[///WeissBisBlau]

Hey guys, do any of you have any thoughts about taking your Ms to a “non-M-certified” dealer, as shown in a dealer search done on bmwusa.com? I just moved to a new, fairly rural area, and there is not even a BMW dealer in my new town,let alone M-certified. I just took it to an “M-certified” dealer, but I hated the experience there. There are other dealers around, but all of them are a decent length drive away, and none of them show the “M-certified” label on them.

So, thoughts on taking your Ms to these non-M-certified dealers? Have some of you, before? Will they even allow it, and remain under warranty? I kind of have the feeling that this is just so much ///Marketing, and it really doesn’t matter, but I would like you guys’ opinions. Any techs in here that could weigh in?

[Aronis]

Excellent question. I honestly don't even know if my local dealer is M certified or if that is a thing. I know Audi has RS certifications but not sure about BMW. Most of the BMW line is M this or M that anyway. LOL. They do sell M car's fairly frequently. Not sure if that is the same?

Call and ask them if the warranty is an issue. I don't think there are any real specifics for maintenance that are "M" only for this car. The engine in the M550 is pretty much the same layout. The brakes and rotors may be a bit different but not that different.

If I can DIY oil, brake fluid flush, differential fluid change, transfer case fluid change etc, then certainly a non-M service center can.

Mike

[boost3dx]

A quick Google search led me to this... so I don't think it really matters. None of the dealers I've ever been to have said anything about "M Certified" and they are all big dealers.

It was originally supposed to be an exclusive certification the dealership could get that would allow them priority for M cars. Both for sales, service and parts I think. Special Motorsport Technicians and Client Advisers with in-depth knowledge of M cars. It was something former M Brand Manager Larry Koch was putting together. When he retired the program was resurrected by his successor and put onto the market. Its clearly under developed and does nothing truly special to set the dealership apart from one another. Its basically just a marketing thing to make customers think this dealership is the place to go for M Cars.

[micvite]

Originally Posted by ///WeissBisBlau

Hey guys, do any of you have any thoughts about taking your Ms to a “non-M-certified” dealer, as shown in a dealer search done on bmwusa.com? I just moved to a new, fairly rural area, and there is not even a BMW dealer in my new town,let alone M-certified. I just took it to an “M-certified” dealer, but I hated the experience there. There are other dealers around, but all of them are a decent length drive away, and none of them show the “M-certified” label on them.

So, thoughts on taking your Ms to these non-M-certified dealers? Have some of you, before? Will they even allow it, and remain under warranty? I kind of have the feeling that this is just so much ///Marketing, and it really doesn’t matter, but I would like you guys’ opinions. Any techs in here that could weigh in?

M certified just means they sat through a presentation for a few weeks that tells them about m cars and stuff, it's purely just info about m cars as a sales thing, service is the exact same thing. Basically an m dealership will be able tot ell you the difference between an m5 and an m5c without looking at a brochure lol that's about it

[BlueString]

Never knew there was "M Certified Dealers". Just thought all BMW dealerships can service all models. Good to know it's a sales/knowledge thing.

[phoenixbmwlife]

Originally Posted by BlueString

Never knew there was "M Certified Dealers". Just thought all BMW dealerships can service all models. Good to know it's a sales/knowledge thing.

Yeah first time I'm hearing about it as well. Good to know about the sales thing also.

[Maverik259]

only real option for me. The closest "certified" M dealer is over an hour away and involves a tunnel and bridge so realistically 2-3 hours and that's not happening for an oil change. M's dont require anything special to do a typical service that a normal tech can't do. Oil is Oil. Filters are Filters. No matter what they're gonna pull the manual and do what it says regardless of the dealership. And if we're really being honest, 95% of service techs no less about the any of our cars than we do from being on the forum as much as we are. I can't tell you the last time the dealer diagnosed one of my cars correctly the first time. Last time i took my X5 in for a steering angle sensor failure, they ended up blowing up my passenger turn signal computer board. Yet no one knows how that happened.

[freshxdough]

As a technician I can tell you that there is no special training or certification to work in Ms. I don't know what classifies a BMW M Certified dealership as such. Maybe on the sales side, usually the dealership will have a large M display showing lots of M Performance parts, usually M cars on the showroom and such. I'm not sure what's different about a M dealer and a Non M dealer. They both sell M cars.

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by freshxdough

As a technician I can tell you that there is no special training or certification to work in Ms. I don't know what classifies a BMW M Certified dealership as such. Maybe on the sales side, usually the dealership will have a large M display showing lots of M Performance parts, usually M cars on the showroom and such. I'm not sure what's different about a M dealer and a Non M dealer. They both sell M cars.

this. Had to drive nearly 2 hours to the closest M dealer because they actually had M's when i was looking for my M5. Drove a couple M8's (coupe/sedan). Only seen 1 M car in my local dealership in the 6 years i've been going there and that was a beautiful Frozen White G80 with Carbon kit (well beautiful from the rear quarter).

[micvite]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

this. Had to drive nearly 2 hours to the closest M dealer because they actually had M's when i was looking for my M5. Drove a couple M8's (coupe/sedan). Only seen 1 M car in my local dealership in the 6 years i've been going there and that was a beautiful Frozen White G80 with Carbon kit (well beautiful from the rear quarter).

Lol easiest thing to do is find a used one locally, usually they're more willing to let you do extensive test drives on them since they already have miles, when I was looking for my m5 I went to every dealership but bmw to drive one.

[///WeissBisBlau]

Originally Posted by freshxdough

As a technician I can tell you that there is no special training or certification to work in Ms. I don't know what classifies a BMW M Certified dealership as such. Maybe on the sales side, usually the dealership will have a large M display showing lots of M Performance parts, usually M cars on the showroom and such. I'm not sure what's different about a M dealer and a Non M dealer. They both sell M cars.

Thank you for weighing in. I really appreciate it. May I ask, have you had occasion to work on M cars—whether F90 or otherwise? As a follow-up, is there anything that makes working on an M car any more aggravating or troublesome?

[Jakerx]

Originally Posted by ///WeissBisBlau

As a follow-up, is there anything that makes working on an M car any more aggravating or troublesome?

If I had to guess, probably us owners, lol.

[///WeissBisBlau]

Originally Posted by JakerStyle

If I had to guess, probably us owners, lol.

Ha ha! No doubt!

[freshxdough]

Originally Posted by ///WeissBisBlau

Thank you for weighing in. I really appreciate it. May I ask, have you had occasion to work on M cars—whether F90 or otherwise? As a follow-up, is there anything that makes working on an M car any more aggravating or troublesome?

I work on everything all the time. Normal cars, M cars, full electric cars. Everything. It's just like any other car it just has an S engine and sometimes a pretty paint. Nothing really different other than more expensive parts.

It doesn't take any specialty to work on an M more than any other car. Hopefully any tech will be respectful and careful around paint and trims and sensitive surfaces like leather and carbon and such. But that goes for any car as well.

[micvite]

Originally Posted by freshxdough

I work on everything all the time. Normal cars, M cars, full electric cars. Everything. It's just like any other car it just has an S engine and sometimes a pretty paint. Nothing really different other than more expensive parts.

It doesn't take any specialty to work on an M more than any other car. Hopefully any tech will be respectful and careful around paint and trims and sensitive surfaces like leather and carbon and such. But that goes for any car as well.

I agree, if you can take apart a Honda you can do the same with a bmw lol might be a bit tighter to get to certain things but everything comes apart the same way bolt by bolt