BMW Service

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Galactic

Registered User
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Hi,
Love my BMW but finding main dealer service costs huge (as to be expected). Where would I find a good independent BMW mechanic in Cork please? Big services have crept up to €800. If not allowed post here maybe you might be allowed pm please. Its out of warranty.
Thx
 
Galactic said:
Hi,
Love my BMW but finding main dealer service costs huge (as to be expected). Where would I find a good independent BMW mechanic in Cork please? Big services have crept up to €800. If not allowed post here maybe you might be allowed pm please. Its out of warranty.
Thx
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Hi Galactic,

I've used Murphy Motor Works in Monahan Rd in the past and always found them very good.

Firefly.
 

BMW - expensive to maintain?

I really like the BMW 2 series 7 seater car, its alright paying a fair price for the car but I hear if anything goes wrong with any BMW, it can be costly to repair. Is this true, while I don't mind a certain amount of expense I don't want to regret buying the car also. Years ago I got a...
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
Hi Clubman,
Thanks for that. Ya def more expensive to service...just wondered was €800 normal for a big service (think stuff like air, fuel filter, oilfikters, oil change). Seems no time since we paid that for another big service maybe a yr or so ago. We had a more normal maybe €350 service in between.
Probably is normal and the price to pay for nice car.
 
Also wondered would regular mechanic be grand to go to or should I be going specialised. No clue and I'm assuming majority mechanics good at all cars.
 
Galactic said:
Hi Clubman,
Thanks for that. Ya def more expensive to service...just wondered was €800 normal for a big service (think stuff like air, fuel filter, oilfikters, oil change). Seems no time since we paid that for another big service maybe a yr or so ago. We had a more normal maybe €350 service in between.
Probably is normal and the price to pay for nice car.
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BMW normally follow the oil service insp 1 oil service insp 2 (or at least they did) unless you are doing huge miles it won't have been a year ago.

What model and engine is it
 
Galactic said:
Also wondered would regular mechanic be grand to go to or should I be going specialised. No clue and I'm assuming majority mechanics good at all cars.
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€800 for any sort of regular service is insane.

In my experience, there’s no advantage going to a main dealer for servicing. They’re expensive and, in all my experiences with them, inefficient and unreliable. The so-called prestige German brand dealers are among the worst.

You’re far better off going to a good local mechanic to whom you can speak directly without having to go through a desk bound “customer representative”.
 
Galactic said:
just wondered was €800 normal for a big service
Click to expand...

Back when I drove BMWs I think I used to spend 500-800 a year on maintenance - that covered servicing and also fixing things that went in the car / needed to pass the NCT - just to add - my cars were generally 6-10 years old so newer cars are probably cheaper to maintain.

I drove an Avensis after that, and although a cheaper to maintain, you couldn't compare them at all. So I am back to driving a "decent" car now and happy to pay a bit more for the privilege if need be.
 
My wife was quoted €27.50 from a very well known Dublin garage chain to change the battery on her key fob. Takes less than a minute so she obviously declined. Just highlighted to me how rip off many of these prestige garages charge when it comes to service.
 
Used to own a new VW Passat, after warranty expired I went to two non-main dealerships and both times they destroyed my car, once putting the wrong oil in resulting in needing to replace the timing chain (not cheap). Maybe I was unlucky but I have learned my lesson.



As an aside there is now a 10 week waiting list at one of the mail Dublin BMW dealerships to get car serviced or repaired…..
 
I own a BMW (Dublin) and have been through same journey. My view is go with an independent BMW specialist - they will save you good money as well as be very familiar with all the exact service requirements at each stage. What you want is value rather than cheapness and I find i get a far better job than main dealer at a lower cost and the premium vs a non BMW specialist is worth it.

Why pay for BMW specialist:
  • They only see BMWs so chances are they are more likely to be aware of likely problems, future problems, and have seen more of the current problems before. If I had a heart problem I would rather see the medical consultant who fixes 30 hearts a week than one who sees 1 heart, 15 stomachs etc
  • They keep up to date with all the updated BMW training - my chap is regularly in Germany doing their courses etc
  • They trade purely on their reputation - bad service kills their model as their model works on reputation rather than advertising/bmw dealership etc
  • They can update service record on idrive - makes a difference on resale value
How do you find a good one - for this and many other reasons its well worthwhile being a part of the two main irish BMW ownership groups on facebook - that's where I researched enough to find the garage I use. If in that group I search "service cork"I get some good answers (not sure I can quote here and name) and I I don't want to specially recommend myself as I haven't used any of the Cork garages.
 
You should be able to get a regular service for for less than €800 at an independent garage. Tjey can run diagnostics and reset service level indicators. Main dealer labour prices are crazy. They will fit BMW parts and oil. BMW make neither and the oem manufacturers that make them all have lower prices for their own branded parts.
 
The notion that “prestige” brands require servicing by “specialist” mechanics who regularly “spend time” in Germany is a bit fanciful.

Find a decent all-car mechanic who knows how to service cars and doesn’t feel compelled to bang on about his visits to Bavaria and charge extra for the privilege.

It’s a BMW car for God’s sake - not the Large Hadron Collider.
 
Farma1 said:
They only see BMWs so chances are they are more likely to be aware of likely problems, future problems, and have seen more of the current problems before. If I had a heart problem I would rather see the medical consultant who fixes 30 hearts a week than one who sees 1 heart, 15 stomachs etc
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That analogy doesn't stand up.
It would be accurate if you were Chinese and want to see a heart specialist who only treats Chinese people, since there may be particular heart problems that are more common amongst Chinese people, as opposed to a heart specialist who treats people of any ethnicity.

Mechanics all have access to the same diagnostic tools and all cars are basically the same.
 
Purple said:
That analogy doesn't stand up.
It would be accurate if you were Chinese and want to see a heart specialist who only treats Chinese people, since there may be particular heart problems that are more common amongst Chinese people, as opposed to a heart specialist who treats people of any ethnicity.

Mechanics all have access to the same diagnostic tools and all cars are basically the same.
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thats just wrong though, car's are increasingly like big computers with engines, and the software is different for them all. A back street mechanice wont have the same diagnostic tools as a main dealer (or a bmw specialist for that matter)
 
Blackrock1 said:
thats just wrong though, car's are increasingly like big computers with engines, and the software is different for them all. A back street mechanice wont have the same diagnostic tools as a main dealer (or a bmw specialist for that matter)
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Any good mechanic will have the same diagnostic tools. The manufacturers are obliged to make them available. They don't have to be a specialist.
 
Purple said:
Any good mechanic will have the same diagnostic tools. The manufacturers are obliged to make them available. They don't have to be a specialist.
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…… which is just as well.

I was quoted €318 by Audi Dublin for two hours diagnostics to tell me the cause of an Adblue warning light that had popped up. God knows how much they would have charged to actually correct the problem.

My “back street” mechanic used his diagnostics to identify the problem and charged me for the work needed to put things right. Beautiful in its simplicity.
 
Blackrock1 said:
thats just wrong though, car's are increasingly like big computers with engines, and the software is different for them all. A back street mechanice wont have the same diagnostic tools as a main dealer (or a bmw specialist for that matter)
Click to expand...
No, modern cars have a network of small sensors and small computers responsible for stuff like traction control and brakes, suspension, ride-height and tyre pressures, fuels and exhaust gases monitoring, lights, air-con, auto-dimming rear view-mirrors, etc. All of these feed data to the car's ECU which keeps control of the overall state of the vehicle and communicates with the driver. Electronics manufacturers like Samsung, AMD, Siemens and so on make all of the sensors and the componentry and the ECUs which get flashed for specific manufactures and models. It's like saying a DELL PC is different to an IBM, to a HP, etc. They're all made from the same components,in the same ways, differeing only in price and logo.
 
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