Good BMW Garage for Annual Service

LFCFan · 04-09-2007 4:07pm #1

can anyone recommend a good garage for servicing a BMW? Are official BMW dealers the only ones who can stamp the service booklet or is there garages with franchises or whatever that can do it? Is there really an issue with selling a BMW without a FBMWSH? Don't want to have hassle selling the car when it comes to it.

Don@slickfish.i · 04-09-2007 4:38pm

If the BMW is under warranty best to stick with main dealers, if not then these are both trusted in the BMW community -

Richard, Pembroke Motors - 6685031
Richie, AC car sales - 4531433

CarLover · 04-09-2007 4:52pm

I service mine with Murphy and Gunn Milltown. i find them very very good to deal with. Only honest dealership I've encountered so far. They will charge for labour but worth it in my opinion...

michaelanthony · 04-09-2007 5:20pm

Don@slickfish.i wrote:

If the BMW is under warranty best to stick with main dealers, if not then these are both trusted in the BMW community -

Richard, Pembroke Motors - 6685031
Richie, AC car sales - 4531433

AC car sales do a good job but are very expensive. I paid 171 for an oil change.

kdevitt · 04-09-2007 7:58pm

michaelanthony wrote:

AC car sales do a good job but are very expensive. I paid 171 for an oil change.

Thats cheap. Try an oil service at a BMW dealer...my last one was €800 or so (included pads)

JohnCleary · 04-09-2007 8:01pm

I do my own work on the BMW as warranty is out. As said above if car is still in warranty i'd recommend keeping with a dealer for the meantime, but servicing a BMW isin't any harder than servicing any other car (You may need a diagnostic to reset some item's though - The E46 service interval can be reset without diagnostic)

Gumbo · 04-09-2007 9:32pm

i would second AC Cars.

Alan or ritchie will look after you.

LFCFan · 06-09-2007 4:56pm

Do AC Cars have a BMW stamp for the service booklet? I hate that I even have to worry about that but more then a couple of people have said I'd have trouble selling if the car didn't have a full BMW service history.

Eoin · 06-09-2007 5:29pm

LFCFan wrote:

Do AC Cars have a BMW stamp for the service booklet? I hate that I even have to worry about that but more then a couple of people have said I'd have trouble selling if the car didn't have a full BMW service history.

No, it's their own stamp. They probably are quite cheap compared to BMW dealers. A little off topic, but they're now charging €200 for angel eyes installation, compared to €120 or so a year ago, so they're not a bargain.

I know what you mean about the BMW stamp, but they're getting quite a good reputation as an indy BMW specialist place, so a few buyers may see their stamp as much of a plus point as a BMW dealer one.

@kdevitt - was that 800 for the M3?

unkel · 06-09-2007 5:34pm

@LFCFan - What car do you have, what is it worth and when do you plan to sell it on?

AC car sales is not a main BMW dealer, so they won't have a BMW stamp

Edit: eoin_s beat me to it. I haven't had dealings myself with AC car sales, but their reputation is excellent

kdevitt · 06-09-2007 10:20pm

eoin_s wrote:

@kdevitt - was that 800 for the M3?

Nope... it was the 328ci.

I use AC a good bit - will have both BMW's down with them on Saturday. To be honest though, I'll probably go north to get a Four plus service on the M3 from a main dealer to keep the stamps, and use AC for all the jobs in between services.

LFCFan · 10-09-2007 4:53pm

unkel wrote:

@LFCFan - What car do you have, what is it worth and when do you plan to sell it on?

It's a '02 320D SE but I probably wouldn't be changing for at least another year. Dunno how much a difference a FBMWSH would make at that stage?

I would prefer not to have to go to a main dealer for this service though as there's some potential extras that will have to be done (rear suspension is very creaky so might need new bushings or whatever) and don't want to get shafted on the price.

By the way, do AC provide a loaner while they do the service? I work in D15 so not ideal getting the car to the Southside unless I can get a loaner.

unkel · 10-09-2007 5:15pm

LFCFan wrote:

It's a '02 320D SE but I probably wouldn't be changing for at least another year

At which point it will be at least 6 years old. I don't think the BMW stamp will be worth pursuing, especially if you have some labour intensive work coming up soon

My last BMW stamp was when the car was 7 years old (just before I bought it)

Eoin · 10-09-2007 6:19pm

LFCFan wrote:

It's a '02 320D SE but I probably wouldn't be changing for at least another year. Dunno how much a difference a FBMWSH would make at that stage?

I would prefer not to have to go to a main dealer for this service though as there's some potential extras that will have to be done (rear suspension is very creaky so might need new bushings or whatever) and don't want to get shafted on the price.

By the way, do AC provide a loaner while they do the service? I work in D15 so not ideal getting the car to the Southside unless I can get a loaner.

Best off ringing them - they may have a car knocking around, but don't know if they loan any out. They open Saturday mornings for servicing which may be better for you.

TCP/IP · 10-09-2007 6:41pm

Try these guys they service most of the Des Cullen Cars. Mate got a Boxter S serviced there the other day and he was well impressed saved over €1000 than if he went to Belgard Motors

commited · 10-09-2007 7:46pm

What guys or am I missing something?

I have a 2003 530d Sport, and I'm about 8k away from my next service - I want to keep it to dealer servicing (it's on 89k), Joe Duffy is my local BMW garage, but I've heard terrible stuff about them, and been unimpressed when I went to see the service guys in there. What's my best option?

michaelanthony · 10-09-2007 9:31pm

kdevitt wrote:

Thats cheap. Try an oil service at a BMW dealer...my last one was €800 or so (included pads)

50 euros is cheap which is what I paid for a 318 oil change.

Lord Nikon · 11-09-2007 12:21am

michaelanthony wrote:

50 euros is cheap which is what I paid for a 318 oil change.

Where did you get this done??

michaelanthony · 11-09-2007 1:29am

Paul Dempsey in Carbury.

LFCFan · 11-09-2007 9:07am

TCP/IP wrote:

Try these guys they service most of the Des Cullen Cars. Mate got a Boxter S serviced there the other day and he was well impressed saved over €1000 than if he went to Belgard Motors

Who are these guys?

LFCFan · 11-09-2007 9:09am

commited wrote:

What guys or am I missing something?

I have a 2003 530d Sport, and I'm about 8k away from my next service - I want to keep it to dealer servicing (it's on 89k), Joe Duffy is my local BMW garage, but I've heard terrible stuff about them, and been unimpressed when I went to see the service guys in there. What's my best option?

I've sent 2 messages from their website to book a service and have received no replys from them. That's enough to make me look elsewhere if they can't even be bothered to answer an e-mail.

commited · 11-09-2007 6:33pm

Will you let me know where you go for a service and where you get on?

Cheers!

Seth Brundle · 11-09-2007 10:29pm

michaelanthony wrote:

50 euros is cheap which is what I paid for a 318 oil change.

Did that price actually include the oil?

michaelanthony · 12-09-2007 7:17am

Yes.

bonham23 · 12-09-2007 1:46pm

if that price included the oil then they put the wrong oil in. BMW engines require fully synthetic oil. the 530 will take 6.5 litres of oil. so €50 for an oil change sounds very cheap.(the oil would cost more than that).

Tea drinker · 12-09-2007 8:44pm

Hmm, 50 yo yo would barely cover 6.5 litres of fully syn allright.
But are you 100% sure they need fully syn? Why not a good semi syn? Might need shorter oil intervals though.... which means it costs more.

(I would only put fully syn in myself for a quality car like beemer anyway)

edit just checked these specs:
This one appears to be a semi syn approved for BMW
http://www.lubadmin.com/upload/produit/FichePDF/lang_1/4304.pdf
This is fully syn with same BMW approval.
http://www.lubadmin.com/upload/produit/FichePDF/lang_1/5814.pdf

TCP/IP · 12-09-2007 11:27pm

Sorry Guys I ment
http://www.gtidirect.ie/

Seth Brundle · 13-09-2007 10:01pm

BMWs will take semi synth oil.
To do an oil filter for €50 means that spent oil (or something similar) was used to fill your engine. I do DIY oil changes and the oil alone would involve buying at a minimum 1 large (5L or more likely 4L) container and either a second or one or two small bottles. The 4L or 5L containers are approx €50 each for anything that isn't liquid crap - if I were to get the oil from BMW I would pay much more for it.
Whatever it is in your engine, it isn't doing it any good! Maybe your mechanic used Flora oil!

VeVeX · 14-09-2007 12:49pm

kbannon wrote:

BMWs will take semi synth oil.
To do an oil filter for €50 means that spent oil (or something similar) was used to fill your engine. I do DIY oil changes and the oil alone would involve buying at a minimum 1 large (5L or more likely 4L) container and either a second or one or two small bottles. The 4L or 5L containers are approx €50 each for anything that isn't liquid crap - if I were to get the oil from BMW I would pay much more for it.
Whatever it is in your engine, it isn't doing it any good! Maybe your mechanic used Flora oil!

Its worth noting that a mechanic or garage is not buying oil and filters from Halfords or Joe duffy.

You can buy a 200L barrel of Semi Synthetic 10w-40 GM (Opel) Brand oil for about €300. This oil conforms to Opels own specifications for 10w-40. Thats €1.50 a litre or €9.75 for a 6.5L fill. The filter would cost about €5.

It is entirely possible the guys mechanic did use 10w-40 semi synthetic and made a tidy €25 profit for about 10 minutes work.

~~SKYHIGH~~ · 14-09-2007 2:00pm

I have seen that alot of garages use the Shell Helix oils and no matter what car it is whether a lada or merc they would just use the same branded oil. The shell oil is good dont get me wrong. If it is good enough as a factory fill for a new ferrari then its good enough for your ford modeo. My local garage in citywest use Shell Helix in all their cars, I'm friends with one of their mechanics and they just universaly use the same oil in every car unless the customer requests a specific oil or somthing special comes in for a service requiring something differant..

TJJP · 14-09-2007 2:05pm

CarLover wrote:

I service mine with Murphy and Gunn Milltown. i find them very very good to deal with. Only honest dealership I've encountered so far. They will charge for labour but worth it in my opinion...

Found Murphy and Gunn Milltown good too. Not necessarily cheap, but in line with what I have paid at Honda garages in the past for example.

They have moved on a temporary basis to Goatstown Road(the Old Victor Motors Dealership). Alan in service was very helpful.

Paid about 800 for an inspection II service. Wouldn't have gone external to BMW dealers for that particular service and car was still in warranty. Had no problems since.

Good BMW Garage for Annual Service

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