BMW Dealer Rip Off?

B

bluemoon1

Guest
Hi

I was wondering can I get some feedback as to whether I was ripped off or not. Yesterday I brought my 2004 316i BMW to a dealership to have its second service, it also required front brake pads.
When I went to collect car I was presented with a bill for €857.00 I nearly fell over in shock. The invoice listed service at €162 parts & oil for service €225 and front brake pads labour €100 and parts €280 plus vat.

Was I robbed cause I certainly feel like I have.......!!!!!


Thanks guys for your response, think it was a bit steep myself but its driving beautifully now. As a woman going into garage always feel a bit vulnerable cause its like double dutch to me and wonder sometimes do these guys pick up on that and hence the big prices. Have driven BMW for last 5yrs had many services but none at these prices... so suppose was just a bit shocked.
 
Re: BMW Dealer Rip Off !!!!!

did u not get a quote from them before u handed the car over for a service?
 
Re: BMW Dealer Rip Off !!!!!

Murphy and Gunn charge €150 labour ph as far as I'm aware.

Having a BMW serviced in a main dealership is always an expensive experience.
 
Re: BMW Dealer Rip Off !!!!!

Petermack said:
I knew it would be expensive Gabriel but thats a fair whack per hour for labour.
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It is...I agree...but it's not as if they hide it or anything.

This is what people go through to keep the FBMWSH
 
Re: BMW Dealer Rip Off !!!!!

That is exactly the reason why I now drive a Toyota Avensis, instead of the past BMW's Volvo's, Alfa's etc! I have had to offload a much loved Volvo 940 2.3i turbo rocket for cost reasons!

The Avensis is a boring car to drive, but, so reliable and unbelievably economical to run and maintain.

Backstreet garages are no longer cheaper either because of the cost of wholesale spares from the likes of BMW and the new fangled bespoke electronics.

Must qualify this by saying that I only saw the dimmer light when I turned 45!
 
Re: BMW Dealer Rip Off !!!!!

thats a fair whack per hour for labour.
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Friend of mine got his BMW serviced once at a main dealer & when he got home there was a screw driver in the engine bay. We calculated that the mechanics time to remove the screw driver & place it in the tool box would probably have cost more than the value of the tool
 
Re: BMW Dealer Rip Off !!!!!

Looks like €100 an hour, but your maths doesn't make sence. Vat is 13.5%. I don't thinks it's bad. Your going to help keep up the re-sale price of your car by advertising the Full BMWSH.

Always get a quote. Maybe if you can't afford the service, you should not be driving the car. We get this with M.B alot as well. People skimp and scrape to get into them and then when it comes to maintaining them they can't afford it.

You have to pay for the better service and better Technicians. What's the difference between a 3* and 5* hotel. You know your going to pay more for the 5*, but you get to tell everyone you drive a BMW and people think you have money.

Looks like you don't have money, the dealer has it now. Be smarter as the other people say above when buying a car next time and look at service cost and tyre cost etc. Buy what you can afford. Leave the richer life to those that can afford it.
 
Re: BMW Dealer Rip Off !!!!!

That is very expensive. An identical service and pads for a Focus would be c. €250 incl.

Ford dealers offer fixed menu servicing.
 
Re: BMW Dealer Rip Off !!!!!

driving any 3 series bmw is hardly mignling with the rich and famous,
hate to say it bud but you were shafted,an oil change and set of pads for that money was way over the the top ,as for bmw oil thats a myth!! or mercedes oil, and top level technicans,, the only technicans doin that level of servicing in any main dealer are apprentices who may be lucky to be getting paid 10 euro an hour,

so that load of crap about top level technicans working on your car and you having to pay for the privelage is just crap .youre simply paying for all those big shiny showrooms and all the fools who just seem to be standing around the big flash showroom in their new bmw jackets,,worked in main dealerships the past 15 years from apprentice to foreman and up,they are all the same.
the money isnt as good in sales as it was ,so now the service end is getting alot more lucretive,
 
Re: BMW Dealer Rip Off !!!!!

I just happen to have a BMW main dealer price list in front of me...all prices include vat....


3 Series e46

Oil Service 170
Front Break pads 180.85


So there is something not quite right on your bill ... what was the 280+vat parts relating to ?
 
The OP mentioned brake pads. I would have expected to be advised before they did this. I have Mazda, and if brake pads needed they ring you, tell you how much and is it ok to proceed. In fact, at last service was advised of several items which would be needed to be done by time next service somes, including brake pads and timing belt. They wrote this on the invoice under " items to be aware of " and tehy also gave me approx costs so I can plan for it. ( incidentally have had Mazdas for years and wouldn't change from them ) The main dealer also charges €60/hr for labour Which I think in today's climate is acceptable.
 
Have to say, although perhaps a little over the top, Mr. 2's post has got it absolutely right.

Just look at the Mazda, Toyota and Ford jocks joining in the discussion about how to maintain their mainstream wonders.

With regard to the title of the post though, surely the BMW dealer can't have ripped the OP off if they have carried out the work on the itemised worksheet?

Now if the OPs arguing it's a tad expensive, or more than he/she'd hoped to pay - it's be closer to the mark?

To be honest, for a second service with brakes it seems about right. Try the BMW owners club forum - they have loads of pointers on cheaper but legit BMW servicing in Ireland - outside of the dealer network.
 
BMW sells more 3 series than Ford do Mondeos in the UK. It's hard to argue that BMW is anything but mainstream. A 316i is slow too btw.

BMW use the same oil, and similar parts as all other volume manufacturers. Their parts are no better.

An oil service could be carried out by a 1st year apprentice, or pehaps a receptionist.

So all in the price is outrageously high, and not justifiable. Some mugs will pay it however.
 

The oil for a BMW would cost about 20-30 euro and an oil filter no more than 10euro... It would also take a trained mechanic about 30mins at most to do an oil change.

I would never ever bring my car or any car near a Main Stealer for a service.
 
As part of Main dealer standars only 4th year apprentice can do a first service and at that the service manager has to sign off on all his work.

You get a qualified technician, who checks lights/ levels, greese door locks, check suspension, engine , gearbox, windows, boot, spare wheel, adj, tyre pressure, checks brakes, coolant boiling point etc and the list goes on. If you get you car back from "fred in the shed" and it only takes a half an hour, do you think he has done everything?

We get more repair work out of people who get private Technicians to do there service than we do from the cars we service. Fact is there not done to dealer standars. Even a Technician who has left a main dealer after only one year is not up to date with the systems and practises we use every day.

One a week I get new service update's for M.B, for better maintained cars for our customers that stay in the dealer network. If your not in it you wont know and when a problem arises you suffer.

It does take 30 mins to do an oil change, the rest is preventive maintaince, tightning and adjusting etc. How do you do something correct if you don't have a ramp or a cumputer to tell if you had a minor elec fault that the light flashed on and off and you thought nothing of it, but when we service it, it's stored.
 
RS2K said:
BMW sells more 3 series than Ford do Mondeos in the UK. It's hard to argue that BMW is anything but mainstream.
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Comparing the sales from all BMWs with ONE Ford model hardly constitutes mainstream to me. If BMW sold as many cars as Ford, Toyota etc then I'd agree. Drive a BMW and then tell me they're mainstream. The 316 may not be the quickest I agree, but the handling, comfort and quality of materials will tell you why this car has been the top of it's class for the past 20 years.
 
RonanC said:
The oil for a BMW would cost about 20-30 euro and an oil filter no more than 10euro... It would also take a trained mechanic about 30mins at most to do an oil change.

I would never ever bring my car or any car near a Main Stealer for a service.
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It takes 5 minutes to change oil and filter.
 

I'm not suggesting BMW are not a good car. 3 series sells more than Mondeo model range against model range.

They are a volume manufacturer. To suggest otherwise is simply misguided.
 
i may own a ford garage but but i drive a 911 so i have a good idea what prestge cars cost to run ,but sometimes things are a bit too rich for what you recieve.
i can agree one thing with mr2 any garage in this day and age who does not have top diagnostic equipment or good ramps and faciltys is not worth goin into. there are alot of a small independent specialists out there too who have invested alot in equipment and are top technicans.but when you leave your can with someone whos working in the great outdoors and dosent have even a ramp you can accept that level of service.

you just really have to find a happy medium, of service and quality it may take a few trips to various garages to get that but price is not the ultimate answer.cheap is not always the answer ,but no one likes to feel like theyve been interferred with either
 
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