Wiper blades

Clareman

I got my 2014 3 Series BMW serviced today, my wipers need replacing, they offered to do it for €93, jolly nice of them but I declined their offer. I'm looking for wipers now and I realise I know NOTHING, can anyone share how to get the wipers up so I can change them (I'm used to keys that you take out when the wiper is half way up the wind screen) and would have anyone a link to a decent set of wipers at a decent price?

Thanks

Atlantic Dawn

I like the Bosch Aerotwin.
https://www.wiperblades.co.uk/bmw-3-series-saloon-years-2012-to-2017/bosch-am24u-aerotwin-and-bosch-am19u-aerotwin-twin-pack-wiper-blades/

Here's how to replace...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHAaxeiApB0

Jimmyswinnin

Clareman wrote: »

I got my 2014 3 Series BMW serviced today, my wipers need replacing, they offered to do it for €93, jolly nice of them but I declined their offer. I'm looking for wipers now and I realise I know NOTHING, can anyone share how to get the wipers up so I can change them (I'm used to keys that you take out when the wiper is half way up the wind screen) and would have anyone a link to a decent set of wipers at a decent price?

Any motor factors will recommend a good wiper blade, or go on micksgarage to buy online. YouTube how to replace wiper blades, sorted!

Clareman

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

I like the Bosch Aerotwin.
https://www.wiperblades.co.uk/bmw-3-series-saloon-years-2012-to-2017/bosch-am24u-aerotwin-and-bosch-am19u-aerotwin-twin-pack-wiper-blades/

Here's how to replace...
dHAaxeiApB0

Wow, thanks a million, I'll get them ordered now.

Don't suppose you've a link to decent run flats? Looking for €445 for 2

Fiskar

14,371 posts and you know nothing!
Go to a local motorfactors or nearest halfords, ask for a set of Bosch wiper blades for said 3 Series. Better still, from the comfort of your armchair, go to micksgarge.com and price them there.
https://www.micksgarage.com/search/wiper%20blades/bmw/bmw%203-series/3%20series%202011%20onwards/318%20d/150

Clareman

Jimmyswinnin wrote: »

Any motor factors will recommend a good wiper blade, or go on micksgarage to buy online. YouTube how to replace wiper blades, sorted!

You're underestimating the amount of a numpty I am when it comes to cars and the increase in price you get when you mention BMW.

I'd probably end up buying 3 sets of the wrong blades and break the strut cause I watched the wrong video, I'd have no problem doing it on my old Avensis but all the electronics in the BMW and the cost in getting anything fixed in them frighten the sh1t out of me

Pete123456

What is the tyre size?

Clareman

Fiskar wrote: »

14,371 posts and you know nothing!
Go to a local motorfactors or nearest halfords, ask for a set of Bosch wiper blades for said 3 Series. Better still, from the comfort of your armchair, go to micksgarge.com and price them there.
https://www.micksgarage.com/search/wiper%20blades/bmw/bmw%203-series/3%20series%202011%20onwards/318%20d/150

Post count means nothing when it comes to my ineptatutite when it comes to anything motor related, hurling/football/rugby/handball/Clare/Limerick no problem, breaking my car I'll ask a second opinion.

I have installed my own Parrott handsfree kit in the past though, it's just the BMW badge that frightens me

Jimmyswinnin

Don't suppose you've a link to decent run flats? Looking for €445 for 2 [/quote]

What size? I've a mate with a new tyre shop. He's good value

Fiskar

Clareman wrote: »

Wow, thanks a million, I'll get them ordered now.

Don't suppose you've a link to decent run flats? Looking for €445 for 2

The joys of a BMW driveway car. Enjoy, mate at work with same issue!

Clareman

225/50

There's a great tyre place in Ennis that I always go to so I'll give him the business I think

Clareman

Fiskar wrote: »

The joys of a BMW driveway car. Enjoy, mate at work with same issue!

Great car, really economical to run, comfortable, etc. etc. but today was my last "free" service so I think it might be time to get rid of it

Pete123456

Definitely worth ringing around, there's a big variation in price between places. Mid west tyres in shannon order them in from holland, Dunlop sportsmaxx fit and balance for less than 200 a piece but they're 255/45/17s... apparently a very rare size...

Clareman

Pete123456 wrote: »

Definitely worth ringing around, there's a big variation in price between places. Mid west tyres in shannon order them in from holland, Dunlop sportsmaxx fit and balance for less than 200 a piece but they're 255/45/17s... apparently a very rare size...

When I worked in Shannon I used to go there, sound lads with a great service, used to be a snooker hall next/near there as well. It'd be a bit out of my way now, I go to John Devitt's in Ennis now.

Jimmyswinnin

Clareman wrote: »

225/50

There's a great tyre place in Ennis that I always go to so I'll give him the business I think

Fair enough, just text my mate there anyway out of interest. He said there's probably an R17 at the end of the size (225/50R17). He's fitting them runflats for €130 each, far cry from what you were quoted!!!!

Clareman

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

I like the Bosch Aerotwin.
https://www.wiperblades.co.uk/bmw-3-series-saloon-years-2012-to-2017/bosch-am24u-aerotwin-and-bosch-am19u-aerotwin-twin-pack-wiper-blades/

Here's how to replace...
dHAaxeiApB0

In case anyone else is a tight arse like me "SAVE5" get's you 5% off that site, 99p towards parcel motel

Clareman

Jimmyswinnin wrote: »

Fair enough, just text my mate there anyway out of interest. He said there's probably an R17 at the end of the size (225/50R17). He's fitting them runflats for €130 each, far cry from what you were quoted!!!!

Yup, R17.

You've to love main dealers, they give lovely coffee but screw you for every penny they can.

GB FAN GALWAY 30

Clareman wrote: »

Wow, thanks a million, I'll get them ordered now.

Don't suppose you've a link to decent run flats? Looking for €445 for 2

Why run flats if you don't mind me asking?

colm_mcm

Jimmyswinnin wrote: »

Fair enough, just text my mate there anyway out of interest. He said there's probably an R17 at the end of the size (225/50R17). He's fitting them runflats for €130 each, far cry from what you were quoted!!!!

What brand are they?

Pete123456

Clareman wrote: »

Yup, R17.

You've to love main dealers, they give lovely coffee but screw you for every penny they can.

Yeah it's gas... I needed a windscreen washer sensor for a 5 series in a hurry and had no choice but to order it at Conlons... 17 quid for what was a small piece of plastic in the shape of an L... I made sure to have 2 cups of coffee, some biscuits and took some for the road

naughtysmurf

Try F&G on Athlunkard Street, flutter your eyelashes & they will more than likely fit them for you too

Clareman

GB FAN GALWAY 30 wrote: »

Why run flats if you don't mind me asking?

Because I've no option to keep a spare and they're better than a can of spray (maybe)

Pete123456

GB FAN GALWAY 30 wrote: »

Why run flats if you don't mind me asking?

Probably because the backs are run flats aswell and he doesn't wanna replace all 4 and have to sort out a can of "get me home foam"

Although I do agree that runflats are a joke and should never have been put on

Pete123456

Clareman wrote: »

Because I've no option to keep a spare and they're better than a can of spray (maybe)

They are VERY loud when flat though... strange to drive on them

Clareman

Pete123456 wrote: »

Yeah it's gas... I needed a windscreen washer sensor for a 5 series in a hurry and had no choice but to order it at Conlons... 17 quid for what was a small piece of plastic in the shape of an L... I made sure to have 2 cups of coffee, some biscuits and took some for the road

It is nice coffee though, I'm partial to their chocolate oat cookies. Oh yeah, grab a paper and a couple of brochures on the way as well

Jimmyswinnin

colm_mcm wrote: »

What brand are they?

He sent me a few brands he has in stock, those were the cheapest;
Petlas €130
Kumho €150
Yokohama €190

GB FAN GALWAY 30

Clareman wrote: »

Because I've no option to keep a spare and they're better than a can of spray (maybe)

Ah right, had them on a CC and I wouldn't wish them on a wheelbarrow after it but then again the CC was a backbreaker in general..

Clareman

Pete123456 wrote: »

Probably because the backs are run flats aswell and he doesn't wanna replace all 4 and have to sort out a can of "get me home foam"

Although I do agree that runflats are a joke and should never have been put on

It's the rear that need changing. I do high motorway mileage every week (over 1,000 km) and I do believe that as the tyres are the only thing touching the road so you shouldn't scrimp on tyres. I don't want to be stuck on the side of the motorway somewhere with a can of junk that's not working.

Pete123456

Clareman wrote: »

It is nice coffee though, I'm partial to their chocolate oat cookies. Oh yeah, grab a paper and a couple of brochures on the way as well

I agree it's a lovely place to wait... and sitting into the cars is nice too.... aherns in Tralee had a long wheelbase 7 recently and I thought it was weird to have all the controls in the back...

Still, even with the paper, the coffee and the bishcuits, you still feel like you're entitled to the table and the chair too :pac:

GB FAN GALWAY 30

Pete123456 wrote: »

Yeah it's gas... I needed a windscreen washer sensor for a 5 series in a hurry and had no choice but to order it at Conlons... 17 quid for what was a small piece of plastic in the shape of an L... I made sure to have 2 cups of coffee, some biscuits and took some for the road

Read an article recently about the amount of money being spent in R&D depts by the big german manufacturers trying to make the cars almost unserviceable by anyone but main dealer. Locks on software etc. They reckon within 2-3 years service depts will aim for 75% retention! Seems very high.

Clareman

Jimmyswinnin wrote: »

He sent me a few brands he has in stock, those were the cheapest;
Petlas €130
Kumho €150
Yokohama €190

I've Michelin Primacy on at the moment and have gotten ~75,000km out of them so I'll probably go the same again, I think they were €160 each when I got them last but I can't be sure, I'll let you know when I get them.

Pete123456

Clareman wrote: »

It's the rear that need changing. I do high motorway mileage every week (over 1,000 km) and I do believe that as the tyres are the only thing touching the road so you shouldn't scrimp on tyres. I don't want to be stuck on the side of the motorway somewhere with a can of junk that's not working.

Oh fair enough... the rears are wider than the fronts on the 2012 and the fronts are 225 that's why I thought that

Yeah I fully agree that they're a better option and to never go for chapel tyres, but it would be better for everyone if they had a spare and four regular tyres

Clareman

Pete123456 wrote: »

I agree it's a lovely place to wait... and sitting into the cars is nice too.... aherns in Tralee had a long wheelbase 7 recently and I thought it was weird to have all the controls in the back...

Still, even with the paper, the coffee and the bishcuits, you still feel like you're entitled to the table and the chair too :pac:

They've kiddie cars above the door gathering dust, I made a comment "my kids would love 1 of those" and I was told "hold on and I'll get a price", I think the cheapest was €275

Jimmyswinnin

Clareman wrote: »

I've Michelin Primacy on at the moment and have gotten ~75,000km out of them so I'll probably go the same again, I think they were €160 each when I got them last but I can't be sure, I'll let you know when I get them.

Sounds like a good price for them! Good value getting that kinda mileage!

Clareman

Pete123456 wrote: »

Oh fair enough... the rears are wider than the fronts on the 2012 and the fronts are 225 that's why I thought that

Yeah I fully agree that they're a better option and to never go for chapel tyres, but it would be better for everyone if they had a spare and four regular tyres

This is my first rear wheel drive car and after the first time I went around a roundabout a bit quick I'll never have poor tyres on the back again

Clareman

Jimmyswinnin wrote: »

Sounds like a good price for them! Good value getting that kinda mileage!

I'm a tightarse drive, avoid using the breaks as much as possible, cruise control whenever I can and always make sure I've the proper pressure. I used to have a Civic and I was going through tyres to beat the band until a tyre guy (might have been in Shannon actually) pointed out all the break dust and told me to stop resting my foot on the break pedal when slowing down. .

Pete123456

GB FAN GALWAY 30 wrote: »

Read an article recently about the amount of money being spent in R&D depts by the big german manufacturers trying to make the cars almost unserviceable by anyone but main dealer. Locks on software etc. They reckon within 2-3 years service depts will aim for 75% retention! Seems very high.

Wouldn't surprise me... I understand it's a main dealer, but to see this little piece of blue plastic in the shape of an L and thinking it couldn't have cost more than 5 cent and charging 17 quid and I think that might have even been ex VAT

Clareman wrote: »

They've kiddie cars above the door gathering dust, I made a comment "my kids would love 1 of those" and I was told "hold on and I'll get a price", I think the cheapest was €275

Yeah for the one with pedals. If you want the powered with the little battery in it that flashes lights etc you have to tick them on the options list haha

Clareman

Pete123456 wrote: »

Yeah for the one with pedals. If you want the powered with the little battery in it that flashes lights etc you have to tick them on the options list haha

Didn't even have pedals, 1 that they sit on and push themselves forward with their feat.

I'd like to get 1 of those battery powered 1's for them though if they're every "cheap" or imitation, spotted one last year but they were sold out.

GB FAN GALWAY 30

Pete123456 wrote: »

Wouldn't surprise me... I understand it's a main dealer, but to see this little piece of blue plastic in the shape of an L and thinking it couldn't have cost more than 5 cent and charging 17 quid and I think that might have even been ex VAT



Absolutely agree with you but the problem is simple. German infrastructure in an Irish market that hasn't the volume to support it unless everything is hugely priced..

Clareman

1 of these I think it was

https://www.outdoortoys.co.uk/bmw-i8-style-child-s-12v-ride-on-car-white

Pete123456

Clareman wrote: »

This is my first rear wheel drive car and after the first time I went around a roundabout a bit quick I'll never have poor tyres on the back again

I'm amazed you got 75k Kms out of the michelins though, the sportsmaxx don't seem to last pi$sing time but they're bought because I seem to be the only one to notice the tyres are worn to nothing... (not my car btw but I organise these things)

Clareman

GB FAN GALWAY 30 wrote: »

Absolutely agree with you but the problem is simple. German infrastructure in an Irish market that hasn't the volume to support it unless everything is hugely priced..

That and the ABSOLUTE waste of people, there was 3 people there to handle customer's service, a service manager, 4 sales people, a receptionist and 2 old fellas who I didn't know what they were. That was just where you can see, I've no idea how many people were in the back

Clareman

Pete123456 wrote: »

I'm amazed you got 75k Kms out of the michelins though, the sportsmaxx don't seem to last pi$sing time but they're bought because I seem to be the only one to notice the tyres are worn to nothing... (not my car btw but I organise these things)

There isn't a whole lot left on my tyres at the moment, but I've definitely gotten 65k out of them but as I say I try to be very light on tyres and I do mostly motorway driving on cruise control, I would say of the 1,000 I do a week 900 would be on cruise control on motorway.

Pete123456

Clareman wrote: »

That and the ABSOLUTE waste of people, there was 3 people there to handle customer's service, a service manager, 4 sales people, a receptionist and 2 old fellas who I didn't know what they were. That was just where you can see, I've no idea how many people were in the back

Don't forget you'll get a call in a few days to ask how everything went, and you'll be called to invite you to all sorts of sales events with champagne etc. There's surely a staff member for that too!

Clareman

Pete123456 wrote: »

Don't forget you'll get a call in a few days to ask how everything went, and you'll be called to invite you to all sorts of sales events with champagne etc. There's surely a staff member for that too!

Ahh, the call, I forgot about the call. "Mr. Clareman, I'm calling from Conlons BMW about your recent service event, can you speak now", "Mr. Clareman how did you find the service" "Mr. Clareman would you change anything about the service" "Mr. Clareman did you avail of any other services".

If only Mrs. Clareman paid such attention after a service :pac::pac::pac:

Sales Event where they're all in their tux and you get a few sandwiches, I've been to 1 of those, they cleaned my car for free

Clareman

I forgot about the offer of the summer safety check, €69 quid to get €150 worth of gear and the car checked, when I asked what they'd do as part of the check that wasn't covered in the service they couldn't answer

Pete123456

Clareman wrote: »

There isn't a whole lot left on my tyres at the moment, but I've definitely gotten 65k out of them but as I say I try to be very light on tyres and I do mostly motorway driving on cruise control, I would say of the 1,000 I do a week 900 would be on cruise control on motorway.

Still though that seems very good... I think there's about 140k Kms on this car and I think I've organised 3 sets of back tyres if not four.... now the driver has an 'odd' driving style with sudden braking at times and she would only be doing about 30 percent motorway and dual carriageway

Clareman

Pete123456 wrote: »

Still though that seems very good... I think there's about 140k Kms on this car and I think I've organised 3 sets of back tyres if not four.... now the driver has an 'odd' driving style with sudden braking at times and she would only be doing about 30 percent motorway and dual carriageway

I've 90k on mine but the first set only lasted less than 20 because of the first driver's extremely odd driving style, but I got a great deal on the car though. This was the passenger front tyre after about 20k

Pete123456

Clareman wrote: »

Ahh, the call, I forgot about the call. "Mr. Clareman, I'm calling from Conlons BMW about your recent service event, can you speak now", "Mr. Clareman how did you find the service" "Mr. Clareman would you change anything about the service" "Mr. Clareman did you avail of any other services".

If only Mrs. Clareman paid such attention after a service :pac::pac::pac:

Sales Event where they're all in their tux and you get a few sandwiches, I've been to 1 of those, they cleaned my car for free

Clareman wrote: »

I forgot about the offer of the summer safety check, €69 quid to get €150 worth of gear and the car checked, when I asked what they'd do as part of the check that wasn't covered in the service they couldn't answer

Haha it's gas alright...

69 bucks for them to walk around your car, plug the key into the PC and give you a cooler bag, water bottle, frisbee and two high vis jackets... sound lads yere grand thanks

Pete123456

Clareman wrote: »

I've 90k on mine but the first set only lasted less than 20 because of the first driver's extremely odd driving style, but I got a great deal on the car though. This was the passenger front tyre after about 20k

Jaysus... must have liked going around and around roundabouts :rolleyes:

Clareman

Pete123456 wrote: »

Haha it's gas alright...

69 bucks for them to walk around your car, plug the key into the PC and give you a cooler bag, water bottle, frisbee and two high vis jackets... sound lads yere grand thanks

When I bought my Avensis in Hogan's in Shannon they were great with free stuff, I was still using Toyota pens for years afterwards, in BMW you just get the coffee :pac: