Went to the dealership for an oil change...
 

I have a 2000 323i with ~135,000 on the clock...

A few weeks ago, I recieved a flyer in the mail from the local BMW dealership. $80 for an oil change, and $40 for extra sundries to what amounted to a Jiffy Lube Signature Service oil change, including replacing the cabin filter. I knew I could get everything done for less, but I thought "What the hell, it's an ok deal" plus I just wanted a BMW tech to look at my car...

So I pull into the service lane, and am greeted by a service writer. I show him the flyer and he says "Well, we'll honor that price, of course, but we usually charge a LOT more". A couple minutes later, he shows me a piece of paper quoting the usual price: $350.00 and some change... Wow!

So I'm sitting in the (slightly pretentious) waiting room when the service writer comes in and gives me an estimate for parts and labor:

$796.00 Oil Filter Housing gasket (Oil is leaking onto the block)
$610.00 Front Rotors and pads (I already knew that was going to be the case)
$323.00 Rear Tires are at minimum spec (Had an idea that was the case)
$180.00 Alignment (Had an idea that was the case)
$190.00 Rear Diff service (That was a little surprise)
$165.00 Power Steering Fluid exchange (That was a little surprise)
$165.00 Coolant Fluid exchange (This one is totally unnecessary as I replaced my radiator earlier this year)
$430.00 Fuel Filter replacement (This was a little surprise)
$2,859.00

Needless to say, I didn't get those services performed at that moment. I don't piss money, after all... I fully intend to get everything done ASAP (priority being brakes, tires, and alignment). I'm sure there are some DIY videos out there for some stuff, but not really having the place to work on my car, I'm a little stuck with going to and indy, or finding friends of friends that can do sidework. I think it's safe to say that I can get everything done for less than half of what I was quoted at the dealership.

I guess I just wanted to share my experience and get a little input on their quote... any thoughts?

You don't come here often, do you.....?













ps: the correct term here is "Stealership"








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Rotors and pads? Hit me up.

It`s also known as "Resizing Your Rectum, Prison-Style".... :yikes: :thumbdwn:

Those flyers are simply bait to get people in the door. If they make it sound bad enough, how many people do you think would say, "go ahead"? The last time I went to a dealership I was told that the VCG and OFH needed service. I took a closer look later and it was such a minuscule amount that I haven't touched it a year later. Funny, I haven't had to add any oil since my last oil change and I check it on a regular basis.

Wow, this just re-affirms the dealerships other name stealerships :)

I work with a guy who used to have a friend that worked at the Stealership.

He said that they actually used to have meetings with the service guys there about how to stereotype people when they came in (ie: if you are young or your car is older than 5 years then they arent going to waste their time on you bc you have no REAL money, older people tend to spend more money and know nothing about their cars, even that minorities might use funds from drugs or other illegal activities to purchase a vehicle and to call the police station to verify there are no warrants for that person!)

I was waiting once to get my DRL's turned off after I installed my angel eyes, when this older married couple came in and you could obviously tell they had money. The woman told the guy that the check engine light came on and they were going out of town soon so she wanted to get it checked out. He proceeded to tell her that it could be a number of things, but the things he listed off were all expensive repairs. I should have told her I could have scanned it out in the lot for free with the OBDII scanner in my glove box. I cant stand going to the dealer and avoid it at all costs.

Yea, I just saw this post in the pics thread:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...postcount=4609

That dealership only charges $412.80 for the Oil Filter Housing gasket replacement. WTF is up with MY price difference? I guess they feel they can get away with it. There WERE, afterall, people lining up to give them their money...

Oh, yea, that reminds me. My SES light comes on from time to time after I've driven for a short period of time, parked the car for a short period of time, and then start it up again (ie: errands). In the past, I've gone to Auto Zone and borrowed their OBD II reader only to get no code. It comes on and goes back off from time to time. The SES light was on when I took it in, so I asked about diagnosing it. I was told they charge around $150 just to plug in their reader. Again... WOW! There was NO WAY I was going to pay that when the possibility of no code coming back existed.

It looks like you're local to me and know which dealership to which I'm referring...

Im not terribly close to you, but I would assume all of them are pretty much equally awful. Luckily ive only had to go twice, when they charged me $85 for the DRL's and another time for a new battery. Both experiences were bad, and when I bought the battery all they did was roll it up on a dolly, drop it beside my car, and walk back inside. I didnt even get a "have a nice day" or "do you need any help with that?"

Unfortunately one of my keys is starting to flake out on me and the remote lock/unlock on my spare doesnt work... im hoping not to have to get a ~$200 replacement in the near future :tsk:

I had a chat with the Tech after I declined the services and he was very honest with me. I told him that I had an inspection kit in the mail which includes the spark plugs. The OFHG was leaking so little it wasn't even building up on the splash guard, and the I neglected to clean up around the thermostat after the cooling system refresh. I was surprised they didn't find more, guess I'm doing pretty good with my PM work on the car. As soon as you show a bit of knowledge about your vehicle the tech's seem to be plenty talkative.

I would never use the Stealership for any work that I'd have to pay for save a PPI. Find a good independent and you'll find that their labor rate is probably half of the Stealers.

Here's how I see it;

$796.00 Oil Filter Housing gasket (Oil is leaking onto the block)
$4-500 is about right for that, it's involved and must be done

$610.00 Front Rotors and pads (I already knew that was going to be the case)
ask whoever else you go to for OEM parts, ~2 hours labor, should amount to about $400

$323.00 Rear Tires are at minimum spec (Had an idea that was the case)
You should be able to get decent tires at a tire retailer for about $130 each mounted and balanced

$180.00 Alignment (Had an idea that was the case)
Alignments are worth about $75 tops

$190.00 Rear Diff service (That was a little surprise)
To change the oil in the rear diff? it's $20 worth of diff oil and 30 minutes labor, tops. the diff in my car takes like 1.1 quarts

$165.00 Power Steering Fluid exchange (That was a little surprise)
that's outrageous

$165.00 Coolant Fluid exchange (This one is totally unnecessary as I replaced my radiator earlier this year)
I agree

$430.00 Fuel Filter replacement (This was a little surprise)
$40 for the filter (the good one) and an hour's labor is quite generous

$2,859.00
Total expense should be about $1,1-1,200 at a fairly pricey/reputable indy shop, which is worth it, but $2900 isn't

Best of luck

$430 for a fuel filter. Where is it on an xi, in your liver?

They have to fly a surgeon in from Deutschland for the operation....:rofl:

Thanks for the input. It looks like you and I are on about the same page... I'm looking to get everything on that list done PLUS changing the trans fluid and filter and a VANOS rebuild for less than $1,200. I priced out 4 new tires and alignment for $505... I figure if I'm getting 4 new tires for roughly what they quoted me for 2, then I'm doing pretty well...

I changed to liver from something else to keep it prime-time safe. :angel:

Stealership - LOL
 

I'll admit I'd never heard the term "Stealership" until I joined the ranks of a BMW owner. Being a former marketing professional, those people at the stealership, have you sized up as soon as they see what your driving, what your wearing and what you look like. Now, if money wasn't an issue, wouldn't it be nice to walk into a dealership and just mess with them. I mean don't shave for a week and wear sweatpants. Look at some cars, ask some intelligent questions. Then when they blow you off, pull off a wad of cash and say "See Ya.!"

I've been to the nearest dealership and have started to develop a rapport with the parts guys, they seem cool. However, they still charge 3 times for the .50 clip or screw, that you can get online somewhere else.

I"m just saying!

McMaster Carr FTW that's all I'm saying.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Bimmer App

They'd have you sized up on this one too.
Read somewhere once about Ferrari dealers. They learned never to reject anyone. Guy in T shirt and sandels who hasn't shaved in couple'a days will walk in and write out a two hundred grand check to drive one off the lot.

IF you had just calmly accepted that offer... they would know you're idiot with deep pockets... next time they would recommend you to trade for something newer... and then they own you... ;)

Yeah, seriously....back when they still had the NYC Auto Show at the Coliseum, my roomie and I were at the Ferrari exhibit, we were discussing the finer points of the cars with a rather unkempt-looking guy, with shaggy hair, 3 days worth of beard, and wearing a red & black plaid wool lumberjack`s jacket.
That guy was Jay Leno, back before he took over Johnny Carson`s spot on the Tonight Show....

Who's Johnny Carson? /kidding

Update: Tires sand alignment on Monday, and I spoke to a tech at an indy shop who is spoken very highly of by one of my guys at work. Brakes, rear diff fluid, looking into trans fluid and filter change, VANOS rebuild, and he'll check out the oil filter housing gasket and we'll decide how much of a priority that is.

Working at an autoparts store we hear these stories a lot. Most of our commercial (aka independents) are far cheaper with labor. If you can find a good shop with guys who work on cars as a hobby instead of a paycheck is a win. If you can find some who will allow you to bring your own parts is a plus. Get to know some of the counter guys at your local autoparts store preferably autozone (shameless plug) if they are good at their job they can normally get good quality parts delivered next day or know a place around town to go

I've hear that service advisors are paid in commission. Doesn't that make you confident?

All service writers everywhere are paid commission. I have absolutely no problem with that whatsoever. On the service writer's behalf, he's not the dude determining labor rate for the dealership, or even how many hours are charged for a particular job. It's the upper management at this particular dealership that decided they were going to charge somehere around 170 per labor hour, and mark up OEM parts above MSRP. If money were no concern, I wouldn't have a problem with it, either. I just happen to want value for the dollars I earn.