[LMK5]

Has anyone penciled out the actual dollar value of this plan? It seems that it would be necessary when evaluating new car purchases vs. brands that don't have this plan. Has anyone calculated the actual cost if the individual services were purchased at the dealer?

[sr5959]

Originally Posted by LMK5

Has anyone penciled out the actual dollar value of this plan? It seems that it would be necessary when evaluating new car purchases vs. brands that don't have this plan. Has anyone calculated the actual cost if the individual services were purchased at the dealer?

On a C Class I believe they charge about $1,700 for maintenance up to 50k miles.

[chiefneil]

3 oil changes, roughly $100 each.

Maybe 1 set of brakes and rotors, $1000

Maybe 1 battery, $300

Maybe 1 set of wiper refills, $30

Total: $300 - $1630

Coolant and brake fluid flush? I forget if you get those or not in the maintenance period. That would add a few hundred more bucks.

[mephiska]

Originally Posted by chiefneil

3 oil changes, roughly $100 each.

Maybe 1 set of brakes and rotors, $1000

Maybe 1 battery, $300

Maybe 1 set of wiper refills, $30

Total: $300 - $1630

Coolant and brake fluid flush? I forget if you get those or not in the maintenance period. That would add a few hundred more bucks.

cabin and engine air filter changes.

According to the manual, coolant is "lifetime" with no specified interval, it's just checked and changed if the PH is wrong or contaminated..

[rking117]

when i was offered it was offered along with the extended warranty and it was like 3700.00 so still doesnt get you what you need.

[LMK5]

Originally Posted by mephiska

cabin and engine air filter changes.

According to the manual, coolant is "lifetime" with no specified interval, it's just checked and changed if the PH is wrong or contaminated..

I've had 2 oil changes in about 12000 miles of driving. The next one is scheduled for 7k miles after the 2nd per iDrive, so I'd receive about 8 oil changes. They also replaced the micro filter at 12k miles. Not sure when the engine air filter gets replaced.

[ji99lypuff]

Hm i usually get one oil change per year and on my last visit they chamged wiper blades and in cabin air filter. So for the 35 month lease i will have gotten 3 or so oil changes and wiper and filter replacement. Not too much in terms of monetary value if you ask me. However its better than it not being included although bmw cars are a little more expensive than a similarly equipped benz or audi.

[BavarianFanatic]

I guarantee you it's not worth the asking. They simply wouldn't offer it if they weren't coming out ahead.

[drummerlauw]

More and more car manufactures are offering "free" maintenance program to lure customer in. There is no such thing as "free maintenance" in my opinion. Can you imagine if BMW start including tires as part as their free maintenance?


More tire marks on the road!

[rolltidef32]

Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic

I guarantee you it's not worth the asking. They simply wouldn't offer it if they weren't coming out ahead.

Not sure it's so much as them coming out ahead, more that they're securing their own investment and property.

By this I mean that over the past 15 years, the majority of BMWs have been leased. This means that the company gets the first sale; 30% of which are at or close to MSRP, then they get to sale the car used which has a lower profit margin, but still some profit.

The maintenance plan was the result of that big class action lawsuit against BMW in the 90's about fraudulent repairs dictated by the company. BMWs reputation was hit hard, as was the reliability rating. Then you have the truth that maintaining a German auto is prohibitively expensive in the US; the largest market.

BMW offered the maintenance plan along with a sizable price increase across the board back in like 2002 when everything went Chris Bangle.

Long story long, the plan is built into the MSRP of your car. As they improve the overall reliability of the cars, the cost/risk to BMW for offering the plan decreases; at this point profitability comes into play. Plus it helps keep you at the dealer and not taking newer BMWs to unauthorized (non-kickback) shops.

[Professor///M]

What is not mentioned is that it cares for "wear and tear" items, such as a xenon light. If your bulb went out and you don't have a maintenance program.

So if you have maintenance program, they replace the light. If you don't, it's like $1200.

Overall, the actual value provided to you is not much more than a few hundred bucks, if your car does not have a wear and tear item that breaks.

[Project Elite]

I thought this was possibly a good deal but the moment I started modding my car, these regular services are useless. I wouldn't want to take off all my parts every time I needed to take it in.

On a side note, will my warranty be affected if I am due for a scheduled maintenance (oil change) but I decided to do it myself because I don't want to remove so many aftermarket parts just for an oil change? I will be using BMW-approved engine oil & filter. How about brake pads? When they pop my hood to release pressure from the brake reservoir, they will see my intake, piggyback, downpipe, etc.

[CalCarNut]

One member had their car at the dealership. The dealer suspected something..put that red glue stuff on all the electrical connectors to prevent tampering, etc. ..so anything is possible. Generally if you're going in for an oil change, the CA won't blink. If you went in for a CEL etc, they'd look deeper

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by Project Elite

I thought this was possibly a good deal but the moment I started modding my car, these regular services are useless. I wouldn't want to take off all my parts every time I needed to take it in.

On a side note, will my warranty be affected if I am due for a scheduled maintenance (oil change) but I decided to do it myself because I don't want to remove so many aftermarket parts just for an oil change? I will be using BMW-approved engine oil & filter. How about brake pads? When they pop my hood to release pressure from the brake reservoir, they will see my intake, piggyback, downpipe, etc.

I don't think they mandate (or even CAN mandate) that the maintenance must be performed by a dealer. Just be sure to keep the receipts for the work you've done yourself.

Regarding taking it for brakes, etc., my dealer has a tendency to go over the entire car every time it's in so I'm pretty sure they would spot your goodies. Whether or not they would care is a different story. The only time your mods are of concern is if you experience a failure that MAY be related to them. All dealerships are different however.

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by rolltidef32

Not sure it's so much as them coming out ahead, more that they're securing their own investment and property.

By this I mean that over the past 15 years, the majority of BMWs have been leased. This means that the company gets the first sale; 30% of which are at or close to MSRP, then they get to sale the car used which has a lower profit margin, but still some profit.

The maintenance plan was the result of that big class action lawsuit against BMW in the 90's about fraudulent repairs dictated by the company. BMWs reputation was hit hard, as was the reliability rating. Then you have the truth that maintaining a German auto is prohibitively expensive in the US; the largest market.

BMW offered the maintenance plan along with a sizable price increase across the board back in like 2002 when everything went Chris Bangle.

Long story long, the plan is built into the MSRP of your car. As they improve the overall reliability of the cars, the cost/risk to BMW for offering the plan decreases; at this point profitability comes into play. Plus it helps keep you at the dealer and not taking newer BMWs to unauthorized (non-kickback) shops.

For reasons unknown, I read the OP's post as the EXTENDED maintenance plan, not the included maintenance. My bad!

Regarding the included plan, I think the primary rationale is that they can maintain control of the vehicle history by offering it with the initial retail sale/lease. This allows them to ensure the residual value is maintained and helps to solidify the CPO offer since the complete service history is available. The other obvious reason would be to remain competitive in the US market since other manufacturers offer it as well.