[Tristan1981]

I've just bought a '54 plate' 530 d sport, 36K miles- lovely motor. :thumbsup It had a BMW service including oil/fluids Oct 2008. It was MOT'ed last week- no probs, now an alarm on the idrive indicates a 'vehicle check' is required? Upon further investigation it turns out to be a 'Routine Maintenance Check' is required? Apparrently this is a recent addition to the BMW servicing programme.

My first question was, What could it possibly need checking for now?
I believe in looking after a car and checking it on a regular basis, but this is becoming a bit rediculous.

My next question was, What does a 'Routine Maintenance Check' include?
Well here is a cut/ paste directly off the BMW website:

BMW Routine Maintenance Check
For peace of mind between services.

Your BMW is designed to only need a minimum amount of maintenance. In fact, thanks to BMW's world leading servicing technology, it is equipped with the intelligence to monitor its own condition and pre-warn you when a service is due.

But what about those things you're supposed to check between services that are vital to safety and reliability as you drive, such as fluid levels, lights, brakes and clutch hydraulics?

Whether you're planning a continental holiday in the heat of summer or preparing for freezing winter conditions, it's reassuring to know that your BMW is in peak condition, from tyres to coolant levels.

Our BMW Approved Technicians can take care of it quickly and efficiently with a thorough 15-point Routine Maintenance Check. It usually only takes around half an hour, and can be performed while you wait.

We'll check:

Lights
Warning lights
Wiper blades
Anti-freeze
Screen wash reservoir
Coolant level
Engine oil levels
Clutch hydraulics
Drivebelt
Battery
Tyre wear and pressure
Brake pads and disks
Steering
Steering oil reservoir
Exhaust

For more information or to book a Routine Maintenance Check please contact your local BMW Service Authorised Workshop or use the service request link above, and drive away with total peace of mind.

:jaw-dropping Basically they aren't doing anything that doesn't require more than half a brain cell to do- and the phrase 'For Piece of Mind Between Services' just makes laugh- I am absolutely shocked at how bare faced they can be to blatently rip you off!

My third question then was, WTF is an MOT for?:hissyfit

Rant over! I would be interested in your thoughts..... Please correct me if I'm wrong and the 'peace of mind between services' helps you sleep at night!


Happy Motoringlol2:jump

P.S. Does anyone know how to reset the 'Vehicle Check' alert on the idrive? Needless to say BMW won't be giving me any piece of mind in the near future......

 

[craigledden]

yes it seems bmw's are idiot proof lol :rofl

 

[ron]

not everyone wants to do work to their own car, some people would prefer someone in the know to do it for them, just because its simple to you dosnt mean its simple to them, checking the fluid levels isnt just checking the fluid levels its checking that the cap is functioning properly, no seals have gone and there are no obvious signs of leakages anywhere, checking the tyres isnt just "ooh its got 30psi in its fine" its checking for even tread wear, checking for tears or slits in the tyre, checking the sidewall for breakages and checking that all the tyres are wearing even.

even tho dealership prices are a joke they do actually prove to be usefull as far as the bmw brand goes, high prices and high maintenence prices means that the bmw brand can grow and grow into what we have today, for instance do you really think there would be a V10 m5 if bmw had made cutbacks in previous models or charged little for maintenence and repairs, ofcourse not.
even when you get into a basemodel 316 you get a very well thought out well built car that will run circles around its rivals, every age group and series of bmw has various models that are adorned by the enthusiast, most brands of car there are only certain models that get such high reqognition.

all im saying here is without such high prices we wouldnt have such a good car to own, when you compare bmw to other brands youll soon see that they only have a select few models that offer so much prestigue and performance in one, bmw however have various models throughout the series that will out perform and outshine most higher end models from other brands...
you get what you pay for and for what you pay, you get a lot!

edit...just read through your post again, yea it does seem a bit stupid that the warning would pop up now, but again my post holds a valid point, they money they make out of this crap is justified!

 

[DSK]

I can see where you are comming from Ron, but the dealers usually charge around £100+ vat p/hour labour easily ... c'mon £100+vat p/hour in labour alone is extortion! If these checks can be done for a set price, that is sensible, I'm sure some of the peopel who prefer the dealers to carry out such checks will happily take advantage of this type of thing.

The sooner dealers realise, if they can offer customer service and prices to compete with decent independant garages/specialists, then more people in general may pay the dealer a visit rather than try and avoid one at all costs!

 

[ron]

yea i agree the prices are stupid but do you think the m3 would be as good as it is now if the prices were lower? do you think bmw in general would be as good as it is now without the ludicrous price tags for cars and for repair costs.
i used to have a 98(R) plate mondeo, full electrics air con electric seats etc, its was the 2 litre aswell so its pretty much the highest spec one apart from the 2.5.

now even tho the car was mint and in perfect workin order it felt nowhere near as nice as my similar aged e36, my estate has got some issues and its nowhere near as in good as condition as that mondeo but it feels so much nicer in everyway, the fact that the car is actually worse means nothin to me as im in my very own bmw, the fact that it costs so much to run makes me love it even more, i havnt got any money and i have run out of friends now but i dont care ive got my very own bmw, thats the whole point of the brand, you want a well priced all round good car, buy a mondeo, but if you want something with presituge and style and all out "look at me" then buy a bmw, sure itll cost you more but youll be having a much better drive than those in the modeo.

 

[DSK]

BMW only make money from the sale of their cars to the authorised motor retailers.

As far as servicing and repairs go, thats the individual dealers monies to keep (except warranty work wich BMW will contribute towards). The money we pay for repairs/servicing pays the dealerships mechanics wages and helps line the pockets of the owner of the dealership.

As a result, servicing and repairs don't contribute to BMW's R&D, only the actual sales of BMWs contributes to future development of BMWs. Therefore dealers as I mentioned need to pull their socks up by offering a decent service, giving 2 sh!ts about their customers and offering genuine maintenance packages to suit the customers. They used to do this years ago before large groups (like Stratstones) started taking over all the dealerships.


If I could be sure to recieve a genuine friendly personal service, to have my custom appreciated by a dealer (rather than being a number) and be sure that the service people would charge a respectable premium for servicing/repairs etc, i would happily use one more often rather than travelling half way across the UK to specialist that does what any enthusiast expects.

 

[Tristan1981]

I agree entirely DSK. When I bought my first BMW (318CI) 5 years ago I was delighted with the car. I thought i was entering into the 'prestige' car market with customer service and satisfaction to match. I was shocked and surprised at the poor customer service and overall shabby attitude that BMW provides.
I have no problem paying over the odds for a guaranteed professional and thorough job- however in my experience that simply is not the standard that BMW deliver by a long way. Luckily for me I live near an excellent BMW specialist( http://www.newhallcars.co.uk/) who are very reasonable in price, talk to you like a human being, give you the time of day and give you the satisfaction that owning a prestige car is all about.

 

[Ronnie]

Lights
Warning lights
Wiper blades
Anti-freeze
Screen wash reservoir
Coolant level
Engine oil levels
Clutch hydraulics
Drivebelt
Battery
Tyre wear and pressure
Brake pads and disks
Steering
Steering oil reservoir
Exhaust
[/I]

My third question then was, WTF is an MOT for?:hissyfit

Rant over! I would be interested in your thoughts..... Please correct me if I'm wrong and the 'peace of mind between services' helps you sleep at night!


Happy Motoringlol2:jump

The MOT doesn't check

Reverse lights
Any other warning lights apart from ABS
Rear wiper blade if you have one
Antifreeze
Coolant level
Engine oil levels on cars without a dipstick(stupid BMW and Mercedes:mad. And then not all cars get the oil level checked either)
Clutch hydraulics
Drivebelt
Battery
Tyre pressures
Steering oil reservoir(level)

The MOT is just a basic car road worthiness/safety check, hence why they don't mind if the Airbag light is on because you shouldn't crash :rofl

But yes I do see your point :cool

 

[Tristan1981]

In my opinion -everybody who owns a car should be able to check the vast majority of items on the list without problem. Thankfully now they have incorporated the main checks you might do on a car as part of your driving test.

 

[DSK]

In my opinion -everybody who owns a car should be able to check the vast majority of items on the list without problem. Thankfully now they have incorporated the main checks you might do on a car as part of your driving test.

On many cars nowaday, manufacturers are making it ever more difficult to access some area's only leaving the oil dipstick, coolant cap and washer fluid cap on show. This can hinder some people carrying out some of the basic checks that we all think are easy.

 

[GordonJ]

I can see where you are comming from Ron, but the dealers usually charge around £100+ vat p/hour labour easily ... c'mon £100+vat p/hour in labour alone is extortion!

By way of a comparison of how utterly absurd this is, the government pays QCs around £98 per hour, no VAT!

Charging more for a grease monkey than a bloody barrister!!! :jaw-dropping

Something ain't right there...

 

[DSK]

This goes to illustrate our point about the labour costs.

A cracking piece by Tim from 5th Gear. A simple task of replacing headlight bulbs ... how much!????

http://fifthgear.five.tv/jsp/5gmain.jsp?mnk=410&id=222&description=Renault+Megane+Lightbulbs

 

[mrbarry]

I have always believed that part of a driving test should involve checking oil level, coolant (and knowing not to do it when hot and why!) washer fluid and other general fluids in the engine bay. Tire pressures and general condition. Every time you et into the driver seat of a car you are responsible for its condition, there are people out there who just cant do the most simple of things, and making it part of a test would educate them all!

As for wiper blades, its clear from in the car if they are faulty or not surely.

My uncle is disabled and unable to do such checks, that’s fair enough, dispensation for those unable to do such checks could easily be made and policed. I check his car monthly for him, only takes 5 mins and every one has a friend who could do it if they cant.



I have never taken a car to a garage for any work, of any kind. I have marked a few for friends before they take them to main dealers for services. You would be shocked how many times we get back under and the paint has not been broken on drain plugs and inspection covers. They real and refund when you complain but why don’t they do their job??? (Never tried a BMW dealer BTW) Not one has ever covered every single item on the list but some are minor petty things that don’t need checking, they are paid to do it tho!

I have never known a dealer change the spark plugs in a diesel engine :lol

 

[e36-ollie]

Who told you that an Routine Maintenance check was required / where did you get this information? An RMC is not part of any i-drive service schedule.

I'm not sure why RMC's were invented as basically the items it covers are done on the likes of vehicle checks, and spec 1 and 2s.

 

[RYM]

IIRC Watchdog have caught quite a few large chains out on various bits and pieces that the customer is getting charged for but the work is not being completed:frown

 

[steviec_lj]

Im with "mrbarry" on this one, I have never taken a car to a dealership or garage for work to be carried out, apart from the annual MOT's which are of course compulsary.

I have maintained all vehicles I have owned, some that I havent owned such as company vans.

I remember ringing Vauxhall up for a quote on getting the electrics of my Vectra sorted, which in the end turned out to be a few loose connections and broken wires, they quoted £420 (give or take a few £'s). I managed to complete the job in around 9hours, that included ripping out the fuse box to re-reoute wires etc.

The parts I used/needed cant have cost me more than £5...

RMC's are getting out of hand. Only just the other day I noticed in Kwik-**it (my glorious insurance provider too) that a serivces costs anywhere from £79.99, which included a free litre of oil, but nothing else, just a look at the car!!

 

[RYM]

I will only ever use a dealer if 1) I can't get good quality replacement parts elsewhere and 2) When my EWS module decided to give up the ghost and required my car having to be trailered to the dealer for a replacement and coding to the vehicle.

 

[mrbarry]

Fair comments, there are a small number of dedicated jobs you cant DIY. Like coding ecus. I guess you could but the chance of any one doing it wrong or damaging some thing is super slim, and the problems it would cause to do it your self dont weigh up.

 

[DSK]

I still use the dealers, usually for specific parts. As far as the Volvo goes, that sometimes goes across the midlands to TMS, a family run Volvo franchise that actually appreciate my custom and do a job the way I expect it to be done.

I'm sure we will always use a dealer for something or another but its best to be armed with knowledge yourself and always take dealers with a pinch of salt just like you would anything else.

 

[mrbarry]

Most people will use dealers and garages, I am lucky to have a tire fitting machine and ballancer. All the tools to do engine and box rebuilds, a paint booth even if a bit make shift..... If I didnt have all the stuff I would be left with no option.
Even tho I have a tire fitting machine I normaly get them done tho, just not worth the hastle of doing my own.

I find doing my own work very satisfying some how :?