Regular service - what’s included by BMW Canada?

[kss]

I’m closing in on my first year of ownership of my 2107 M3 ZCP and so far I’ve had the break-in service and the 15k km oil change completed.
I’m scheduled to get my brake fluid service in Jan 2020.

I’ve had Lexus’s for the past 10 years and they have a lot of preventative checks and maintenance other than just oil changes, so I’m a little uneasy whether I should be getting anything else done, as I would like to keep the car longer term.

I just wanted to check if other than the scheduled oil changes and brake fluid servicing, is there any additional servicing/preventative maintenance people are getting done? If there is, how is it included in the 4 yr/80k km no cost service? The reason I’m asking is that one of my co-workers bought an x3 from the same dealership and she said that it includes wear and tear maintenance like brakes and spark plugs and gets an annual tune-up. Which is not something my dealer had said was included.

For those that have their cars longer, when do you typically change spark plugs and brakes? If you are swapping summers/winters every year are you getting regular balancing and alignment done. The reason I’m asking is I just had my winters put on 2 weeks ago (the day before our first snowfall) and the service agent was really pushing hard to get both done, which declined.

[Lt1camaro]

Nothing else needs to be done, other companies usually offer those "checks" and other maintenance options to get more money out of you.

If you want, I know a lot of people choose to get their oil done more often, at around every 7.5k kilometers, but other than that, nothing major.

[pokerface]

semi annual balancing and alignment seems excessive.

given your 2017 only has 15,000kms so far you probably won't need much for a very long time.

[Absurdium]

Originally Posted by kss

I’m closing in on my first year of ownership of my 2107 M3 ZCP and so far I’ve had the break-in service and the 15k km oil change completed.
I’m scheduled to get my brake fluid service in Jan 2020.

I’ve had Lexus’s for the past 10 years and they have a lot of preventative checks and maintenance other than just oil changes, so I’m a little uneasy whether I should be getting anything else done, as I would like to keep the car longer term.

I just wanted to check if other than the scheduled oil changes and brake fluid servicing, is there any additional servicing/preventative maintenance people are getting done? If there is, how is it included in the 4 yr/80k km no cost service? The reason I’m asking is that one of my co-workers bought an x3 from the same dealership and she said that it includes wear and tear maintenance like brakes and spark plugs and gets an annual tune-up. Which is not something my dealer had said was included.

For those that have their cars longer, when do you typically change spark plugs and brakes? If you are swapping summers/winters every year are you getting regular balancing and alignment done. The reason I’m asking is I just had my winters put on 2 weeks ago (the day before our first snowfall) and the service agent was really pushing hard to get both done, which declined.

Wear and tear maintenance is offered by BMW but you're mixing things up. Sparkplugs, complete vehicle check (not annual but every 60k I think), oil and filter changes are part of your free maintenance plan. Brake pads and rotors are not covered, but they have wear sensors that you can see on your car's "vehicle status" display.

I'm honestly not sure why your dealer wanted you to get the sparkplugs done out of pocket because it's part of the covered maintenance. I don't want to think the worst but please don't yourself be taken advantage of. Brakes consists of pads and rotors. If you're just driving normally, pads should last 90k or more. Unless you drove that much in your first year or you track, I would not swap them; you can also check your pad thickness by just checking yourself.

Honestly it sounds like your dealer is kinda shady but I don't know the whole situation so I don't want to assume. However, all of your necessary maintenance is indeed covered to 80k. The only thing you may need is more frequent oil changes as some of us think 15k is too long. Every 7.5k would be a better interval and you can do that at any independent shop.

[Maitre_Absolut]

There was a free maintenance plan that included brakes. I'm not sure what years that was offered but the current one doesn't.

[kss]

Originally Posted by Absurdium

Wear and tear maintenance is offered by BMW but you're mixing things up. Sparkplugs, complete vehicle check (not annual but every 60k I think), oil and filter changes are part of your free maintenance plan. Brake pads and rotors are not covered, but they have wear sensors that you can see on your car's "vehicle status" display.

I'm honestly not sure why your dealer wanted you to get the sparkplugs done out of pocket because it's part of the covered maintenance. I don't want to think the worst but please don't yourself be taken advantage of. Brakes consists of pads and rotors. If you're just driving normally, pads should last 90k or more. Unless you drove that much in your first year or you track, I would not swap them; you can also check your pad thickness by just checking yourself.

Honestly it sounds like your dealer is kinda shady but I don't know the whole situation so I don't want to assume. However, all of your necessary maintenance is indeed covered to 80k. The only thing you may need is more frequent oil changes as some of us think 15k is too long. Every 7.5k would be a better interval and you can do that at any independent shop.

Just to clarify, my SA tried to get me to do the tire balance/alignment - which I declined. I had asked at my 15k oil change what is included in the maintenance package (I thought spark plugs were included) and was told only oil changes, oil filter and brake fluid replacement.

My co-worker recently told me that brake changes were also included, so I was a little confused, on whether she is mistaken, or if the SA was giving incorrect info.
I also asked that when they change the oil, do they perform a vehicle check (ie top off all other fluids, and was told no, they only do the oil change. I’ve had a Lexus for the past 10 years (had a 335xi before that and it was a reliability nightmare - bought new and sold after two years because of constant breakdowns), and Lexus oil changes included checking all other fluids and every second oil change they would rotate tires, check brake pads and rotors and once a year also check if there was any interior items need to tightened (had zero cabin rattles I the two Lexus vehicles I had).

I wanted to confirm what is covered and what isn’t and as it doesn’t sound like BMW doesn’t do any of these other preventative checks as part of their oil change servicing, I wanted to know what I should be checking on my own.

[kss]

Originally Posted by Maitre_Absolut

There was a free maintenance plan that included brakes. I'm not sure what years that was offered but the current one doesn't.

That could account for the diff between my co-workers maintenance plan (she bought her 2017 x3 in 2016) and the plan for my 2017 M3 (which I purchased last year).

[pokerface]

That would have been an extra cost upgrade to include wear items.

In Canada at least for the past ten years we got the following included
oil change annually/20KM
filters every two years
brake fluid change every two years - not brake pad/rotor changes.
spark plug change towards the 60KM mark (I think)?

As far as extra touch items - I don't consider them to be preventative maintenance. More like extra cost items

I can also tell you they won't do rattles unless you ask.

[Absurdium]

Originally Posted by kss

Just to clarify, my SA tried to get me to do the tire balance/alignment - which I declined. I had asked at my 15k oil change what is included in the maintenance package (I thought spark plugs were included) and was told only oil changes, oil filter and brake fluid replacement.

My co-worker recently told me that brake changes were also included, so I was a little confused, on whether she is mistaken, or if the SA was giving incorrect info.
I also asked that when they change the oil, do they perform a vehicle check (ie top off all other fluids, and was told no, they only do the oil change. I’ve had a Lexus for the past 10 years (had a 335xi before that and it was a reliability nightmare - bought new and sold after two years because of constant breakdowns), and Lexus oil changes included checking all other fluids and every second oil change they would rotate tires, check brake pads and rotors and once a year also check if there was any interior items need to tightened (had zero cabin rattles I the two Lexus vehicles I had).

I wanted to confirm what is covered and what isn’t and as it doesn’t sound like BMW doesn’t do any of these other preventative checks as part of their oil change servicing, I wanted to know what I should be checking on my own.

Have a read on your work order next time. They don't do a full check during oil changes but they do top up fluids. Sparkplugs are 100% covered and you don't need to replace any maintenance items. Wear and tear items like tires and brakes are not covered.

Now if your friend had a brake issue that was covered under warranty, that could be what they were talking about. In the states however, brakes used to be covered as part of maintenance. I believe that is no longer the case however.