BMW Service

BrianD3

The labour rate per hour is a bit more than I would have predicted however they seem to have gotten an awful lot done in that 2 hours they charged you for. Seems like very little time to do bushes, ATF, brake fluid, coolant as well as a normal full service.

jayok

Not to flog a dead horse, and I do agree with you to a degree Darragh29. After all I used an Indy myself and as I said I was impressed. However, the biggest problem is to do with warranty and the provision of that by BMW. It doesn't really matter if it's a Primary School leaver working on your car, if they are within the BMW dealer network, authorized, then no matter what happens you are part of the system and BMW will cover it.

However, if you go to a non-authorized Indy and a problem arises with the car that is a standard warranty item but hasn't been serviced by BMW then it's a get out clause that will be used by BMW to not cover the cost of the repair.

It sucks I agree, but if you have spent significant money on purchasing a car, then the you try to protect that spend (note spend not investment) as much as possible and a BMWFSH is it.

Cyrus

@ brian d3 the service and bushing replacement was two seperate pieces of work so it looks like 4 hours

i personally dont mind high rates if you get value for money

jayok

BrianD3 wrote:

The labour rate per hour is a bit more than I would have predicted however they seem to have gotten an awful lot done in that 2 hours they charged you for. Seems like very little time to do bushes, ATF, brake fluid, coolant as well as a normal full service.

Sorry it was 4 hours all in. First two hours for service then I took the car away and dropped it in again and another two hours was clocked up.

Re the rate well Joe Duffy wanted €160 per hour - so it seemed reasonable to me. But then again a Honda main dealer is €65 per hour But its not a Honda.

BrianD3

Cyrus wrote:

@ brian d3 the service and bushing replacement was two seperate pieces of work so it looks like 4 hours

Ah Now that I reread jayok's post it appears that you are correct.

I suppose 80 an hour is not a bad labour rate for a respected Dublin independent when Dublin main stealers are charging 100+ for probably poorer service.

edit: 160 an hour from Joe Duffy? Jesus ****ing Christ :eek:

Darragh29

jayok wrote:

Re the rate well Joe Duffy wanted €160 per hour

Honestly, you must be fu*king joking me!?!?!?!

jayok

Darragh29 wrote:

Honestly, you must be fu*king joking me!?!?!?!

Afraid not - got the impression couldn't give a feck either. I rang for a quote on the service required and that was the breakdown of cost. It was just a bit too much for me to consider value for money

Darragh29

jayok wrote:

Afraid not - got the impression couldn't give a feck either. I rang for a quote on the service required and that was the breakdown of cost. It was just a bit too much for me to consider value for money

And how many hours was he planning to charge you for the service??? I honestly can't believe that anyone would bring their car to a garage that charges 160 an hour for labour! Do you get a little tub of KY Jelly when you turn up at the service dept to pay your bill!?!

Cyrus

Darragh29 wrote:

And how many hours was he planning to charge you for the service??? I honestly can't believe that anyone would bring their car to a garage that charges 160 an hour for labour! Do you get a little tub of KY Jelly when you turn up at the service dept to pay your bill!?!

yeah, its on the end of the bill with the windscreen wash concentrate

jayok

Two hours. Don't remember but it was something like this

€320 labour, €120 parts = €440 + VAT = €499.40

There was a part breakdown like oil, filters, washer fluid stuff.

Didn't dare ask about bushes, etc.

<edit> Maybe KY was on the part list too? Ref numbe BND-OVR-001

Darragh29

Cyrus wrote:

yeah, its on the end of the bill with the windscreen wash concentrate

lmao!

Darragh29

jayok wrote:

Two hours. Don't remember but it was something like this

€320 labour, €120 parts = €440 + VAT = €499.40

There was a part breakdown like oil, filters, washer fluid stuff.

Didn't dare ask about bushes, etc.

<edit> Maybe KY was on the part list too? Ref numbe BND-OVR-001

That's nothing short of criminal. What's scary is that going by the attitude you got from them, the market, or the part of it that has more money than sense, is prepared to pay it. It's honestly scary that there are people out there who are prepared to pay 500 Euro for a glorified oil change.

jayok

I think they are really making their money on leasing which probably includes the servicing and all that for a fixed price. As such the leased or JD purchased cars get a possibly "preferential rate" as it would be an internal cost to the garage. I think a punter like me with my UK import non-BMW network purchase isn't going to make / break JD - i.e doesn't really worry about it.

jayok

BTW to really boil your blood, I was there today to purchase a replacement locknut and the place was bedlam. Both the service area and the sales floor was full of customers - at 11am on a Tuesday!!

So yeah, there's more money than sense.

Darragh29

jayok wrote:

I think they are really making their money on leasing which probably includes the servicing and all that for a fixed price. As such the leased or JD purchased cars get a possibly "preferential rate" as it would be an internal cost to the garage. I think a punter like me with my UK import non-BMW network purchase isn't going to make / break JD - i.e doesn't really worry about it.

I'm honestly shocked by that. I was shocked when I priced a "service" for a 01 VW Golf from Belgard Motor's and was quoted close to 350 Euro. Whan I asked what they were doing for that quote, the reply was, "change oil, oil filter and check vehicle as per VW checklist". They weren't even changing the air filter or spark plugs, this was literally an oil change!

kdevitt

Darragh29 wrote:

I'm honestly shocked by that. I was shocked when I priced a "service" for a 01 VW Golf from Belgard Motor's and was quoted close to 350 Euro. Whan I asked what they were doing for that quote, the reply was, "change oil, oil filter and check vehicle as per VW checklist". They weren't even changing the air filter or spark plugs, this was literally an oil change!

I paid over €800 for the equivalent of that with Joe Duffys on my old 328ci - albeit with a pad change too.

Despite that the car came back damaged, and the piston cover was left off one of the brakes which resulted in it seizing :mad:

unkel

Thanks for the follow up, jayok

jayok wrote:

Maybe KY was on the part list too? Ref numbe BND-OVR-001

ROFL

Elessar

On a similar note, does anyone have any experience with AC car sales doing pre NCT tests/checks? And would it be the type of garage to replace/fix something wrong that you didn't know about, without asking you and charge accordingly (like some dealers)?

ciarsd

Elessar wrote:

On a similar note, does anyone have any experience with AC car sales doing pre NCT tests/checks? And would it be the type of garage to replace/fix something wrong that you didn't know about, without asking you and charge accordingly (like some dealers)?

No AC wont go and replace something without your prior knowledge. If it's in for a service, it will get a service - if they find something's a miss doing the service you will be called and advised giving you the choice...

Seth Brundle

ciarsd is correct about them not doing something they weren't asked. AC is one of the few places I would be confident of leaving my car into.
I wouldn't bother with a pre-NCT check though as nobody can guarrantee the NCT outcome. By all means ask them to get it ready but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence of cars with a perfect setup (esp. lights) failing possibly because the NCT equipment isn't aligned correctly.

JHMEG

kdevitt wrote:

I paid over €800 for the equivalent of that with Joe Duffys on my old 328ci - albeit with a pad change too.:

Holy fúckology.