E30 Zone

How much would a BMW garage charge to do a full service on my 318i and what would it include? Is there any links to prices etc? Thanks

I took the M3 in for a quote for a service when I first got it....

Inspection 2 was £829.

I got it down to £700 and they would knock another £60 if I supplied my own spark plugs - BMW wanted £15 a plug

£640 for a service stamp in the book

Needless to say it never got it's stamp.

Prices are going to vary depending on whether you want an:
Oil Service,
Inspection I or II,
Annual Check

Also, don't forget to factor in all the chargable extras they'll find wrong with the car.

A few years back they started the Four Plus pricing scheme to entice older cars back to the fold, but i don't know whether they got bored of that idea now.

My local dealer offered to do mine on the cheap four + four deal. Only problem is their idea of cheap and mine are vastly different. BMW cheap is £88 per hour plus VAT of course. Didn't take up their offer.

I got an inspection 1 on my 2003 325i sport for £150 all in and £48 for brake fluid change in march this year,thats with the castrol £13 a litre liquid gold oil,all 6.5 litres of it.just email your local dealer with the details you want doing and what the car is and wait for the reply,maybe best to sit down before opening the email though!

cheers for replies guys, sounds rather expensive to be honest! Good to know though

Kemix wrote:How much would a BMW garage charge to do a full service on my 318i and what would it include? Is there any links to prices etc? Thanks

a lot of the main dealers seem to have fairly shocking reputations for quality these days

http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/garages.html

i had an inspection 2 done on mine £130.00 all in. my mate does work for bmw hence the price

Fooking hell i would drive down to you and do an inspection 2 for £165 bits included and book stamped

what does inspection 2 include mate?

Kemix wrote:what does inspection 2 include mate?

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... spection_2

It includes all of this
Engine Compartment

* Check and adjust valve clearance (M20).
* Replace camshaft timing belt every other Inspection 2 or 50K miles.
* Inspect V-belt/Poly-ribbed drive condition, check tension (M20).
* Lubricate throttle linkage.
* Change Oil and oil filter.
* Change air filter or clean it if reusable (like K&N).
* Check battery acid level and correct if needed.
* Check Coolant level and inspect system for leaks.
* Check Steering fluid and brake/clutch level.
* Check windshield washer fluid level.

Undercarriage

* Change automatic transmission fluid.
* Change manual transmission oil.
* Check clutch plate for wear.
* Check drive axle boots for leaks.
* Change final drive fluid (’95 change synthetic fluid every other Insp.II).
* Replace fuel filter.
* Check fuel lines, fuel tank and all connections for leaks.
* Inspect exhaust system.
* Check steering box and steering linkages for leaks and excess play.
* Inspect brake callipers, discs and brake pad thickness.
* Inspect brake hoses and lines for damage or leaks.
* Check handbrake, adjust cable if needed.
* Check thickness of parking brake linings.
* Inspect front suspension and wheel bearings for play.
* Inspect wheels, tyres and adjust tyre pressures.
* Check spare tyre pressure.

Body and Interior

* Lubricate door hinges, bonnet latch and bonnet hinges.
* Check operation of exterior/interior lights (including glove box, engine compartment”¦ ).
* Check headlight aiming.
* Check condition and function of seat belts.
* Check operation of washer system and wiper blade condition.
* Check active check control panel for faults.
* Check function of air conditioning. Check refrigerant charge at sight glass.
* Tighten A/C compressor mounting bolts.
* Tighten nuts and bolts for door locks and striker plates.
* Replace intake dust/pollen micro filter in A/C unit.
* Replace batteries for alarm/remote control in master key (’95 E34).

[quote="mabz"]i had an inspection 2 done on mine £130.00 all in. my mate does work for bmw hence the price [/quote


I'm sure you will pay one way or another.

thats alot of things for a service... thanks for the info, didn't realise it was on the wiki

if your doing it just for the stamp, then what a waste of money
they will rip you off to the max
take it to a repitable local garage give them a list
they will do a better job and for half the money
trust me,i work in a local garage and you would be amazed how many people go to main dealer and get ripped off and s##t work done

Kemix wrote:thats alot of things for a service... thanks for the info, didn't realise it was on the wiki

Its not really - The list of stuff they "do" on the BMW service schedule looks like a lot but most of it is done by the technicians eyes rather than his hands.

On an inspection II you're effectively paying for a lubricants & filters change, Valve clearance adjustment and for the technician to spend half an hour looking over the car to find things they can charge you extra for.

Things like cambelt replacement, brake fluid, coolant which should be done regularly are all charged as extras.

You don't need to pay a BMW tech £80 an hour to tell you your wiper blades have seen better days or put an extra couple of PSI in one of the tyres

As mentioned you're better off getting a list of stuff you actually want doing rather than just looking at and taking the car to someone who knows E30's.

Full dealer history on an E30 now is pretty pointless unless your car is a low mileage garage queen thats had it from day 1 - and you feel you have to keep it up to preserve the value.

A stamp in the book is nice, but a pretty pointless expense on most 20 year old turds.

BMW is fine for servicing today's repmobiles but is not the place to take a 20 year old 3 series. Get yourself to a decent BMW specialist instead - you're not far from Ant @ A-Tech.

One problem with main dealers is that the majority of staff who knew E30s have long moved on so the knowledge base within the dealer is limited. There are a few who still remember the E30 when new but not many.

This year my 323 was serviced by a lad who was younger than my car I was telling him the capacities etc.

Some people are 'obsessed' with the stamp.
I've always been against main dealer servicing, and today is a prime example. I was servicing a friend's 1999 318is, bearing it mind last year it had an inspection II at BMW. Well, i came to renew the brake fluid and the rear nipples were rounded completely (also bear in mind this car has FULL BMW history) and the front wheels were overtorqued by 50Nm!!. And THEN the wheel would not come off whatsoever. Looks like the BMW 'technician' had overtorqued the wheel nuts and had not coppergreased the hub!