Parkview BMW or BMW Toronto?

[R745LI]

Hello,
Anyone has any personal experience dealing with any of the 2 BMW dealers or heard about any good or bad stuff about them. I wana take my car for service which dealer should I go with both are close to where I live.....Any personal experience...which is better in terms of servicing and honesty...I dont wana go to a dealer where I go for oil change and they start recommending me extra stuff to jack up the bill u know.....so who to go for.....
Parkview BMW or BMW Toronto ?????
Thanks in advance
~R~

[MattAu]

Dealers will always be more expensive than independent shops. I been to both but have only given my business to Parkview BMW and it was very expensive. Nonetheless, it's still better than BMW Toronto who lied to me over the phone and wasted my time. Here is the story for those who care. I have a 2004 545i and I wanted to get the iPOD interface. I was quoted an amount for the parts, and then approx. 1.5 hours worth of labor for installation and programming. I made the appointment and when I got to the dealer, the service advisor told me that it was going to be at least 5 hours of labor if not more just to program iDrive to make the iPOD interface functional. Needless to say, I left without getting it done. And on top of that, I have never been back. I go to Parkview for all my warranty and maintenance work. They have always been good to me in terms of courtesy car and things like that. But as I said before, any dealer is going to be expensive.

[R745LI]

Thanks a lot here is the situtation I am a new owner 2004 745LI with 81500KM'S. Maybe my ques is stupid I apologize in advance as I mentioned I am a new owner so just wana make sure before I go to a dealer. Everytime I turn the ignition ON for few sec it shows on display SERVICE 240KM-8Months. So I went into the CAR DATA and checked the Maintainance Schedule and got the following info:

1) FRONT BRAKE.
Service 21000KM
Have Front Brake replaced and brake discs checked by your BMW Center.
2) REAR BRAKE
Service 18000KM
Have Rear Brake Linings replaced and brake discs checked by your BMW Center.
3) SERVICE 10000KM
Have your vehicle inspected by your BMW Center.
4) BRAKE FLUID
Service 8months
Have Brake Fluid changed by your BMW Center.
5) ENGINE OIL
SERVICE OVERDUE-240KM
Have engine oil and filter changed by your BMW Center

So does this means that the stuff mentioned above with the Service timeline I should have these things changed/replaced once that timeline is reached? for example it says Front Brake Service 21000KM means after I drive another 21000KM I should have it changed/replaced/checked? like wise for the other stuff....specially Engine Oil over due means I should get oil change ASAP coz I was going to setup appointment with dealer tomorrow for engine oil change there website says aprox $135.00 plus taxes
Thanks in advance for your help.
~R~

[bmw_n00b13]

There's a 7-series forum that you'd get better responses from. I'm over from the E39 forum; I don't know much about your car.

You *really* should have the oil changed every 7500km or so unless you're not worried about longetivity. BMW's guide is fine for people who trade it in after 3 years before hitting 100k but for people like me who *buy* the car with 150k on it, it's a problem :)

There's a sensor in the brake pads that will alert you if your pads need to be done. When it goes off, though, you're on bare minimum and should get it done yesterday if possible ;). The guidelines are guidelines; 21,000km of city will go through more brake pad than 21k of highway driving-there's no stop and go. It's worth having them checked when the computer says to, though. BMW makes stuff up about how long fluids last, but if they overestimated their brakes, well, there would be a lot of lawsuits! However, unless the warranty fine print specifically requires it, you could go to a local indy shop. (see here: http://www.bimrs.org/2008MapPage.html)

Personally, I'd never go to a dealer unless required under warranty. I don't think that it's legal for them to require BMW oil changes, but you may need BMW to do other stuff for the warranty; check the fine print unless you like paying (in my experience) double for an equivalent job. For example, an oil change for MY car at Budd's is $160. That includes a walk-around, lubricating stuff, and the oil. I can do the oil and lube for $80, including all materials. Your engine is a V8, mine's an I-6 that takes less oil. I'm not telling you to DIY; you're probably not nearly in the same financial situation as I am (unemployed student :() but it's worth thinking about. (http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2159470 Info here).

Hope this helps.

[R745LI]

Thanks for the input....any recomendations regarding a GOOD independant shop for 7 series in Toronto area I find it hard to locate a Good, honest & knowledgeable independent mechanic shop......???? & here is the thing....My 7 series is a weekend ride only & I dont drive in winter also so is it wise to change for example FRONT BRAKE right now as the service recomendation is to do it after 21000KM & same goes for REAR BRAKE
after 18000KM & vehicle inspection after another 10000KM...because honestly speaking if i drive only on weekends & not a winter ride then I guess I will hardly or max put 10,000KM'S in a year so getting these service done at point would it be wise or should I waite until the recommended KM'S are bit lower then what they are right now????......I am a new owner so not sure so plz advise......Thanks again for input........

[MattAu]

if your iDrive says you have 21,000 kms before your brake changes, why would you change them now? Unless your iDrive is very different than the one in my 5 series, mine indicates when is the next service require. So if yours says 21,000 km before the next brake service, you have 21,000km. On the other hand, if you are already 21,000 km OVER the recommended changes, which I doubt is the case, that's different.