BMW Rip off?

mickob16

I bought a 05 525d in Aug from a BMW dealer.It was leaking oil and had a problem with the heater,both of which are covered under warranty.Then they rang to say that the brake fluid was due a change and it would cost €150!!Surely thats taking the piss.If the car was fully serviced like they said when i was buying it they surely they should have done the brake fluid??

Gumbo

mickob16 wrote: »

I bought a 05 525d in Aug from a BMW dealer.It was leaking oil and had a problem with the heater,both of which are covered under warranty.Then they rang to say that the brake fluid was due a change and it would cost €150!!Surely thats taking the piss.If the car was fully serviced like they said when i was buying it they surely they should have done the brake fluid??

no, basically the car has CBS (Condition Based Servicing) so your OBC decides when to change a host of servicce items based on time/driving style/conditions etc.

your car could signal an oil change in Dec 10 and then on a totally separate warning, brake pads in Feb 2011.

frank gooding

Go to a good independant avooid main dealer rip off at all cost.

My mate is the Bosch agent for Ireland based in Baldonnel Ind est.
Just off the Naas road kingswood exit.

MKW motors

Ask for Mark or Keith Walsh.
01 4595266

Seweryn

mickob16 wrote: »

Then they rang to say that the brake fluid was due a change and it would cost €150!!Surely thats taking the piss.

That really is taking the piss... Unbelievable. The fluid is €8 per bottle, so how much do they charge for 15 min labour .

phelixoflaherty

I'd love to see you change brake fluid in 15 mins.

Seweryn

phelixoflaherty wrote: »

I'd love to see you change brake fluid in 15 mins.

I did it, not once. To suck out the old fluid takes less than half a minute. Pour in new fluid, call another person for 5 min. to push the brake pedal and undo the bleeders to flush the pipes with new fluid. Top up the reservoir.

mickdw

I think its about €60 for a brake fluid change at vw which is actually not too bad. That BMW price is too much

Gumbo

mickdw wrote: »

I think its about €60 for a brake fluid change at vw which is actually not too bad. That BMW price is too much

deffo, just to be clear, in my original post, i wasnt justifiying the BMW price, just the reasons why they wouldnt of touched the brake fluid if it wasnt required.

the car is out of warranty so i would recommend :

• AC Cars - South Circular Road
• Scully Auto Care - Fairview
• your own trusted mechanic

mickob16

Yeah car still under warranty.What i dont get is that you spend a fortune buying it and then after a few months it needs routine servicing.It was like a new car to me when i got it so dont expect to have to fork out for it already.

Gumbo

mickob16 wrote: »

Yeah car still under warranty.What i dont get is that you spend a fortune buying it and then after a few months it needs routine servicing.It was like a new car to me when i got it so dont expect to have to fork out for it already.

you only get 2 years warranty with BMW's in Ireland, so your car would of been out of warranty sometime in 2007, but i assume you have the one year AUC warranty from the dealer which will cover major defects.

this is a service item and maybe when you were buying, you should of check the OBC and it would of told you that the brake fluid was due in the next few months and you could of negeotiated that into the price, for example my E90 is telling me i need an oil change in 7k km/Feb 2011 so i know thats coming. but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

ring around some independants, im sure you could get it done for about 50-60% of the BMW price.

mickob16

They gave me a two year warranty.Not sure what an AUC is!My fault for not checking OBC at time

Gumbo

mickob16 wrote: »

They gave me a two year warranty.Not sure what an AUC is!My fault for not checking OBC at time

its BMW's term for an Authorised Used Car.

mickdw

You bought an 05 car and dont expect to be paying for routine servicing? Its a bit niave to think that an 05 car will not need anything for a year or 2.

Fishtits

Has anyone ever experienced or heard of brake failure due to old fluid?

I've had too many cars to count, from brand new to chicken coops and have never come a cropper due to "out of date brake fluid"

Rubbish IMHO. Stay calm & carry on.

johnmike

mickdw wrote: »

You bought an 05 car and dont expect to be paying for routine servicing? Its a bit niave to think that an 05 car will not need anything for a year or 2.

i would have to agree with mickdw. the car is a couple of weeks shy of being 6 years old and u think it is a rip off having to pay for routine servicing..is this ur first car?. but u will get the job done cheaper if u look around

keithclancy

johnmike wrote: »

i would have to agree with mickdw. the car is a couple of weeks shy of being 6 years old and u think it is a rip off having to pay for routine servicing..is this ur first car?. but u will get the job done cheaper if u look around

Indeed ... I've seen cars with the same brake fluid for 5 - 6 years.
Meh ... .

mickob16

I get what ye all saying about having to pay for routine servicing.Maybe i am naive to think that after spending almost 20k on a car that i would get longer than three months before it needed 'routine servicing'

Stevie Dakota

mickob16 wrote: »

Maybe i am naive to think that after spending almost 20k on a car that i would get longer than three months before it needed 'routine servicing'

I can see how you would be annoyed but as kceire says in post 2 that's the just the way CBS works. AFAIK the brake fluid light is timed to come on every 2 years so the oil is far from old, you certainly don't need to panic if you choose to ignore that light for a while.

Anan1

Fishtits wrote: »

Has anyone ever experienced or heard of brake failure due to old fluid?

No, but I have had to replace the odd caliper and wondered whether regular fluid changes would have kept it working.

robbie99

mickob16 wrote: »

I bought a 05 525d in Aug from a BMW dealer.It was leaking oil and had a problem with the heater,both of which are covered under warranty.Then they rang to say that the brake fluid was due a change and it would cost €150!!Surely thats taking the piss.If the car was fully serviced like they said when i was buying it they surely they should have done the brake fluid??

UK Approved Used Cars come with a 4k miles servicing guarantee but I don't see anything similar on bmw.ie

from http://bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/bmwauc/benefits/0,,1156___,00.html?selItem=3

bmw.co.uk wrote:

A used BMW can only become Approved if has been maintained in strict accordance with BMW Servicing recommendations. That's just for starters. We'll also carry out any necessary work before delivery if we find your car has a service due within 4,000 miles or its Service Interval Light system, which intelligently calculates when services are due based on your driving habits, shows less than three lights. The only exception is where a car has an associated Service Package which reduces the requirement to 1,000 miles or one service light.

Gumbo

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

you certainly don't need to panic if you choose to ignore that light for a while.

the only thing that worries me about this, is that its a BMW AUC, and to keep the 2 year warranty, i would assume the service intervals need to be carried out to BMW requirements. i think they allow + or - 1500 miles on it though.

Noffles

I've just had the oil changed and the sparks changed and a "winter check" whatever that is for 213 inc vat... seeemed ok but I'm debating that now??

Car 05 320i (new shape)

Gumbo

Noffles wrote: »

I've just had the oil changed and the sparks changed and a "winter check" whatever that is for 213 inc vat... seeemed ok but I'm debating that now??

Car 05 320i (new shape)

oil is Castrol - 65e for it in a motor factors here in dublin
plugs are long life irridium or similar - 75e in motor factors
assume they done the oil filter too as BMW include it in their oil change pricing - about 20e from BMW, i tend to use OEM oil filters.

plus labour so tbh it would of cost you 160 plus labour to get it done as a nixer so i think you done well getting it done by BMW for that.

its 170e alone for an oil and filter change on my E90 320d in my local dealer at the moment.

x in the city

only idiots take cars like a bmw for 'servicing' when they are out of warranty

a local indy would get the same work done for at least (or better than) half of what a bmw outlet would charge.

it seems telling this to anyone is like talking to a wall.

and not just bmw, any marque.

in exceptional cases, of course you may need specific diagnostic equipment from a main dealers, but generally speaking a local indy would be find who has any decent set up

Noffles

I need to get my filters done on the car, so I presume from theabove response I should be able to take it to a "normal" garage and get this done. It's the internal A/C filters BTW.

listermint

Try AC cars, they are one of the best BMW independents in Dublin.

They have recently moved from SCR to a new larger premises on the long mile road. Old Finn Redy Dealership.

Great setup down there and they really know their stuff.



By the way the pollen filter is a fairly easy change if your remotely handy with a screwdriver. Plenty of guides online. Generally located in passenger footwell.

Noffles

listermint wrote: »

Try AC cars, they are one of the best BMW independents in Dublin.

They have recently moved from SCR to a new larger premises on the long mile road. Old Finn Redy Dealership.

Great setup down there and they really know their stuff.



By the way the pollen filter is a fairly easy change if your remotely handy with a screwdriver. Plenty of guides online. Generally located in passenger footwell.

Really.... Oh, I'll have a look then, can anyone guide me as to where to get thee from?

listermint

Noffles wrote: »

Really.... Oh, I'll have a look then, can anyone guide me as to where to get thee from?

They are facing the Bluebell Luas Stop on the Naas Road.

There is a line of car dealerships in the row, Volvo / Renault / Hyundai etc. I believe they are in the last 2 ones in the row. Should be sign posted.