Approved used BMW- servicing costs?

Stallingrad

Looking at an approved 2014 BMW that comes with their 2 year warranty. I assume to keep the used warranty in good shape I am looking at main dealer servicing for the next 2 years?
You have to love BMW pricing.

Front pads €300
Cabin filter €180
Air filter €96

I assume a good Indy will be much cheaper, but then will I have problems with any potential warranty claim? Best just to suck it up for 2 years?

bazz26

I'm fairly sure that main dealer servicing is a condition of the 2 year approved warranty. It will also help with goodwill when the warranty has expired. I would tend to get consumables like pads, discs, etc done cheaper elsewhere but keep stuff like oil and filters with the main dealer for the service history.

Stallingrad

I'd imagine so alright.

bazz26

Depending on the year of the car some of them may have some of the service inclusive pack remaining which the original owner paid for. I had that on my last one and it covered basic servicing items.

CalamariFritti

I have a BMW under the AUC warranty. Actually it just expired. And there is no mention of must service with BMW. In fact you don’t even have to have it repaired at BMW. It’s a reimbursement scheme really.
To me it’s more like an insurance policy. That’s what you pay extra for when you buy an AUC car. And it will only cover specific things anyway. And you can be sure the moment you have something, anything they will look into how they can wriggle out of it.

But OP rather than asking people who may or may not know what they’re talking about... why don’t you go to the BMW dealer or website even and look at the actual t&c’s? Why would you want to trust 2nd hand info?

Pappacharlie

I recently upgraded my BMW 520d. 151 with 2 years warranty. My BMW main dealer uses Shell Helix Motor Oil. (which was a surprise to me). I change the oil & filter every 10,000 miles using Castrol Oil BMW LL 04 oil. Oil & filter costs about €70. It is a very simple service. No need to remove the under cover of the engine, just one little self tapping screw to gain access to the sump. I keep all the receipts for the oil & filter. The oil filter is very accessible. This my third BMW and never had an issue with warranty. By the way I believe that 20,000 mile oil change intervil and several online forums blame this on the timing chain problem on the n47 engine.

MarkN

CalamariFritti wrote: »

And it will only cover specific things anyway. And you can be sure the moment you have something, anything they will look into how they can wriggle out of it.

But OP rather than asking people who may or may not know what they’re talking about... why don’t you go to the BMW dealer or website even and look at the actual t&c’s? Why would you want to trust 2nd hand info?

The AUC warranty is comprehensive.

I’ve never once had an issue with them trying to get out of something that was a clear warranty issue.

Why would they allow you head off to a random garage and pay for the warranty work? That’s the point of it being under warranty. You seem to be confusing voiding a warranty by using another garage to carry out general servicing work which was ruled by European Court to be unjust, that doesn’t mean they’re going to pay Joel’s BMW specialist for work done under the AUC.

It’s all clearly outlined in their BMW warranty site which is underwritten by Mondial.

CalamariFritti

I was told if you have damage in the warranty period you can get it repaired anywhere convenient. Doesn’t even have to be a BMW garage. You present it after to BMW to assess whether the repair was carried out or not and whether covered or not, then you get reimbursed (or not).

It was explained to me like that at BMW not once but twice. Once when I bought the car at a BMW UK dealer the second time when I presented the car to the local BMW dealer for a possible claim. Which was turned down btw. (And I'm not complaining about that one. It was a factory fault and I think they should have fixed it, but it was not covered by the AUC conditions themselves)

And I’m sure they’d prefer to do any possible work themselves but it’s not a condition.
Think about it. You may not actually be in the country when that happens. Not likely but possible.

Edit: You sure you're not confusing a service pack with the actual AUC purchase warranty (which was only 1 year in my case not 2)?

MarkN

CalamariFritti wrote: »

I was told if you have damage in the warranty period you can get it repaired anywhere convenient. Doesn’t even have to be a BMW garage. You present it after to BMW to assess whether the repair was carried out or not and whether covered or not, then you get reimbursed (or not).

It was explained to me like that at BMW not once but twice. Once when I bought the car at a BMW UK dealer the second time when I presented the car to the local BMW dealer for a possible claim. Which was turned down btw.

Edit: You sure you're not confusing a service pack with the actual AUC purchase warranty (which was only 1 year in my case not 2)?

I’m sure yes. Service pack is usually 5 years.

AUC is 24 months not 12.

It’s a European warranty so if you’re in another country you bring it to any BMW dealer in the network. I don’t see how they would reimburse you for independent work carried out. Again you’re paying extra in a BMW dealer for a used car for the convenience that should something go wrong, you drop it off at a dealer and it’s their problem.

Atlantic Dawn

Cabin filter €180? Jaysus.

CalamariFritti

MarkN wrote: »

I’m sure yes. Service pack is usually 5 years.

AUC is 24 months not 12.

It’s a European warranty so if you’re in another country you bring it to any BMW dealer in the network. I don’t see how they would reimburse you for independent work carried out. Again you’re paying extra in a BMW dealer for a used car for the convenience that should something go wrong, you drop it off at a dealer and it’s their problem.

But I'm not making this up or imagining it. I bought an AUC 3 series at a big BMW dealer in the UK a little over a year ago and was told exactly as stated above. Then back home with the local big BMW franchise was told exactly the same, as stated above. I mean I have the actual contract here.

Edit: Right OK I'm after pulling the AUC booklet out:
I'm right with the 12 months, the exact phrase is 'minimum of 12 months unlimited mileage warranty'. No mention of 24 months anywhere. You're right with 'Any repair work to the vehicle under the warranty must be carried out by an Authorised BMW Retailer or BMW Authorised Service Workshop'.

As with regards to servicing it says (this is a long one so I'll paraphrase) the warranty is voided if damage is due to you not observing the service intervals or where the service carried by a non Authorised Workshop was inadequate or carried out using inadequate parts.

So I guess with regards to the OPs question he probably wouldn't want to give BMW any grounds of kicking up sh1t. I imagine if they see a 3rd party service they will absolutely try if they can. They are not known to be terribly customer friendly or show a lot of good will unless they absolutely have to.

Blazer

The only things not covered by premium warranty are things such as lights, seals.
Seals are a big one. You can get hit for a large whack if you have seals issue is water damage as not covered.
Otherwise it’s all good.

Leonard Hofstadter

Pappacharlie wrote: »

I recently upgraded my BMW 520d. 151 with 2 years warranty. My BMW main dealer uses Shell Helix Motor Oil. (which was a surprise to me). I change the oil & filter every 10,000 miles using Castrol Oil BMW LL 04 oil. Oil & filter costs about €70. It is a very simple service. No need to remove the under cover of the engine, just one little self tapping screw to gain access to the sump. I keep all the receipts for the oil & filter. The oil filter is very accessible. This my third BMW and never had an issue with warranty. By the way I believe that 20,000 mile oil change intervil and several online forums blame this on the timing chain problem on the n47 engine.

That's because BMW doesn't recommend Castrol any more, they've been recommending Shell since November 2014 (Castrol sponsored something for BMW Motorsport between 1999 and 2014 in any case).

Anyway, I've been told by people who know a lot more about this than I do, that Castrol is not any good these days - other brands, such as Mobil 1 and Petronas, are far better (but of course need to be LL04 compliant for a DPF equipped diesel, and LL01 for the petrols and older diesels without a DPF).

I definitely agree with changing the oil much more often than the recommended interval - 20,000 miles on the same oil, especially in a four cylinder engine with a capacity of 5.2 litres, is far too much.

The N57 takes 9.0 litres despite only having two extra cylinders, this is one of the reasons that engine is far less prone to the problem (the other main reason is that because it is a six cylinder engine, and not just any old six cylinder but a straight six, there are far fewer vibrations from the engine, so the chain has a much easier life).

Stallingrad

Ok, so keep it with BMW while under the two year warranty, makes sense. The car has a service pack until next year which certainly helps.

MarkN

CalamariFritti wrote: »

As with regards to servicing it says (this is a long one so I'll paraphrase) the warranty is voided if damage is due to you not observing the service intervals or where the service carried by a non Authorised Workshop was inadequate or carried out using inadequate parts.

That doesn't say you can't use someone else for servicing though. It's a grey area.

Maybe Premium Selection is different in terms of warranty period in the UK but here it's 24 months. Look up any BMW dealer used car ad and it will mention it in one of the images.

CalamariFritti

The way the booklet is phrased it's definitely a grey area. Who is to decide what's inadequate? Obviously it's them and how would you challenge that? Basically you're leaving yourself open to that get out clause. So in other words not only did they sell you a generously priced warranty policy, but they also have you over a barrel with their generously priced services & parts.

I was lucky if you like that the UK dealer had it serviced just before the sale and wasn't due one before the warranty was expired. I can now bring it to my local mechanic for a service (I already have) and it won't make a difference. In fact I'd trust that guy 10 times over the local BMW garage anyway. Both with regards to competence and also generally speaking.

With all that said my BMW a very nice car, it's in great condition and I don't regret buying it at all.