Sweet price on dealer oil change DC--maybe national?

[Mandrake]

Can't keep a good deal to myself and there are several M6s in the MD, DC, VA area on here, plus this could be a national promotion. I was at BMW of Alexandria today and they offered me a 36 month oil change contract for $199. That includes one change on the spot and then any others your car says it needs within the next three years, due to time or mileage or both. In three years even the lowest mileage cars will need at least one more, and the $199 is only $10 or $20 above the walk up fee for a single change. The fine print specifies cars beyond 5 years or 50k miles, I think. Local guys PM me if you want to connect with my SA there.

[dreamrider22]

Thanks for heads up!

[HeyKC]

Originally Posted by Mandrake

Can't keep a good deal to myself and there are several M6s in the MD, DC, VA area on here, plus this could be a national promotion. I was at BMW of Alexandria today and they offered me a 36 month oil change contract for $199. That includes one change on the spot and then any others your car says it needs within the next three years, due to time or mileage or both. In three years even the lowest mileage cars will need at least one more, and the $199 is only $10 or $20 above the walk up fee for a single change. The fine print specifies cars beyond 5 years or 50k miles, I think. Local guys PM me if you want to connect with my SA there.

I think the big negative to this is that the service intervals per BMW are too far apart.

[MMMM6GC]

Originally Posted by Mandrake

Can't keep a good deal to myself and there are several M6s in the MD, DC, VA area on here, plus this could be a national promotion. I was at BMW of Alexandria today and they offered me a 36 month oil change contract for $199. That includes one change on the spot and then any others your car says it needs within the next three years, due to time or mileage or both. In three years even the lowest mileage cars will need at least one more, and the $199 is only $10 or $20 above the walk up fee for a single change. The fine print specifies cars beyond 5 years or 50k miles, I think. Local guys PM me if you want to connect with my SA there.

Thanks for the heads up man! That's awesome - I use BMW Alexandria too - Marcel is my SA and he's looked after me well. Unfortunately for me I just got my oil changed, so with the service/time intervals it'd prob be another 2 years before I could get any value back on that. Also looks l'm not at the 50k mile requirement yet. Any other specials there you know of?

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by HeyKC

I think the big negative to this is that the service intervals per BMW are too far apart.

Yes. And BMW uses the wrong oil. 0W30 is not proper for the V8s. 0W40 or 5W40 are much more appropriate and BMW does not offer those. So I would rather pay slightly more, buy my own oil, and have an independent shop do the service.

[Msparta]

Even sweeter deal if you did it yourself and learned the process and the work you would do would be much better then the slop job that's done anywhere else plus you save a lot more… just my opinion.

[Qsilver7]

Since the 2014 model year...BMW changed the CBS oil service interval to 10k miles or 12 months. If your annual driving is below 10k and you usually use the "time" interval of changing the oil every 12 months...then this may be a good deal...reducing the next 3 oil changes to $99 each. (if you are are NOT a DIY'er)

My last DIY oil change cost $48 for the oil and I believe it was like $18 for the filter.

[Mandrake]

Originally Posted by MMMM6GC

Thanks for the heads up man! That's awesome - I use BMW Alexandria too - Marcel is my SA and he's looked after me well. Unfortunately for me I just got my oil changed, so with the service/time intervals it'd prob be another 2 years before I could get any value back on that. Also looks l'm not at the 50k mile requirement yet. Any other specials there you know of?

Yeah, I have been happy with that dealer, too. I have 19K miles but with MY2016 I qualified on time--five years and up. I think their mileage change interval is too long, but there's also the time interval. So if you don't drive that much an annual change is fine. You could probably get three changes for the $200, which seemed like a good deal to me. Clearly, there are varied opinions about that. It is a nuisance for me to recycle the used oil and there are enough household and vehicular DIY tasks that I choose to outsource this one.

[Mandrake]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Since the 2014 model year...BMW changed the CBS oil service interval to 10k miles or 12 months. If your annual driving is below 10k and you usually use the "time" interval of changing the oil every 12 months...then this may be a good deal...reducing the next 3 oil changes to $99 each. (if you are are NOT a DIY'er)

My last DIY oil change cost $48 for the oil and I believe it was like $18 for the filter.

I am a DIY'er with too many projects. I put maybe 2500 miles a year on this car and an annual change is fine by me. The $199 should cover three changes, so $67 apiece and similar to the materials cost at retail.

I appreciate your regular technical commentary on these cars. I have learned a lot from your posts and am grateful that you choose to share your expertise.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by Mandrake

I am a DIY'er with too many projects. I put maybe 2500 miles a year on this car and an annual change is fine by me. ...
I appreciate your regular technical commentary on these cars. I have learned a lot from your posts and am grateful that you choose to share your expertise.

Thanks...glad someone can glean something from my posts.

Another thought...as I get older...I might jump at a deal like that if my oil change/service came during the cold winter months (Nov-March). As time goes by...the contemplation of having to get down on that cold garage floor makes me grateful I can afford to pay someone else to do it if need be...even with the little floor scooter thingy...at this age I now have to roll my self off of it onto the garage floor to get up...and rolling off the scooter is the easy part...getting up off the cold concrete floor is the hard part.

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Thanks...glad someone can glean something from my posts.

Another thought...as I get older...I might jump at a deal like that if my oil change/service came during the cold winter months (Nov-March). As time goes by...the contemplation of having to get down on that cold garage floor makes me grateful I can afford to pay someone else to do it if need be...even with the little floor scooter thingy...at this age I now have to roll my self off of it onto the garage floor to get up...and rolling off the scooter is the easy part...getting up off the cold concrete floor is the hard part.

Same here Q, your posts and feedback have been greatly appreciated!

As for the oil change "deal", no doubt that $199 for 3 oil changes is a great deal. It is basically free labor oil change. But, BMW is putting the wrong oil in our V8 cars. Even the owners manual states that 0W40 and 5W40 are options for our car. So why does BMW insist on putting in thin oil? MPG. They would have to restate all their MPG publications if they actually started using the right oil.

So then, why do we all have oil consumption issues and leaky gaskets? You guessed it, the thin oil that BMW uses. The trade off for marginally better MPG is thousands and thousands of dollars in repairs after 50k miles that WE have to pay for. BMW doesn't care about us after the warranty is up. I wouldn't be surprised if they purposely keep the thin oil in there so the dealerships can make $$$ on us repairing parts that should never have had to be repaired.

Bottom line, BMW offers this oil change package that saves you $33 a year (I buy my oil and have someone do my oil changes for <$100) so that you can have gummed up throttle bodies and leaky gaskets that will make the dealerships far more than $10k. Here is the scam: get you in the dealership so you can use their thin oil only to have their mechanic find a bunch of leaky gaskets and other BS issues that will cost you an arm and a leg. Your choice.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by thebmw

...BMW doesn't care about us after the warranty is up. I wouldn't be surprised if they purposely keep the thin oil in there so the dealerships can make $$$ on us repairing parts that should never have had to be repaired. ... Here is the scam: get you in the dealership so you can use their thin oil only to have their mechanic find a bunch of leaky gaskets and other BS issues that will cost you an arm and a leg. Your choice.

I definitely agree that BMW wants to get you in the door...somebody has to pay for the many new fancy buildings, free coffee bar and free doughnuts/bagels.

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

I definitely agree that BMW wants to get you in the door...somebody has to pay for the many new fancy buildings, free coffee bar and free doughnuts/bagels.

True story. The dealer failed to fix and disclose a $2 part issue for the last couple years. Ended up charging me $500 every year to do the diagnostics and supposedly fix the problem. This year, they also found $13,000 of other "issues" that need to be "immediately addressed". I took the car to an independent shop and he said literally everything they were saying was BS. In fact, we were all wondering if any of the dealer techs were putting pin holes in some of the gaskets and seals to create micro leaks. I'm telling you, there's some massive fraudulent stuff happening at some dealerships and it seems to be getting worse.

They lure all of these newbies in with these supposedly good deals only to screw them on the back end.

[MMMM6GC]

Originally Posted by thebmw

True story. The dealer failed to fix and disclose a $2 part issue for the last couple years. Ended up charging me $500 every year to do the diagnostics and supposedly fix the problem. This year, they also found $13,000 of other "issues" that need to be "immediately addressed". I took the car to an independent shop and he said literally everything they were saying was BS. In fact, we were all wondering if any of the dealer techs were putting pin holes in some of the gaskets and seals to create micro leaks. I'm telling you, there's some massive fraudulent stuff happening at some dealerships and it seems to be getting worse.

They lure all of these newbies in with these supposedly good deals only to screw them on the back end.

Without opening a can of worms, unfortunately this is true. @Mandrake while by and large I've had a decent experience at Alexandria, it's by no means without issue. I won't go into slating them on here as ultimately they rectified things, but I'm just glad I know enough about my cars (and am interested in cars in general) to not be taken for a ride. Let's put it this way - I wouldn't be comfortable sending my wife there alone.

This is also the first time I've used an OE dealer to get work done, even if it's just oil changes, to help show a strong history for the car at resale - and I've had the same "stealership" issues people complain about all the time. Maybe it's a UK thing as "OE Dealer History" is often touted on used cars there.

Another factor is since my last oil change, I've finally found a trusted independent mechanic to work on all vehicles - took me a few years as I'm new to the States but like a good doctor or dentist, a trusted mechanic is invaluable. I'm already planning my next round of maintenance with him for my M6 and judging by the feedback on here, will likely do future oil changes with him as well. Alexandria will be there for warranty work

[Kr0m3assass1n]

Originally Posted by MMMM6GC

Without opening a can of worms, unfortunately this is true. @Mandrake while by and large I've had a decent experience at Alexandria, it's by no means without issue. I won't go into slating them on here as ultimately they rectified things, but I'm just glad I know enough about my cars (and am interested in cars in general) to not be taken for a ride. Let's put it this way - I wouldn't be comfortable sending my wife there alone.

This is also the first time I've used an OE dealer to get work done, even if it's just oil changes, to help show a strong history for the car at resale - and I've had the same "stealership" issues people complain about all the time. Maybe it's a UK thing as "OE Dealer History" is often touted on used cars there.

Another factor is since my last oil change, I've finally found a trusted independent mechanic to work on all vehicles - took me a few years as I'm new to the States but like a good doctor or dentist, a trusted mechanic is invaluable. I'm already planning my next round of maintenance with him for my M6 and judging by the feedback on here, will likely do future oil changes with him as well. Alexandria will be there for warranty work

Do share or DM your trusted shop details

I'm out in NoVA and just started taking mine to Intersport in Ashburn, VA. They work on a ton of German cars and have a nice facility with updated equipment. So far, just a tire change but will likely be taking my X5 to them for brake & rotor replacement.

On that note, f*ck BMW of Sterling. I trusted them for all my BMW covered maintenance but they're increasingly becoming a stealership and I will not recommend anyone I care about to go there.

They wouldn't replace my original rotors despite the very high mileage (70k), severe rusting on the edges and very low thickness (3mm) on the fronts under my paid maintenance plan just last year. (The very same plan I was sold on by the same stealership in the first place). Now that my plan is expired 5 months later, my car magically needs rotors just barely 5k miles later.

The tech in the latest inspection video even claims I have to replace my rotors due to severe rust. You'd think my SA would've been nice enough to help me after our 6+ year relationship and my spending of thousands of $ for routine work, but nah, now they're all f*cking crooks.

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by Kr0m3assass1n

Do share or DM your trusted shop details

In the Chicago area. Motorwerks in Barrington. Used to trust them. In the last year, they have come up with about $30k in "needed" repairs. As it turns out through independent diagnostics, maybe only $3K was absolutely needed. Literally a 10X multiple! They also screwed up my warranty claim so I had to pay out of pocket. I guess there was a mass clearing of older, honest, good techs a couple years ago.