I just brought my car in to Motorworks West in Wyckoff, NJ for a manual tranny and diff fluid change. My car just rolled past 70,000 miles a few days ago and it's been 35,000 since the last time I replaced these fluids (Remember, the dealer is supposed to tell me that these are lifetime fluids and NEVER need to be replaced).
When I was setting up my appointment I asked Dave, the shop owner, if there is anything else I should focus on replacing and the first thing he said was to replace the fuel filter. I told him I wasn't too concerned about that since I had my inspection 2 done about a year ago at 53,000 miles but then he asked me to show him where in the Inspection 2 schedule it mentions that BMW will replace the fuel filter? Hmmm...I really wasn't ready for that question...and additionally I specifically asked my service advisor (at the time of my inspection 2 service) if they will be replacing the fuel filter and he ASSURED me that it will be replaced. Then at the time of picking up my car I asked him again if the FF was done and again, I was told that it was replaced...so fast forward to today and guess what...when Motorworks took out the FF, it was the original fuel filter.
When I asked Dave to look the car over and tell me if there is anything else of significance I need to be concerned about he said that my belts were just starting to crack but that it's not a big deal, that they still have some mileage on them so I don't need to worry about their condition yet. So we chit chat for a while and I tell him how much I really love the car and plan on keeping it for a while longer and plan on putting some serious mileage on it and then he does a 180 and says that if I plan on keeping the car, then it's a good idea to do a little planning. I should do my belts together with the water pump and if I'm already in there it's best to replace the thermostat, pulleys, tensioners and radiator hoses at 90,000 (that's 20,000 miles, or about a year from now) and then he gave me a price for the whole thing.
What he said made a lot of sense and gives me an idea of what I will spend on the car in the next year and gives me an opportunity to budget for it.
I'm somewhat disappointed and disturbed with my dealer regarding their attitute regarding maintenance. First, obviously the thing with the fuel filter...that makes me lose faith in their integrity but additionally when I purchased my extended maintenance contract I asked them if the car would need any additional maintenance and what do you think their answer was?
I don't mind spending money or time to properly maintain my car but it seems that the dealers could short change you in providing the proper advice with regard to maintaining your car.
We hear it all the time but I'll say it once again from my recent experience, there's nothing like having a good independant mechanic (and there's NOTHING like the value of a good BMW forum)
When I was setting up my appointment I asked Dave, the shop owner, if there is anything else I should focus on replacing and the first thing he said was to replace the fuel filter. I told him I wasn't too concerned about that since I had my inspection 2 done about a year ago at 53,000 miles but then he asked me to show him where in the Inspection 2 schedule it mentions that BMW will replace the fuel filter? Hmmm...I really wasn't ready for that question...and additionally I specifically asked my service advisor (at the time of my inspection 2 service) if they will be replacing the fuel filter and he ASSURED me that it will be replaced. Then at the time of picking up my car I asked him again if the FF was done and again, I was told that it was replaced...so fast forward to today and guess what...when Motorworks took out the FF, it was the original fuel filter.
When I asked Dave to look the car over and tell me if there is anything else of significance I need to be concerned about he said that my belts were just starting to crack but that it's not a big deal, that they still have some mileage on them so I don't need to worry about their condition yet. So we chit chat for a while and I tell him how much I really love the car and plan on keeping it for a while longer and plan on putting some serious mileage on it and then he does a 180 and says that if I plan on keeping the car, then it's a good idea to do a little planning. I should do my belts together with the water pump and if I'm already in there it's best to replace the thermostat, pulleys, tensioners and radiator hoses at 90,000 (that's 20,000 miles, or about a year from now) and then he gave me a price for the whole thing.
What he said made a lot of sense and gives me an idea of what I will spend on the car in the next year and gives me an opportunity to budget for it.
I'm somewhat disappointed and disturbed with my dealer regarding their attitute regarding maintenance. First, obviously the thing with the fuel filter...that makes me lose faith in their integrity but additionally when I purchased my extended maintenance contract I asked them if the car would need any additional maintenance and what do you think their answer was?
I don't mind spending money or time to properly maintain my car but it seems that the dealers could short change you in providing the proper advice with regard to maintaining your car.
We hear it all the time but I'll say it once again from my recent experience, there's nothing like having a good independant mechanic (and there's NOTHING like the value of a good BMW forum)
