free maintenance = oil change?

[byebyemyti]

hi all,
I have a 2012 128. My 4 year free maintenance is about to expire and the dealer is telling me I am getting an oil change and wipers. Which is pretty much what they did a year ago when I took the car in (maybe a filter then as well). Granted my car is mint and very low mileage (13k) but it seems crazy that this is all they are willing to do. I have seen other posts with people complaining about this but I am pretty sure if I take the car back in month after my warranty expires it will suddenly need a ton of work. (I fell for this before when I took the service guys' word for it and then they wanted thousands.) Should I push for more or is it a lost cause in your experience?

Thanks for any feedback

[muddtt]

You could take it to an independent mechanic and have them look at it...then bring the list of things to fix to the BMW dealer. Seems like it has a lot to do with who your service advisor ends up being. Personally I hated my BMW service out of warranty. I went in for a brake fluid flush and they tried to nickel and dime me for everything else in the world. over $200 for cabin air filter...wtf.

[gregthegr8]

At 13k miles, you shouldn't really need anything else. However, you should be getting a brake fluid flush every 2 years per BMW spec. So, that's the one thing you should push for assuming it hasn't been done in the last 2 years. Could try for an air or cabin filter as they seem to do the cabin filter at 2 years. They might not do the air filter, but you can get that and do it yourself for $20 and not a big deal.

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by byebyemyti

hi all,
I have a 2012 128. My 4 year free maintenance is about to expire and the dealer is telling me I am getting an oil change and wipers. Which is pretty much what they did a year ago when I took the car in (maybe a filter then as well). Granted my car is mint and very low mileage (13k) but it seems crazy that this is all they are willing to do. I have seen other posts with people complaining about this but I am pretty sure if I take the car back in month after my warranty expires it will suddenly need a ton of work. (I fell for this before when I took the service guys' word for it and then they wanted thousands.) Should I push for more or is it a lost cause in your experience?

Thanks for any feedback

well if you're not driving it much.....why should they be doing a lot?

[MightyMouseTech]

They will only do what the car is calling for.

[byebyemyti]

Originally Posted by gregthegr8

At 13k miles, you shouldn't really need anything else. However, you should be getting a brake fluid flush every 2 years per BMW spec. So, that's the one thing you should push for assuming it hasn't been done in the last 2 years. Could try for an air or cabin filter as they seem to do the cabin filter at 2 years. They might not do the air filter, but you can get that and do it yourself for $20 and not a big deal.

thank you--very helpful.

I suppose if my previous BMW's head gasket hadn't blown and melted half the freaking car literally 2 weeks after the car's warranty expired (and having been at the dealer right before), I wouldn't be as skeptical.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

They will only do what the car is calling for.

^This.

I just got my car back from having the service indicator come on for the routine maintenance. When I was in the shop, the SA said my key FOB and what's coming up when they look at the car's computer were not in sync. The FOB only said I needed an oil change but my car indicated a couple of other things were needed, cabin air filter and brake fluid service. They kept my car to figure out why my key wasn't syncing with the car to pull that info. My SA also indicated he needed my key to show the needed service from my car as that will be the only way BMW will reimburse them for the service.

This is why many of us do out of cycle oil changes on our own dime. The dealers take a hard stance on if your car doesn't indicate the service is due, they're not doing it as BMW will not pay for it.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by byebyemyti

hi all,
I have a 2012 128. My 4 year free maintenance is about to expire and the dealer is telling me I am getting an oil change and wipers. Which is pretty much what they did a year ago when I took the car in (maybe a filter then as well). Granted my car is mint and very low mileage (13k) but it seems crazy that this is all they are willing to do. I have seen other posts with people complaining about this but I am pretty sure if I take the car back in month after my warranty expires it will suddenly need a ton of work. (I fell for this before when I took the service guys' word for it and then they wanted thousands.) Should I push for more or is it a lost cause in your experience?

Thanks for any feedback

Curious what "more" you want them to do? If you have a specific complaint, you should be making a claim while the warranty is still in force, but in terms of the "free maintenance," it's pretty cut and dry what you're owed (and the BC will tell you most of these): oil change every 15k miles or 12 months, brake fluid every 2 years, rotors when worn, wiper blades annually, engine air filter and cabin microfilter at some interval I don't recall, etc.

[byebyemyti]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Curious what "more" you want them to do? If you have a specific complaint, you should be making a claim while the warranty is still in force, but in terms of the "free maintenance," it's pretty cut and dry what you're owed (and the BC will tell you most of these): oil change every 15k miles or 12 months, brake fluid every 2 years, rotors when worn, wiper blades annually, engine air filter and cabin microfilter at some interval I don't recall, etc.

hi,
most of what you are mentioning here has not been replaced at all. Surely, in 4 years they should? Not to mention, even things that don't always work (ex. side mirror issue) they refuse to change because there is no alert showing.

[byebyemyti]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

well if you're not driving it much.....why should they be doing a lot?

good point but some filters and break fluid shouldn't be too much?

(btw, pretty sure I have seen your car around. can't be that many? )

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by byebyemyti

hi,
most of what you are mentioning here has not been replaced at all. Surely, in 4 years they should? Not to mention, even things that don't always work (ex. side mirror issue) they refuse to change because there is no alert showing.

If you haven't had your brakes flushed in 4 years of ownership, then you're at least 2 years overdue (should be every 2 years). Oil changes (with filter) should be done at least once a year, regardless of mileage. The dealer should replace the wiper blades annually as well. The other stuff could conceivably not be called for on an extremely low-mileage car like yours (pads and rotors surely aren't worn - I'm not sure anything else is covered under the maintenance program?).

I'm not sure what you mean by the side mirror thing. Can you elaborate?

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by byebyemyti

good point but some filters and break fluid shouldn't be too much?

(btw, pretty sure I have seen your car around. can't be that many? )

where do you live? around NYC/Long Island?

[byebyemyti]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

If you haven't had your brakes flushed in 4 years of ownership, then you're at least 2 years overdue (should be every 2 years). Oil changes (with filter) should be done at least once a year, regardless of mileage. The dealer should replace the wiper blades annually as well. The other stuff could conceivably not be called for on an extremely low-mileage car like yours (pads and rotors surely aren't worn - I'm not sure anything else is covered under the maintenance program?).

I'm not sure what you mean by the side mirror thing. Can you elaborate?

passenger mirror gets stuck and doesn't move down on reverse. Or it tries to and keeps going back up instead of staying down so you can see the curve when parking. But of course, it works the day I take it in and they won't do anything about it.

[byebyemyti]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

where do you live? around NYC/Long Island?

yes, nyc. It has to be yours. Downtown but I may have seen it in brooklyn too. Kinda hard to miss.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by byebyemyti

passenger mirror gets stuck and doesn't move down on reverse. Or it tries to and keeps going back up instead of staying down so you can see the curve when parking. But of course, it works the day I take it in and they won't do anything about it.

Well, if they can't replicate the issue then, no, they're not going to do anything about it (usually). But it may be worth mentioning it again before the car goes out of warranty, so you have documentation of the problem. And then if they can replicate the issue in the future (even after the warranty period) you may be able to get them to cover it retroactively. At least, I've heard of people doing this...

[byebyemyti]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Well, if they can't replicate the issue then, no, they're not going to do anything about it (usually). But it may be worth mentioning it again before the car goes out of warranty, so you have documentation of the problem. And then if they can replicate the issue in the future (even after the warranty period) you may be able to get them to cover it retroactively. At least, I've heard of people doing this...

thanks--I plan on trying at least.