BMW service price independent vs dealer

crystalbrite

I just rang 2 independent garages and BMW main dealer and I'm getting roughly the same quote of 200e for an oil and filter change for 162 BMW 330e.

I was expecting the main dealer to cost more. Have the price of main dealers come down or is 200e expensive for the independent garage? MMW garage said the oil alone for the BMW 330e is 70e.

Since they are all similar price would you recommend going with the main dealer?
Would you recommend any other independent garage in the Cork area?


Murphy Motor Works MMW
Monaghan Road
Cork
021 - 4322122
200e Oil and Safety check

Ardfallen Motors
Ballycurreen, Grange
(near Cork Airport)
+353 21 4322999
~170-180e Oil+filter (unsure of exact oil needed at the moment so price might be more)

Kearys BMW
4 Eastgate Rd,
Castleview,
Little Island,
Co. Cork,
T45 DX63
200e Oil+Filter

biko

Do you think it will matter for whoever buys your car from you that you went with a dealer over an independent?
If so go with dealer.

colm_mcm

I think def get the the oil change done at the dealer for that money.

Politely decline the inevitable invitation to get new brake discs and pads.

frozenfrozen

You can get 10% discount at the main dealer by signing up to bmw first or something. Havent done it myself but someone on here recommended it to me recently

Casati

Definitely get basic service work done in the BMW garage, if you need a goodwill claim in the future having it serviced outside the dealer network will weaken your case considerably. As other have said, think v hard about getting other work such as brake pads or tyres done elsewhere

crystalbrite

frozenfrozen wrote: »

You can get 10% discount at the main dealer by signing up to bmw first or something. Havent done it myself but someone on here recommended it to me recently

It looks like you have to sign up to a monthly subscription from €7.90 -> €17.90 but can cancel anytime.
I suppose could sign up now, get car serviced and get discounts etc and then cancel again. Saving should probably be more than the cost of 1 months subscription.

https://www.bmw-first.ie/home?plan=bmw-first-2in1-plus

crystalbrite

Casati wrote: »

Definitely get basic service work done in the BMW garage, if you need a goodwill claim in the future having it serviced outside the dealer network will weaken your case considerably. As other have said, think v hard about getting other work such as brake pads or tyres done elsewhere

Going on their website you have to select what you want to get serviced individually. I can see how that starts to add up quick.
I suppose my issue is that I don't know what needs to get done. Imported car last year and this will be the first service. My idrive just says the engine oil needs to be serviced.

I don't know if air filter (60e), pollen filters(97e), brake fluid(84e idrive says due in august), spark plugs (276e), brake pads (266e+266e for front and back) need to be also serviced.

I'm assuming a generally safety check of everything gets included in the oil and filter service and they'll come back letting me know if anything else needs to get done.

https://www.kearysbmw.ie/contentv3/index.cfm?fuseaction=bmw_book_a_service&bmwRetailerbusinessID=29830

CrowdedHouse

Casati wrote: »

As other have said, think v hard about getting other work such as brake pads or tyres done elsewhere

Don't know about brakes but I got 4 new tyres and alignment at a dealer recently for little more than the online price of the tyres. It's worth checking if you're a regular customer.

crystalbrite

CrowdedHouse wrote: »

Don't know about brakes but I got 4 new tyres and alignment at a dealer recently for little more than the online price of the tyres. It's worth checking if you're a regular customer.

I'm actually nearly due two new front tyres also so I'll enquire about this too.

mickdw

crystalbrite wrote: »

Going on their website you have to select what you want to get serviced individually. I can see how that starts to add up quick.
I suppose my issue is that I don't know what needs to get done. Imported car last year and this will be the first service. My idrive just says the engine oil needs to be serviced.

I don't know if air filter (60e), pollen filters(97e), brake fluid(84e idrive says due in august), spark plugs (276e), brake pads (266e+266e for front and back) need to be also serviced.

I'm assuming a generally safety check of everything gets included in the oil and filter service and they'll come back letting me know if anything else needs to get done.

https://www.kearysbmw.ie/contentv3/index.cfm?fuseaction=bmw_book_a_service&bmwRetailerbusinessID=29830

They will tell you what needs to be done. The 200 oil service is to get you in the door. You will be told that everything suggested is absolutely required.
Get the oil service and just tell them you will book later for the other works.
They will do the hard sell re getting it all done there and then but dont be talked into anything even if they say its critical - you can always drive straight to indy for brake work or whatever.

crystalbrite

mickdw wrote: »

They will tell you what needs to be done. The 200 oil service is to get you in the door. You will be told that everything suggested is absolutely required.
Get the oil service and just tell them you will book later for the other works.
They will do the hard sell re getting it all done there and then but dont be talked into anything even if they say its critical - you can always drive straight to indy for brake work or whatever.

Thanks for the info. Previously I had old 03 audi a3 1.6L petrol that I used to bring to local guy my family used working out of his own garage. He'd do the oil and filter change for 60e. That's particularly cheap I think but he wouldn't be using any OEM parts either.
Can't use him at the moment due to covid but also since it's a newer car I'd like to use someone who specialises in BMWs.

Casati

CrowdedHouse wrote: »

Don't know about brakes but I got 4 new tyres and alignment at a dealer recently for little more than the online price of the tyres. It's worth checking if you're a regular customer.

Yeah dealers can be good value for some items but tyres they are usually expensive. The key thing is to have an idea of the price of these items. An Indy will also be charging extra for everything

I really like the transparent BMW pricing

bazz26

CrowdedHouse wrote: »

Don't know about brakes but I got 4 new tyres and alignment at a dealer recently for little more than the online price of the tyres. It's worth checking if you're a regular customer.

That's interesting as the last time I stupidly asked a main dealer for a tyre price they wanted similar money for 2 tyres fitted as I could buy 4 for online, exact same tyre brand/model too. I even showed them the link to the tyres and they then came back with some speel about paying more than that for them from their wholesaler.

Leonard Hofstadter

At that price I would definitely go to a main dealer. As others have said, decline any upselling, go to a specialist to give the car a once over if they say there's lots of stuff 'wrong' with it.

newmember2

OP I'd go for the oil service on any new car.

The tyres can be checked yourself visually for wear to see if they're at or near the tyre wear marks, and if the brake pads need replacing surely a 2016 330E will be letting you know with a brake warning light/message?
Air filter and Cabin filter you can change depending on what mileage is on the car relative to the service intervals?
Make sure to join the BMW First scheme - you'll get discount on service and parts and it's no strings cancel whenever you feel like it.

nailstar

I got an oil service on my 2015 316d in Colm Quinn’s the other day, €269 for oil, filter and micro filter, I have the BMW first and they replaced the wipers as part of that too. (It was €293 before the discount) No up-selling from them at all and a loan car for the day
the service requirement in the I drive will tell you if the brake pads are due

Stallingrad

Main dealer for routine stuff for sure, as mentioned above it will go a long way toward any goodwill out of warranty.

Wailin

I've never had any main bmw dealer try to fob me off regarding servicing before,

I'm not really sure where people get this notion from to be honest. I asked Quinns on one service a few yrs ago to check my rear pads as I knew they were pretty worn. Went to collect the car and service advisor said "ah they're grand for another year". No sneaky attempts to rob from my pocket. I've had this type of experience a few times with keanes as well.

They are a main dealer, not some dodgy kip down a side alley trying to extort you.

When you do need things like discs and pads, yes they are expensive. But they have a big staff to pay and that nice fancy showroom. That's when you go to an indie for cheaper labour.

Doonbegman

I would have to agree with Wallins post. I spent 20+ years in the motor trade (doing a completely different job now) selling VW's and the mechanic that I use for my own cheap car is one of the best Mercedes technicians in the country

However for my wife's cars over the last 13 years-A 2008 Audi A5 1.8 T (bought new) and a 2013 BMW 520d bought second hand in 2016, we always used the main dealer. What we found is that in general the main dealer was no more expensive than a good independent and in a lot of cases we got non wear and tear items either covered under goodwill long outside of warranty or at a significantly reduced rate. When I came to sell the A5 privately I was able to sell it quickly, for the price I advertised it for to the first person that looked at it, because I was able to produce extensive paperwork for the car.

I never worked for the Boland group (and wouldn't either tbh) but I always found the service advisor in their Waterford branch-particulary Katie Leahy excellent, never tried the unnecessary upsell, the car was ready when she said it would be and told me about "BMW First" when it came out which gives 10% discount on service &. Parts, free wiper blades and bulbs. When the EGR re all had to be done in 2019 there was a shortage of parts they gave us a new 5 series for a month. The only thing I didn't buy was tyres, I have a friend that sells tyres and wanted to give them the business. I'm now preparing the BMW for sale and I think that the paperwork to back up the service history will make all the difference when someone comes to look at it.

For the OP car-a BMW 330e there is no way that I would go anywhere else other than a BMW dealer, especially as it contains Hybrid technology and if this goes wrong, you really don't want to be wondering if BMW will cover it or not because you serviced it outside of the BMW network. Toyota for example will extend the warranty on their hybrid system for upto 15 years unlimited mileage provided you service the car with them. In the case of BMW it is more difficult for service advisors to upsell unnecessarily as the car will tell you the health status of the brakes and brake fluid. Again if I was looking to buy such a complicated car as a 330e or 530e that was relatively new and saw that it wasn't serviced by BMW then I would wonder what else they skimped on. I'm not saying the OP would but it's very hard to dislodge that thought.

If anyone is interested I am getting the service invoices together from 2016/82,000 km to 2021/210,000 km and I can post the costs on here.

kirving

Doonbegman wrote: »

I never worked for the Boland group (and wouldn't either tbh) but I always found the service advisor in their Waterford branch....

....For the OP car-a BMW 330e there is no way that I would go anywhere else other than a BMW dealer, especially as it contains Hybrid technology and if this goes wrong,

Bought a car from Audi Waterford and found them to be excellent. The car was 6yo, well priced, no question of good new tyres all around, good pre-sale prep etc.

Someone I know had an issued with a 330e, charging controller I think it was. Dealer goodwill dropped it from >€2k to €300 or so. I'll be going nowhere but a dealer for servicing for mine.

Doonbegman

kirving wrote: »

Bought a car from Audi Waterford and found them to be excellent. The car was 6yo, well priced, no question of good new tyres all around, good pre-sale prep etc.

Someone I know had an issued with a 330e, charging controller I think it was. Dealer goodwill dropped it from >€2k to €300 or so. I'll be going nowhere but a dealer for servicing for mine.

Sorry, I forgot to say that In the latter years, my wife's 08 Audi A5 was serviced in Audi Waterford and their service was excellent. They were fair with price, if goodwill was available they would apply for it without having to ask for them to do it and they always provided a courtesy car.

crystalbrite

Logged into https://www.bmw-connecteddrive.ie/app/index.html#/portal account and saw that I had the following:

BMW Service Inclusive
Valid Until: 18.08.2021 or 100,000KM

My car is on 94000KM so I rang up BMW and I'm still covered to get a free oil service. I just assumed the warranty would be up on a 4 year old car. 5 years in august. Lucky I found this!

The following below look to be covered from the website:

With BMW Service Inclusive, you are eligible for the following services during the agreed term and mileage combination**:

Service engine oil incl. refills (oil, wiper fluid)
Service vehicle check according to BMW specifications
Service micro filters
Service fuel filters (only for diesel engines)
Service air filters
Service spark plugs (only for petrol engines)
Service brake fluid
You are also eligible for the included services regardless of how often your vehicle needs servicing during the respective term and mileage. You are always eligible for services if the smart maintenance system, Condition Based Service (CBS), displays the need for servicing on your BMW display. When you reach the specified mileage or term*, you are no longer eligible for services included in Service Inclusive.

Sheedy234

I got at price at Xmas while getting a service done in ford for brake pads and fluid 520 euro! I got them done using the same brand at mid west tyres for 150. Just get the basic service done with the dealer to cover warranty.

bs2014

I got my GTD serviced at Xmas with an indep who is "supposably" excellent and people swear by him. Well the reality is 90% of public who go to an indie have never stepped foot in a main dealer and have 0 idea of what prices of anything are and are getting fleeced more by independents than a main dealer.

Gerry Cumiskeys quoted me €500 for a major service and when I asked why the VW fixed price site was only €280, they told me they don't go by them prices, they are only a guide. (They loosing the franchise seemingly so that explains all)

So I live 40 mins away and was trying to find a reputable indie I could go to in the future. One fred in the shed in my town whos on the go a long time quoted me €180 for a full service all filters and a diag check. I thought that seemed fair when I worked the parts and 2hrs labour in my head. When I booked in, I asked him to order me genuine VW filters (I knew would be dearer but god knows what aftermarket **** they would put in if I didn't specifiy).

The total bill ended up €350 for a diag scan, 4 filters, light bulb and battery key. When I challenged the price he straight away quoted Cumiskeys being €500 and said when he quoted me €180, that was only for an oil change (Pure BS as I then told him I know what I asked for and that €180 is the same price as a main dealer for an oil change, some dealers charge €160. I then quoted him Western in Drogheda only being €280 and he was all fumble and was like oh that must be excluding vat. I got no free wipers, no car wash, no sanitisation (which tbh I wasnt expecting) but if your an indie wanting to charge big boy bucks, you should charge the big boy service. He didnt even reset the interval service light which came on few weeks later. Also the key battery he charged €8 has needed replacing in 3 months....prob used a pound city battery.

What also pissed me off was he had the cheek to say he spent over 3 hrs servicing my car and that he only charged me for 2 and bit. He said he took out all the glow plugs and cleaned them.....yet weirdly 2 days later, the engine mgmt light came on and the code was calling for one of the plugs to be changed. I actually suspect he fitted a dodgy glow plug.

Main dealers get a bad wrap and so too do some indies. When you find a good main dealer or a good specialist, they are worth more than there worth.

On a side note, my parents astra was in McChesneys getting serviced. The full works all filters + rear pads, inc diag check and complimentary ozone. The Opel service discount brought it to just under 300. Class value.

FrankC21

That's expensive €200 for oil & filter change only, Glad I have a fluence and I pay €120 that includes oil, oil & air filter, diag, coolant top up, and the indie mechanic collects the car from work and brings it back, afterwards, rather than spending my day off going to get the car service.

And it is still under Windsor warranty, last time I brought it back to them for faults, they did not even bother to check whether I got the service done with them.

FrankC21

FrankC21 wrote: »

That's expensive €200 for oil & filter change only, .....

It's not out of the way to be fair.

FrankC21

FrankC21 wrote: »

......., Glad I have a fluence and I pay €120 that includes oil, oil & air filter, diag, coolant top up, and the indie mechanic collects the car from work and brings it back, afterwards, .....

He's making about €30 on that..... Loony low margin.
Coolant shouldn't need topping up BTW

bs2014

FrankC21 wrote: »

That's expensive €200 for oil & filter change only, Glad I have a fluence and I pay €120 that includes oil, oil & air filter, diag, coolant top up, and the indie mechanic collects the car from work and brings it back, afterwards, rather than spending my day off going to get the car service.

And it is still under Windsor warranty, last time I brought it back to them for faults, they did not even bother to check whether I got the service done with them.

I am shocked an oil service in a BMW dealer is only €200 to be fair.

McCrack

FrankC21 wrote: »

That's expensive €200 for oil & filter change only, Glad I have a fluence and I pay €120 that includes oil, oil & air filter, diag, coolant top up, and the indie mechanic collects the car from work and brings it back, afterwards, rather than spending my day off going to get the car service.

And it is still under Windsor warranty, last time I brought it back to them for faults, they did not even bother to check whether I got the service done with them.

Lol

FrankC21

Augeo wrote: »

He's making about €30 on that..... Loony low margin.
Coolant shouldn't need topping up BTW

Well, I brought him loads of customers telling them how good he is.

nailstar

FrankC21 wrote: »

That's expensive €200 for oil & filter change only, Glad I have a fluence and I pay €120 that includes oil, oil & air filter, diag, coolant top up, and the indie mechanic collects the car from work and brings it back, afterwards, rather than spending my day off going to get the car service.

And it is still under Windsor warranty, last time I brought it back to them for faults, they did not even bother to check whether I got the service done with them.

I’d rather drive a BMW than a fluence any day, I expected to pay more for servicing etc when I chose the car. I cannot fault the after service from Colm Quinn’s, I dropped it into them last summer for something minor and they told me I had a leaking shock - they replaced both front shocks under warranty
I know they will also collect your car, bring it for a service, leave you a car for the day and bring it back if they have a staff member living in the vicinity.
I could easily get an indie closer to me but I want to keep a full dealer service history on my car so have no issue travelling or paying a bit more.
Each to their own....

FrankC21

nailstar wrote: »

Each to their own....

Exactly, If I have extra cash lying around and no other priorities, I don't mind spending it on a nicer car, I guess sometime in the future I will own a Mercedes CLA.

kermitpwee

FrankC21 wrote: »

That's expensive €200 for oil & filter change only, Glad I have a fluence and I pay €120 that includes oil, oil & air filter, diag, coolant top up, and the indie mechanic collects the car from work and brings it back, afterwards, rather than spending my day off going to get the car service.

And it is still under Windsor warranty, last time I brought it back to them for faults, they did not even bother to check whether I got the service done with them.

Sounds like cheap oil, cheap filters and it shouldn't need the coolant topped up. You have a leak, check it out ASAP.

FrankC21

kermitpwee wrote: »

Sounds like cheap oil, cheap filters and it shouldn't need the coolant topped up. You have a leak, check it out ASAP.

Nope, he uses a fully synthetic oil, he gives me the receipt of the parts he bought.

You're saying after commuting of 3,000km per month and waiting 10-15,000km for a service, the coolant would still be in max level??

McCrack

FrankC21 wrote: »

Exactly, If I have extra cash lying around and no other priorities, I don't mind spending it on a nicer car, I guess sometime in the future I will own a Mercedes CLA.

To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.

grogi

FrankC21 wrote: »

Nope, he uses a fully synthetic oil, he gives me the receipt of the parts he bought.

You're saying after commuting of 3,000km per month and waiting 10-15,000km for a service, the coolant would still be in max level??

Yes, it should be. It is a pressurised system, there shouldn't be anywhere for the coolant to escape.

kermitpwee

FrankC21 wrote: »

Nope, he uses a fully synthetic oil, he gives me the receipt of the parts he bought.

You're saying after commuting of 3,000km per month and waiting 10-15,000km for a service, the coolant would still be in max level??

Post a picture of the receipt for the parts here please. I would love to see how much all the parts cost.
Your car shouldn't lose any coolant regardless of time or mileage. It should be at the max level.
My mother's 99 yaris hasn't lost any coolant in 7 years and 88000 miles.
You need to find out why your car is losing coolant ASAP.
Your mechanic should have told you this.

FrankC21

grogi wrote: »

Yes, it should be. It is a pressurised system, there shouldn't be anywhere for the coolant to escape.

Ok, still don't agree, coolant will have percentage of water in it one way or the other, water evaporate to a certain degree. Every second sunday morning I blast the fluence up to 150-180km/h @ over 3000rpm for 20-30mins I'm pretty sure that causes the engine temperature to be really hot.

grogi

FrankC21 wrote: »

Ok, still don't agree, coolant will have percentage of water in it one way or the other, water evaporate to a certain degree. Every second sunday morning I blast the fluence up to 150-180km/h @ over 3000rpm for 20-30mins I'm pretty sure that causes the engine temperature to be really hot.

I have done more that half million km in my life and the only times my car was loosing coolant in rate visible to.the eye was when there a leak: once at the thermostat housing and once from the heater.

If the system is fine, there still won't be enough pressure for evaporated water to escape. You might have a small leak at the gasket, microcrack in the engine head etc...

There is safety valve, typically at the reservoir, but it should never engage in cooling system that works correctly.

kermitpwee

FrankC21 wrote: »

Ok, still don't agree, coolant will have percentage of water in it one way or the other, water evaporate to a certain degree. Every second sunday morning I blast the fluence up to 150-180km/h @ over 3000rpm for 20-30mins I'm pretty sure that causes the engine temperature to be really hot.

You shouldn't be driving on public roads at that speed, your a disgrace and more importantly a troll of the highest order!

FrankC21

kermitpwee wrote: »

You shouldn't be driving on public roads at that speed, your a disgrace and more importantly a troll of the highest order!

I always thought it’s necessary to do an Italian tune up, I do it early Sunday morning on the motorway when most people are sleeping.

FrankC21

FrankC21 wrote: »

Ok, still don't agree, coolant will have percentage of water in it one way or the other, water evaporate to a certain degree. Every second sunday morning I blast the fluence up to 150-180km/h @ over 3000rpm for 20-30mins I'm pretty sure that causes the engine temperature to be really hot.

You're getting plenty air flow there.
Again, your coolant system is a closed system, there is no potential for evaporation.... If you need to top up it's leaking.

Also post up the receipt or the details for the parts...

FrankC21

Augeo wrote: »

You're getting plenty air flow there.
Again, your coolant system is a closed system, there is no potential for evaporation.... If you need to top up it's leaking.

Also post up the receipt or the details for the parts...

It’s not really a significant loss of coolant near minimum just goes down about below the max level.

Well i will keep a close eye on it.

FrankC21

As per request

colm_mcm

Frank, when you’re doing the fuel filter, make sure you use an actual Renault branded one rather than a generic brand.

FrankC21

colm_mcm wrote: »

Frank, when you’re doing the fuel filter, make sure you use an actual Renault branded one rather than a generic brand.

Hi colm,

Ok, ill let my mechanic know. Thanks

lausp

Not sure where you all are getting 200 for an oil service in BMW. My 520d is 143 euro for an oil service, if you have BMW first it's lower again.

I go to Bolands also but I do an interim oil change at a local garage who I trust. I supply oil and filter (Fuchs oil and Mann filter - approx 65 euro) and the local garage charges 30 including oil recycling charge.

This way my oil is changed at approximately 12k km and I have full dealer history too.

Typically in Bolands I will get brake fluid, air filter, or oil change when necessary as I think these are priced fairly.

What is not priced fairly at the dealers are brake pads/discs and the cabin/microfilter which are nothing short of outrageous.

Notch000

FrankC21 wrote: »

Hi colm,

Ok, ill let my mechanic know. Thanks

overkill

PureBred

How much is an oil service these days for a 5 series. BMW website saying €460.

Wailin

Prices will have certainly gone up quiet a bit since this thread was started.

Whocare

Some Independent dealers have invested way too much money on tools Equipment etc and think can charge main dealer prices off there head in my eyes there very Popular garage owner in dundalk who put video on Facebook ect one video was he bought road spring compressor 3 thousands euros