[Stiscooby]

Picked my car up from having it's Service ('small' Service @ £265) and MOT on Saturday and the stealer decided to give me a quote for a Service plan (first time ever).

My car is a 2017 M140i, so just turned 6 years old, 42k on the clock and I have kept extending the warranty on it since I've had it from new, as well as always Serviced at the stealer.

It's for £720 (or monthly @ 32x £22.50) and includes the next two services and a few other bits:

Major Service £642
Brake Fluid £113
MOT £54

Then.........
Small Service £265.

Also includes 2x NAV updates which apparently would cost £133, but I'm not really bothered about those.

I just wonder if many others have taken out a service plan and if so, did it end up being worthwhile? On the face of it, it would seem a good deal as I would be saving a bit over £350 at todays prices (if I didn't bother with the NAV updates).

Thanks

 

[rustyk]

I've taken it out. To be honest I think you've answered your own question, only way you would personally lose is if you sold the car.

 

[Henry Chinaski]

The short answer is "yes", it's definitely worth it, especially if you would plan to have the car serviced by BMW anyway.
Where I live, the cost difference between the BMW service plan and an indy BMW specialist is negligible.
You would not lose out if you sold the car because BMW would refund you the value of any of your plan you have not used to date.
I've had goodwill from the main dealer (reduced repair cost), more so because I have the service plan, not because I also have the extended warranty (the cost of the discounted repair was less than the £250 warranty excess fee).
If you look at the detail of the 'Major Service' offered by the monthly service plan, you will see that it includes more than the cost of a standard 'Major Service' - it includes the 4-yearly 'Vehicle Check' (normally costs about £80, I think, on top of the 'Major Service')), plus it includes a Brake Fluid Service.
One small thing is that in the info you've posted, they're over estimating the MOT cost, as most main dealers will do this for £35.
One odd thing with the monthly plan is that, because the 'Major Service' includes Brake Fluid, you will end up unnecessarily getting a Brake Fluid service two years in a row. On the positive side, from this point onwards you only need to take the car for a service every two years rather than annually, because the Brake Fluid and Oil services will coincide. I added an optional additional Brake Fluid service into the plan, to make the overall plan last longer and include everything required for the whole of its life.
A further benefit of the monthly service plan is that each optional extra includes the 'standard scope charge'. For example, an extra Brake Fluid service cost me £59, which is roughly what you'd pay anyway, but outside of the plan you'd also have to pay about £26 for the 'standard scope' (i.e. having it put on the idrive).
You haven't mentioned that the monthly plan includes a "seasonal health check" twice a year. I book one of these on the same day as the MOT, treating the "seasonal check" as a pre-MOT test and therefore avoiding getting any MOT failures on my car's history.

 

[Stiscooby]

I think I might well take them up on their offer. At the moment I don't have any plans to change my car, especially considering the prices these days, but I did also ask about what happens if I end up selling......... they said I would either get a refund for what I hadn't used, or it could be transferred to another BMW if I went that route.

I might have to check with them on the scheduling though. Looking at the quote it mentions 'Service 2' (larger service) will be due March 2025, and lists brake fluid service in that. But my actual car says it's due brake fluid service March 2024?

There is then nothing mentioned during 2024 except for health checks during March & Sept 2024 (there is also one for Sept 2023), so no Service for next year?? Then 'Service 1' (smaller) in March 2027, and then nothing mentioned for 2026 except for a few heath checks?

The 1x MOT is listed for 2025........... where is the one for 2024?? They just charged me £54 this weekend for an MOT, I wasn't aware they would even budge on the price for that (if they would). Only one other 'general/non BMW' garage around here that I know is cheaper at £44 but they are no longer open on Saturday's, so for the sake of a tenna and having to mess about getting my car to them during the week while working, I couldn't be bothered to mess about so just had the stealer do it while in for a Service.

So, the pricing doesn't seem to bad, I just need to understand the schedule as it doesn't seem quite right to me.

 

[muon]

If you sell the car, you can get a refund minus an admin fee.

 

[Henry Chinaski]

Looking at the quote it mentions 'Service 2' (larger service) will be due March 2025, and lists brake fluid service in that. But my actual car says it's due brake fluid service March 2024?

As I said in my previous post, if you buy the service plan it is inevitable that you will end up having a Brake Fluid service done two years in a row at one point. From this point onwards the Brake Fluid service due date will coincide with the Oil service due date, so you will only need to visit the garage every two years rather than annually.

There is then nothing mentioned during 2024 except for health checks during March & Sept 2024 (there is also one for Sept 2023), so no Service for next year??

Yes, I had the same thing - for some unknown reason there is a flaw in the scheduling of the online quote.
What you need to do is purchase an add-on optional Brake Fluid service for this year. Adding it to the service plan is cheaper than getting it done separately outside the plan, because the plan cost includes the 'standard scope'
For peace of mind to make sure the scheduling was done correctly on the plan, I rang up my main dealer and bought the plan directly from them and got them to adjust the schedule, but this isn't really necessary.

Then nothing mentioned for 2026 except for a few heath checks?

That's correct, because you had Brake Fluid done alongside Oil in 2025, you have now moved onto a two-yearly service schedule.

So, the pricing doesn't seem to bad, I just need to understand the schedule as it doesn't seem quite right to me.

In summary you need to buy one service plan (£720) plus two additional Brake Fluid services added to the plan at the outset (£59 each with 'standard scope charge included). The £838 will give you:

2024 Brake Fluid Service

2025 Major Service
Vehicle Check (normally an additional £80, approx)
Brake Fluid Service

2026 No Service Required
(but consider just getting the oil changed at an indy, without changing the filter, if you think the
BMW 'Long Life' schedule is risky)

2027 Minor Service (oil and micro filter)
Brake Fluid Service

2028 No Service Required
(but consider just getting the oil changed at an indy)

So, £838 covers you for five years, which is equivalent to £168 per year, plus the cost of any 'interim' oil changes if you decide to have these done because you believe it will help prolong the life of your car.
Every BMW service will have the 'standard scope charge' included FOC.
The free MOT is just the single one thrown into the plan - consider it just a service plan, not a service+MOT plan.
If you do decide to get 'interim' oil changes done in the 'no service required' years, the reason not to change the filter is in case it would disintegrate when being removed. If it happens during a plan service then it's BMW's problem and they will change the filter housing for you.

 

[msej449]

If anyone is thinking of keeping their car for any length of time, then I'd recommend getting an independent oil service every 10,000 miles if they're doing a reasonable mileage and this would come up well before the scheduled oil service.

If you do this, and you're under any warranty or service arrangement, then make absolutely sure the independednt uses BMW oil and an OE BMW filter and does not update the service history. I emphasise to my independent that they have to eb particularaly careful about oil filter breakup and on the basis of previous work, I trust them to get this right. But you'll have to decide yourself whether the risk is worth it. Having work done by an independent invalidates any BMW warranty, especially the Extended Warranty - you don't want any work to be apparent to a BMW mechanic. If it's Extended Warranty, then there's the underwriter to consider and they're particularly rigorous about the Ts&Cs re only BMW dealers doing work with BMW parts.

And re the OP I have a Service Plan plus Extended Warranty. The SP seemed to be a no-brainer when I did the costings. I claimed under the EW for a new LSD last year and got all the costs covered (around £2K for the part and another £2K in labour as diagnosing the issue was extremely time-consuming for them*). So the EW has paid off. As I'm intending the car to be a keeper, I also do preventive stuff like 10K oil changs by an independent as well. This year, I'll probably also do a coolant refresh and coolant overflow hose replacement, and in the next 12 months, probably a ZF Gearbox oil replacement as well. You could argue 'why bother?' given the EW, but I see the EW as more of an insurance against major item issues like charge pipe, gearbox (£8K) and engine (£14K) replacement. The one thing that bothers me is that I can't replace the notoriously fragile charge pipe without it being obvious. If the charge pipe goes it's going to be very inconvenient, especially if I'm abroad, and worst case, if it sucks in debris then that's the engine finished and even with EW it's going to eb a load of hassle.

(*If a drivetrain has problems such as juddering, then they will first check the wheels. This means taking off each wheel, re-balancing it, putting it back on, then taking it for a road test. So x4 of these. If that doesn't work then they have to take 4 wheels off a donor car, remove the wheels from your car, put the donor car's wheels on and test drive it. Then take the dnor wheels offf and replace them and yours. If this doesn't solve it then they move on to the differential. All very time-consuming.)

 

[craig1912]

I wasn’t aware BMW offered a service plan for cars of that age. I had one for first 4 years (£755 although didn’t include brake fluid).
Aren’t BMW service prices cheaper for older cars so called “value service” so around £500 for big service and £200 ish for oil and filter change?

 

[Henry Chinaski]

I wasn’t aware BMW offered a service plan for cars of that age. I had one for first 4 years (£755 although didn’t include brake fluid).
Aren’t BMW service prices cheaper for older cars so called “value service” so around £500 for big service and £200 ish for oil and filter change?

I think you can purchase a service plan regardless of the age of a car.
The 'Value Service' cost at my local main dealer for my 5 year old car is approx £550 for the 'big service' and £257 for oil and filter, both including the 'standard scope' charge plus the £15 environmental disposal cost.
In my previous post I forgot to mention that the environmental disposal cost as well as the 'standard scope' is included in all relevant parts of the monthly service plan.
At face value the monthly service plan doesn't look like a huge saving just for the two services that are provided (£720 versus £807) but it looks more attractive when you add the value of the 4-yearly vehicle check which must be done at the same time as the 'big service' (£109 including standard scope), plus one free MOT (let's say £35), plus two free map updates (£79 each).
This works out to £720 versus £1109, without taking into account the 7 free "seasonal health checks".
Also, as noted in my previous post, having the monthly service plan allows you to purchase Brake Fluid services at a somewhat discounted cost.

 

[Henry Chinaski]

If you do this, and you're under any warranty or service arrangement, then make absolutely sure the independednt uses BMW oil and an OE BMW filter and does not update the service history.

I didn't mention this point in my earlier post, but I agree with you. I think not updating the service history saves the hassle of any potentially difficult conversations with the Warranty Manager.

However, I do not think the following is technically 100% correct:

Having work done by an independent invalidates any BMW warranty, especially the Extended Warranty. If it's Extended Warranty, then there's the underwriter to consider and they're particularly rigorous about the Ts&Cs re only BMW dealers doing work with BMW parts.

My understanding is that each BMW main dealer has a cost threshold whereby they can do work to a certain value without having to get sign off for the particular job from Warranty Services (and the under writer if necessary). Each dealer's threshold depends on certain factors such as the amount of warranty work they undertake (the more the better) and their audit rating.

I appreciate my point above is rather pedantic. More importantly, I don't think it's against the T&Cs to have oil and filter changes done by an independent garage - you just need to be able to evidence that it was done by a competent mechanic using BMW approved parts and fluids, and I think this is easy enough to do.

Technically, it's not even against the T&Cs to have the MP LSD fitted by an independent garage. Last month I had my MP LSD fitted, and when I asked the question this was the written response I received from the Extended Warranty company:

Good afternoon Mr xxxx,

Thank you for your call

Checked and confirmed, it will be your responsibility that the independents fitment of the rear diff was in line with BMWs recommendations / specification. It will be the job of the garage/yourself to document the work they have completed and provided the necessary documentation in the event of a failed component. If it later turns out that the vehicle had an incomplete repair / adjustment we would not look to assist.

Kind Regards

Lee xxxx
Insured Warranty Claims Technician

I ended up getting BMW to do it anyway, as there was no cost benefit to having an indy do it, and I think it's good to have BMW paperwork for the job if I ever decide to sell the car

I emphasise to my independent that they have to eb particularaly careful about oil filter breakup and on the basis of previous work, I trust them to get this right. But you'll have to decide yourself whether the risk is worth it.

I agree with the above too - you have to do your own risk/reward valuation. However, I would also point out that much of the problem appears to be due to poor design and manufacture of the filter, to the extent that there is still a risk even when the mechanic is very careful. If the filter does break, I think very few indy garages, if any, would go to the trouble and expense of changing the housing for you.

I claimed under the EW for a new LSD last year and got all the costs covered (around £2K for the part and another £2K in labour as diagnosing the issue was extremely time-consuming for them*).

Thank you for telling us about your LSD. I was planning to get my LSD oil changed at about 1.5k miles, and changing the fill plug to an after market magnetic one. Now I'm thinking I should perhaps get a genuine BMW fill plug. Have you had your LSD oil changed since installation?

 

[msej449]

I’ve just had the LSD oil changed at 1200 miles. I told my independent to leave as little evidence as possible of the work, just in case, and they did the work without removing a plate that’s usually taken off just to make the job a bit easier (I’m not sure what part they meant). They said it’d be obvious the plate fixing bolts had been accessed. They didn't charge me any more. I thought about the magnetic fill plug but it’d stand out like a sore thumb to a BMW mechanic, so I kept the standard one.

Someone on the equivalent US forum examined their diff oil and reported that after around 1200 miles, when they changed it, it was “all sparkly” - which they took to be small swarf fragments. When I had my MP LSD replaced under extended warranty it had done about 20K miles but the issue was that a tooth on a bearing had chipped: it’s wasn’t bad enough to be noticeable until the car was doing over 65mph or so. The garage said they’d never come across this happening before and it was a very unusual fault. But it reinforced my intention to change the oil as Drexler recommends and which BMW does on the M2 at 1200 miles, I believe (yes, I know it’s a different unit, but it’s the principle).

 

[Simon Site Manager]

Hi mse, when I changed my diff oil at around 5k (I only found out on here, that it should be changed at 1k). The oil was just black, but much less viscous than what I put back in.