oil change vs oil service?

[ibcnunhell]

What's the difference? I'm out of my maintenance warranty and my service indicator is low. I called my dealer and they quoted me 170 bucks for an oil service. He said it included oil and filter change, top off of fluids, "check over of the car", and some other stuff i don't remember. That seems a bit high. Is the oil service worth it or should i go for just an oil change which i got quoted 65 at another dealer?

Thanks

 

[Harman1]

Change it yourself, buy the oil from the dealer its like $4 a qt. then buy a good oil filter from an auto parts store. If you don't want to change it yourself take the oil and filter to a place that does oil changes they will do it and charge maybe $10 or $15 for the labor. As far as toping of the fluids you can do that or have the place were you have the oil changed check them, they should do it for free or for a small fee. Good luck.

 

[codex57]

Just get teh oil change. Oil service is only them looking over your car but not doing anything. You can do that yourself.

 

[dpnguyen]

Free oil change

I know this is off topic, but let me digress as it may help others. I went to my dealer for a $67 oil change at 8k miles. When they saw that the car was 1 month away from being a year old, they said that if I wait a month, I'll get the oil change free. So, I'm going to have them change it in a month for free at 9k miles. Then, at 15k miles, they also do the Service I for free. I asked if this is a dealer thing or a BMW thing, and they said it was a BMW thing (matter of fact, I bought it new from some other dealer). I'm confused but I never look a gifthorse in the mouth. Anyone else out there experience this?

 

[codex57]

yes, my car's first oil change was the 1 year one. It's a BMW thing. It's either 1 year or 15,000 miles (well, whenever the computer says it's time), whichever comes first. My SA didn't think anything of it. Well, his facial expression when I admitted I hadn't had an oil change yet in that whole year suggested that maybe leaving oil in there that long wasn't such a good idea. Haven't looked into that yet tho.

 

[snowcrash]

$170 isn't bad for the service. I was quoted $240 at my dealer. Oil change should be around ~$70

 

[bmwrocks]

I know this is off topic, but let me digress as it may help others. I went to my dealer for a $67 oil change at 8k miles. When they saw that the car was 1 month away from being a year old, they said that if I wait a month, I'll get the oil change free. So, I'm going to have them change it in a month for free at 9k miles. Then, at 15k miles, they also do the Service I for free. I asked if this is a dealer thing or a BMW thing, and they said it was a BMW thing (matter of fact, I bought it new from some other dealer). I'm confused but I never look a gifthorse in the mouth. Anyone else out there experience this?

This doesn't make sense to me. The Inspection I is due after the counter expires after the first reset. Regardless of when the first reset occurs. So if you got your oil changed after a year expired at 9k miles, they would still reset your counter which would start counting down from around 15k miles again. Which would mean your "mileage" scheduled Inspection 1 would occur at 24k miles, not 15k miles like you think.

Then again this throws off the whole mileage maintenance schedule which comes in incremements of 15k miles (15k=oil, 30k=Inspection 1, 45k=oil, 60k=Inspection 2).

Does the whole thing switch over to a time based schedule if you drive less than 15k miles each year?

Can someone shed more light on this, I have managed to confuse myself on this.

Sorry for the attempted hijacking of this thread.

 

[codex57]

They don't always reset the counter. I did mine at the 1 year mark too. Had around 7000 miles. They didn't reset the counter. Now, I have about 3000 miles to go, according to the computer, before my next scheduled oil change. If they had reset the computer, it would read 12,000 miles to go.

The 15K mile stuff is just a guideline for oil changes. They go by what the computer says, not what your odometer says. Pretty sure it's that way for the Inspection stuff too if a light comes on for it.

If Inspection I and II count time as well, then they'll go by that instead of what your computer says too. Since that's how the oil works, I suspect that's how the Inspections work too. Like 30K (approximate) or 3 years, whichever comes first. Something like that.

 

[vyh]

Hi,
Just had my 03 X5 4.4 (6K) first oil change (low mileage oil change) at the dealer for free. They did not reset the counter. SO, at 15K, back I go.
VH

 

[330i and like it]

There are two counts on my 330i, a service and an oil change. I do my own oil change so I had to find out how to reset the service light - in the process found there was the service and then the oil setting.

 

[ferragame]

Difference of Oil Change and Full Oil Service

I think you are talking about the Oil Change Vs. The Full Oil Change Service. The difference according to my dealer's service advisor is the Oil Change is just a "drain and fill". Its for someone that wants to have the oil changed more than the 15k recommended BMW service. Oil change indicator is NOT reset. Cost is $65 at my dealer (just done on my 530i)

The full oil service (which I just had done on my 328Ci) included the oil change, and a bunch of other stuff (they included the check off sheet they use). I don't have the sheet in front of me but it includes some things like a brake check, lube the hub centric wheels, interior cabin filter replacement, fluid check, and a bunch of some other things. If you really want the full list let me know and I'll dig out the check off sheet. Anyway the dealer should be able to fill you in on the details. There are some differences of whats done depending on the model (ie the pads are taken off and their thickness is checked if you have a 740i - this isn't done on my 328Ci). Oil change service indicator is reset. Cost was $120 at my dealer for this service. On a side note, my local dealer's service dept is very good. They noticed that my 4 way flasher button wan't working when they were performing the oil service. Called to ask my if I wanted it replaced (lock button also didn't work). Quoted me $55 for replacing the unit. I needed it done anyway so I gave them the go ahead. Great catch by them. Not a bad price for the replacement either - I was surprised.

Hope that helps explain the difference.