored four on ebay when a previous owner of a 745i was stuck with them after he sold his ride, and I bought all 4 of them for $18 shipped.

Be careful though of your source on line. I have seen Hengst filters on the Web with the point of shipment being China. I don't know if Hengst manufactures in China but I kind of doubt it. I know there was a problem in the past with Mann filters being counterfeited.

tpaxadpom

thank you for this useful information. I also noticed that hengst filters are shipped from China on ebay. I thought mann was the original oem but I didn't know about the counterfeit mann product.
I have purchased air filter and pump to detect fuel pressure leak from autohausaz. Now that we have 2 550i it would be easier to buy $50 worth of stuff to qualify for free shipping.