M235i first service and how much...

Scrap that i think i found the stuff i need. Can someone confirm this is the correct oil for an M235i thanks:

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6 Litres for £49.99 seems about right to me and that's from Germany (probably why its cheaper than the prices i was looking at on a UK website).

Just been told the branded BMW oil is in fact Shell oil and i need 6.5 litres of 0w-30. Castrol lost the contract a few years ago (basically Shell paid BMW more money or gave them oil at a better mark up price to make profit).

I think the merit of doing this is debatable, bmwfsh is worth something and there is no book to stamp, its all in the idrive now.

Main dealers have always been the same, your acting like the cost is a surprise You may get somewhere supplying the stuff and just being charged the labour but at this early stage in your cars life fudging the servicing isn't something i'd want to do.

LL04 is the spec, and they came with 0W30 from the factory. 6.5L

My first service (at BMW) was oil, oil filter, pollen filter and Electronic iDrive service history update - an eye watering £250!

My main concern was the warranty, and being able to extend it should I wish.

'cossied' on here was refused an extended warranty on his because he did an extra interim service, so they're quite fussy!

Looks like the £500 5 year service plan was a sound investment!

Phone round a few dealers for quotes letting them know the best price gets the job.

They are happy charging top dollar when people are concerned enough to keep their warranty. Once the car is a few years old they offer big discounts so you won't leave the network.

DurhamLad1973 said:

Looks like the £500 5 year service plan was a sound investment!

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Not if you only keep the car for 3 years. I had it on my E88 at £500 and only had one service before I chopped her in at just under 3 years old so technically my first and only service cost me £500!

Cheers and call me old fashioned but i prefer to save money and not let some company rip me off because if we are being honest here that is exactly what BMW are doing. I find it somewhat dishonest to label the oil they use as BMW oil putting stickers all over the oil and try to pass it off as their own oil when in fact its simply Shell Helix Ultra Extra oil 0W-30 LL-04 Certified for use on the M235i

I had a similar issue last year when i changed my front brake pads and i rung up my BMW dealer and he flat out lied to me on the phone when i asked who makes the brake pads for BMW and he said BMW make them when in fact we all know that a blatant lie. Its this attitude of dealers treating BMW owners as complete morons which really made me think twice about using their service centers.

I have managed to locate the parts as follows:

SHELL HELIX ULTRA EXTRA 0W-30 £7 Litres = £47.60 (same oil as BMW use for servicing which BMW charge over double price for).
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Interior Cabin Air Microfilter - Activated Carbon - MANN £29.92
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Mann Oil Filter £6.83.
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Labor charges for 1 hour from genuine BMW authorised repair center near me £50 (which includes resetting iDrive and stamp in the log book along with sending over details of service to Germany whatever that means).

Parts: £84.35
Labor: £50

Total: £134.35

Total saving: £134.65

That's a saving of over half with all work being carried out at a genuine authorised BMW repair center, all idrive codes being sorted out and book being stamped.

My first service is hardly intensive enough for me to worry too much over and i'm glad i made some savings. I know some people can't be arsed or will pay whatever BMW tell them to pay but not me. Sadly this will continue at BMW for as long as there are people who buy into the BMW servicing hype as if other authorised BMW repair centers cannot handle a simple oil change.

I have included links to the products just in case someone else wants a go at sorting out their first service on an M235i without paying over the odds prices. It took me a few hours today but well worth the hassle and i feel much more informed with what's going into my car.

Thanks.

Good work

If you use a non-BMW oil filter and you have an engine problem, I guarantee they won't honour the warranty. Unless of course you've already written off the warranty with the mods you've done?

I would personally get BMW to service it, but that's just me. You might be saving £140 odd now but you risk losing £500 or more when you come to chop it in because it doesn't have main dealer history. Depends on how long you're keeping the car though. The service history is on the keys now so a stamped book isn't the same either.

I know what you mean about numpties working on the car, I do all the work on my Lotus for example, but that's of an age now where condition is more important than service history.

Which sums up how I too feel about this, a false economy imho.

Plantjuk said:

DurhamLad1973 said:

Looks like the £500 5 year service plan was a sound investment!

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Not if you only keep the car for 3 years. I had it on my E88 at £500 and only had one service before I chopped her in at just under 3 years old so technically my first and only service cost me £500!

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Yeah but that 500 quid was swallowed up with the rest of the stuff and as such the pain is long gone.

NOS said:

If you use a non-BMW oil filter and you have an engine problem, I guarantee they won't honour the warranty. Unless of course you've already written off the warranty with the mods you've done?

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Both Mahle and Mann brands make all kinds of filters for BMW and other car brands. They have both earned OEM status and have provided years of quality products.

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Cheers i appreciate your concern but i have done the research and Mann supply to BMW. Just as Shell supply their SHELL HELIX ULTRA EXTRA 0W-30 and brand it as BMW.

I thought BMW filters were Mahle?

The OP's car is tuned anyway. The chances of any major warranty claim being honoured is slim. Without a dealer on side, I think you'll have no chance.

It's not nice to pay over the odds, servicing is so far apart I don't see the saving of £130 as massively significant.

When you come to sell the car, the majority people will want to see dealer stamps in the book, especially newer cars.

You'll not get the same trade in figure either.

You might save money now, but I don't think it'll work out that way in the longterm.

marco_polo said:

I thought BMW filters were Mahle?

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I thought Mann supplied too.

How does this look, this Mahle comes back for the 1 series but also listed for M235i on their website:

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and how about this for the Carbon activated Pollen filter from Mahle?

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I take it that Mahle pollen air filter is the same as BMW. Interestingly the Mann is the more expensive of the pollen air filters...

Ive been to bmw for oil enquiries in the past and they were very open about it, regarding its shell oil, the specification i needed to buy if i were to get it from elsewhere. They never said its special bmw oil.

Its same with my e46 m3, openly told me which castrol oil i need for it etc.