Quote Originally Posted by rebel.ranter
Agreed JohnH, sometimes it can be cheaper in the long run to use the dealers for certain parts and services.

I know that servicing the 630i actually used to work out roughly the same whether:
- I do it myself (using OEM filter and Castrol Edge LL04, buying 2 x 4L oil containers).
- Or let the dealer do it.

However, now it is €174 for an Oil Service at BMW for the 630i, it works out about €50 more than doing it myself. But I am noticing that my free time is getting more precious as work is consuming me these days so the €50 is worth it.

OK I don't have the excess 1.5L of oil left over after my own oil change but equally:
- No labour efforts, no used oil to dispose of.
- Have a "stamped" book for the history.

At €340 for the M6 oil service the savings might evaporate but the warranty maintenance element makes it worth while.

A brake fluid change is €88, a litre of ATE fluid is about €18, so the labour charge on that is €70 to my mind. I'm still doing this myself....for now but I would be tempted to just let the dealer do it for convenience.
However you also have some crazy pricing at the dealers too, like Microfilter replacement, €135 in the dealer to supply and fit! You can get a pair of charcoal activated Hengst branded ones in Otto for about €36! Installation is easy so this is a no-brainer to do yourself. A similar story for the air filter. It's gonna kill me to pay for the filters to keep my warranty valid on the M6

I suppose there is a huge overhead to be carried to run the glass palaces so inevitably part of the running costs for the palace has to be charged via the workshop income.


The objective of the "free replacement bulb" programme is to attract consumers back in to the dealer network, to generate potential new business for the workshop. It is a good scheme all round and from what I remember this is the 3rd year of the scheme so the dealer network must also be benefiting from the scheme.

BMW are doing some innovative things like the bulb replacement scheme and the http://www.bmwservice.ie for transparency on pricing. Even if you don't agree with their pricing they are doing some good things.
Agree 100% re above, got BMW to do the last service as the margin was minimal and it kept the service history up to date. The transparent pricing is something a lot of brands appear to be plumping for now, hopefully it will get more common.