[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by nostrum09

Has anyone given thought to the fact that the "free" maintenance is merely incorporated into the "base price" of the car? BMW did bump up the base of post-Sept (I think) cars by $600.00, so how many wiper blades, oil changes, brake pads does that cover (incidentally, on my E46, I never had the wiper blades replaced by the service department... not sure if they even looked at them).

I'll admit that I avoided MB once I heard they weren't offering a similar program (and for other reasons), but not because of the cost but because of the lack of convenience. I like knowing that I don't have to shell out money for those wear-and-tear items after the initial purchase, since the cost is probably factored in. With MB, I would [ideally] allocate funds each month separately if I didn't want to get caught by surprise, so with BMW I have consistent and predictable costs.

Exactly! Maybe they will reduce the base price of the cars if they no longer offer free scheduled maintenance. I like having it factored into the price as you know what you are getting into up front, however.

[rebelfocus]

Is this part of the world, for as long as I can remember we have had to pay for service (for all manufacturers). Usually, you get 2 years warrenty but routine servicing (oil changes etc.) need to be paid for during this period. An oil change can cost in excess of 300 euros.

Recently, BMW have introduced what they call 'Service Inclusive'. You have to buy this as you would an option on the car. It costs around 1000 euro for an E90 covering 5 years and a lot of people are going for it as you can still save some money and not have to worry about major servicing costs which can be very high. Here's what they say on the website

Within the first five years or 100,000 km of registration, this comprehensive service package covers the following:
All routine engine oil changes
All routine servicing in accordance with the Service Interval Indicator and the onboard computer.
Brake servicing, including the replacement of brake fluid, pads and discs
Replacement of air-filters, micro-filters and spark plugs
Windscreen wiper blades as part of routine maintenance

[RichReg]

Originally Posted by epiphone3

Exactly! Maybe they will reduce the base price of the cars if they no longer offer free scheduled maintenance. I like having it factored into the price as you know what you are getting into up front, however.

Doubtful.
All they MIGHT do is just not raise the price, or not raise it by much. You guys do realize that with the Euro still above the dollar, BMW is losing its profitability regardless of how much volume they sell.

I expect prices to go up, up & away; especially when that 335 comes out.

[LEDZEP]

MB dropped it on the C class, but I believe E and S still has it. My '02 C class had free maint. It was one of the nice things to consider when I was looking at another C or the E90. It would be nice to see them keep it.

As has been mentioned, it is built into the base price of the car. I too would be curious how the scheduled maintenance intervals would change if they were no longer free!

[BayAreaBMWFan]

BMW is heavily advertising free maintenance here in the Bay Area. It will be absolutely stupid of them to drop the program. It is one of the main selling points for the car. If you look at it, the free maintenance includes 2 oil changes, one inspection I and one brake job. The total retail cost of that is less than $1500. I am sure BMWNA pays 50-60% of that to the dealer. So the total cost is less than a $1000 on a $40K car. This is just 2.5%. BMW just passed on a 2% increase in price this September!

It would be absolutely dumb for BMW to cancel this program. I will stop buying BMWs (I just bought my third one in the past three years) if they expect me to pay dealer retail for scheduled services.

[Bimmerista]

Originally Posted by BayAreaBMWFan

BMW is heavily advertising free maintenance here in the Bay Area. It will be absolutely stupid of them to drop the program. It is one of the main selling points for the car. If you look at it, the free maintenance includes 2 oil changes, one inspection I and one brake job. The total retail cost of that is less than $1500. I am sure BMWNA pays 50-60% of that to the dealer. So the total cost is less than a $1000 on a $40K car. This is just 2.5%. BMW just passed on a 2% increase in price this September!

It would be absolutely dumb for BMW to cancel this program. I will stop buying BMWs (I just bought my third one in the past three years) if they expect me to pay dealer retail for scheduled services.

And what exactly are going to get instead: I think all other majors (luxus as well) have dropped this progamm . For the Euros, the exchange rate is killing them on the per-vehicle profitability.

Now if some of the competition brings this back as a sales tool ,the way Audi did in the 80s/90s after the unintended acceleration BS scandal to spurr on sales, then perhaps they will all follow. But remember, as stated here before: the price of "free" maintenance is included/passed on to the buyer, so this programme only benefits those who drive their car hard. Otherwise, I am not sure it makes much of a difference at the end of the day.

[Tony]

If it is true watch BMW go back to 3,000 mile Oil Change intervals.

[fredtoo]

Originally Posted by BayAreaBMWFan

BMW is heavily advertising free maintenance here in the Bay Area. It will be absolutely stupid of them to drop the program. It is one of the main selling points for the car. If you look at it, the free maintenance includes 2 oil changes, one inspection I and one brake job. The total retail cost of that is less than $1500. I am sure BMWNA pays 50-60% of that to the dealer. So the total cost is less than a $1000 on a $40K car. This is just 2.5%. BMW just passed on a 2% increase in price this September!

It would be absolutely dumb for BMW to cancel this program. I will stop buying BMWs (I just bought my third one in the past three years) if they expect me to pay dealer retail for scheduled services.

If you were to do this work yourself, you would be looking at about 100 for the oil changes, and about 100 for front brake pads.

[firewired]

I know Merc dropped it, but doesn't Audi still offer it?

[northerncalguy]

Originally Posted by BayAreaBMWFan

BMW is heavily advertising free maintenance here in the Bay Area. It will be absolutely stupid of them to drop the program. It is one of the main selling points for the car. If you look at it, the free maintenance includes 2 oil changes, one inspection I and one brake job. The total retail cost of that is less than $1500.

Just curious, where are you getting the frequency of services from? If I remember correctly, its 4yrs/50k miles - thats at least 3 oil changes right? And brake servicing would definitely be dependant on usage, so how do you arrive at 1 brake job, 2 oil changes, and one inspection 1?

[northerncalguy]

I would continue to buy BMWs. Other cars in this price range simply cannot compare to the entire package that is "The Ultimate Driving" machine. Full maintenance is a sweet bonus, but it is just that -- a bonus. Sure it makes owning a BMW easier, but you'd pay for oil changes outside of service interval at 7500 miles anyway -- go figure.

[jumpinjoe]

Originally Posted by BayAreaBMWFan

BMW is heavily advertising free maintenance here in the Bay Area. It will be absolutely stupid of them to drop the program. It is one of the main selling points for the car. If you look at it, the free maintenance includes 2 oil changes, one inspection I and one brake job. The total retail cost of that is less than $1500. I am sure BMWNA pays 50-60% of that to the dealer. So the total cost is less than a $1000 on a $40K car. This is just 2.5%. BMW just passed on a 2% increase in price this September!

It would be absolutely dumb for BMW to cancel this program. I will stop buying BMWs (I just bought my third one in the past three years) if they expect me to pay dealer retail for scheduled services.

BMW is also heavily advertising this program in the New York area.

[arn]

I would have to say, the free full maintenance is what drawn me to BMW. Not because of the price but because it's convenient. Also the fact that i won't have unexpected repair cost. If they do drop the free ful maint. program, then I'm not sure if I will continue to buy BMWs...

[MIKEYMIKE]

Originally Posted by RichReg

Doubtful.
All they MIGHT do is just not raise the price, or not raise it by much. You guys do realize that with the Euro still above the dollar, BMW is losing its profitability regardless of how much volume they sell.

I expect prices to go up, up & away; especially when that 335 comes out.

I thought about that, BMW discounting their prices a little bit if they dropped the Free Scheduled Maintenance. But BMW only continues to raise prices, not go down.

[tctic]

Or are they just considering taking some parts off the No-cost maintenance plan? Like in Canada, they don't cover wear and tear parts.

[AndOJones]

i dont know about this, ive seen recent television commercials and ads saying that all new vehicles come w 4 yr.

[jakehere]

Audi still has a 4 yr/50K mile full maintence plan.

On my E46, back when BMW only offered 3 yr/36K mile full maintence, I used 3 oil changes, new wipers, and at the very end I got new brakes/rotors. (Lucky they did it). I guess it was worth it. Probably about $1000 worth of stuff. I doubt they'd lower the car's MSRP by $1000.

[needashower]

Saab is still offering 3 years of full maintenance...maybe that's why GM is going bankrupt.

[bimmerwannerbie]

I do remember seeing recent ad on TV, not BMW, that is offering 2 years Full Maintence Program. Other brand even give Free gas for a year or 2. So, I don't see why BMW would want to end this program.

[breton]

The big difference, which has been alluded to with the oil change interval comments, is that if BMW were to drop free maintenance (it sounds like just rumor so far), they would lose almost all incentive to ensure that the vehicles are engineered for low maintenance costs.

This current situation is polluted slightly because it encourages maintenance deferment where things that are expensive are designed for replacment after the warranty period.

BMW isn't stupid, and they realize that actual repair costs (whether in or out of warranty) have a large affect on resale values. They realize that strong resale values are key to their brand and commanding the price premiums, so I will continue to hope that keeps them honest regardless of their decision about including maintenance.

[BMW F22]

the main reason that i got the E90 over other cars in its class isthe Free Maintenance. If they drop it, im going with Lexus or MB

[BMW F22]

i meant- it was the thing that pushed me over the fence...