BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)
 





 

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      09-15-2008, 03:09 PM   #1
nukezero
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Like to get an idea on maintenance costs after warranty?

For a 135i, could anyone hypothesis (with an educated guess) what the maintenance cost of this vehicle would be, say after 4+ years?

and, do you HAVE to stick with BMW brands? can you choose aftermarket brands, i.e. brembo replacement rotors, pads, etc.

here are some of my curiosities:

1. brake pad + brake rotors = $$$?
2. coolant flush?
3. tranny flush?
4. brake fluid flush?

any other that i shoudl be concerned about?

Someone here mentioned it costs nearly a grand to replace brake pads (parts+labor). Isn't that shockingly high? i mean, a good set of Akibono's are abotu $70 a pair and maybe $100 to install them right?
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      09-15-2008, 04:54 PM   #2
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Don't have facts for you but I swore after the maintenance costs on my E36 M3 I would never buy another BMW. Of course, here I am again.
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      09-15-2008, 05:42 PM   #3
Tom K.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nukezero View Post
For a 135i, could anyone hypothesis (with an educated guess) what the maintenance cost of this vehicle would be, say after 4+ years?

and, do you HAVE to stick with BMW brands? can you choose aftermarket brands, i.e. brembo replacement rotors, pads, etc.

here are some of my curiosities:

1. brake pad + brake rotors = $$$?
2. coolant flush?
3. tranny flush?
4. brake fluid flush?

any other that i shoudl be concerned about?

Someone here mentioned it costs nearly a grand to replace brake pads (parts+labor). Isn't that shockingly high? i mean, a good set of Akibono's are abotu $70 a pair and maybe $100 to install them right?
Recent dealer service on my E46 328i has included:
1. Brakes - ca. $525 per axle (roughly $300 parts and about 2 hours labor) Parts cost is high because BMW rotors are thin and are normally replaced with the pads.
2. Coolant Flush (every 4 years) ca. $140
3. Manual Transmission Fluid Change - I paid about $30 for 2 quarts of Redline MTL and my dealer charged one hour labor. BMW Auto trans. fluid is horrendously expensive.
4. Brake Fluid Flush (every 2 years) ca. $125

Other items in 87,000 miles have included $1,150 to replace the lower control arms, $1,300 for A/C repair, $330 to replace a wheel bearing, and $300 to replace the outside temperature sensor which was chewed up by a chipmunk.
As the car has been out of warranty for over 5 years, it's been a lot cheaper to maintain it than to trade for car payments - and it has never stranded me.
You might ask your dealer what his current labor rate it - mine charges $115/hr., but gives me a 10% BMWCCA discount on parts.
Tom
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      09-15-2008, 06:27 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom K. View Post
Recent dealer service on my E46 328i has included:
1. Brakes - ca. $525 per axle (roughly $300 parts and about 2 hours labor) Parts cost is high because BMW rotors are thin and are normally replaced with the pads.
2. Coolant Flush (every 4 years) ca. $140
3. Manual Transmission Fluid Change - I paid about $30 for 2 quarts of Redline MTL and my dealer charged one hour labor. BMW Auto trans. fluid is horrendously expensive.
4. Brake Fluid Flush (every 2 years) ca. $125

Other items in 87,000 miles have included $1,150 to replace the lower control arms, $1,300 for A/C repair, $330 to replace a wheel bearing, and $300 to replace the outside temperature sensor which was chewed up by a chipmunk.
As the car has been out of warranty for over 5 years, it's been a lot cheaper to maintain it than to trade for car payments - and it has never stranded me.
You might ask your dealer what his current labor rate it - mine charges $115/hr., but gives me a 10% BMWCCA discount on parts.
Tom
This seems very much in line with what my old Audi TT cost to repair. The fact is that all cars are expensive to repair these days, not just BMWs. I've found some ways to save money:

1) You can often buy OEM rotors and brake pads on the internet and take them to an independent shop to install them. Many places will charge 100% markup on parts! (I think I paid $125 for front rotors instead of $250 the shop wanted). With the 1, there are no (or not many) aftermarket pads yet, I don't think because they are an unusual shape but hopefully there will be cheap alternatives in the future. The rotors from BMW don't seem particularly expensive compared to others. Even the BMW performance rotors are pretty reasonable.

2) I think you can do a coolant flush yourself for much cheaper. Coolant is expensive if you buy the official BMW coolant from the dealer (which I'm sure there is one), but I don't see why you have to do that (I suppose they claim it includeds anti-corrosion fluids like the Audi coolant). I guess it's best to take no chances though since it still isn't that expensive and you don't do it that often.

3) You never have to change the manual transmission fluid. It's lifetime fluid and some even recommend against changing it because you are likely to do more harm then good. Some will argue with my point of view, but I'm never going to change mine.

4) Brake fluid flush. I never actually did this out of warranty on my TT, but I probably should have. It should be no more expensive than for any other performance car and only pricey because have to use DOT4 (or was it DOT5?) brake fluid.

I'll add that since we have a timing chain instead of a belt there is no recommended service for a timing chain replacement (which is great because that would be expensive!). If they do start breaking, expect to see a class-action lawsuit but I think we'll be ok.

I've also had to replace a wheel bearing on my TT and it was about $300 for me too. Things like sensors (I had two different ABS sensors go), you can often buy from the dealer and replace yourself. Sensors seem to run $50 to $200 depending on the sensor and are usually really easy to replace. I'm not sure of the weak points of our 1s but hopefully it isn't steering racks (like on my TT)!
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      09-15-2008, 10:23 PM   #5
x97Melbourne
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hint: SELL bmw before 50,000 mi.....better resale value and you never have to pay any maint costs......and you get a new car!!!
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      09-16-2008, 11:02 AM   #6
Tom K.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by x97Melbourne View Post
hint: SELL bmw before 50,000 mi.....better resale value and you never have to pay any maint costs......and you get a new car!!!
And you pay for it with a much higher depreciation hit!!!
Like they say: "You pays your money and you takes your choice."
Tom
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