[JD6]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

The Running In service on my M5 was listed at £700 or something ridiculous, I had it done at staff rates at BMW Reading for £300....

Crazy price. I’m not convinced that M cars actually need a 1200 mile service these days. Feels like it might just be an opportunity to extract a bit of extra cash during the car’s honeymoon period.

I believe that the same M5 engine when used in the Range Rover SV doesn’t require this service…

[crAbb]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

Nope - its dynamic pricing as they know you are more likely to use an indi.

The Running In service on my M5 was listed at £700 or something ridiculous, I had it done at staff rates at BMW Reading for £300....

Just remember that in most dealerships its the service department that generates the profits even if they are the lowest paid (may have picked that quote up from my brother who was a service manager for many years!)

£700 for an oil and filter change and a complimentary kick of the tyres? Are folks really this stupid?

[Kendo67]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

Nope - its dynamic pricing as they know you are more likely to use an indi.

When the car was two years old at the MD the price for an F series B58 O+F change was £200 ish , at year six the price was around £220 ish , presently it is being quoted at £250 so around 10% increase between minor services , it hasn`t got less expensive as the car gets older to keep me from going to an Indy it has incrementally increased over time as you would expect.

Still doesn`t explain why it costs double to replace the oil in an 8 series than it does in a 4 series with the same engine.

K

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by Kendo67

When the car was two years old at the MD the price for an F series B58 O+F change was £200 ish , at year six the price was around £220 ish , presently it is being quoted at £250 so around 10% increase between minor services , it hasn`t got less expensive as the car gets older to keep me from going to an Indy it has incrementally increased over time as you would expect.

Still doesn`t explain why it costs double to replace the oil in an 8 series than it does in a 4 series with the same engine.

K

I think you will find dealership prices might have increased a bit in those 6 years if you were comparing equivalents...

But I havent got numbers in front of me to prove it.....

[3-GT]

Booking online includes a standard scope and environmental disposable charge.

[bishbosh]

I'm pretty sure mandatory disposal charges were never an extra charge to be paid?! Surely that would be included in the service anyway? It's not like they are going to be keeping vats of used oil hanging around.

No indy I know charges extra for disposal.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by 3-GT

Booking online includes a standard scope and environmental disposable charge.

£520 pre (presumably online booking?) discount...

[3-GT]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

£520 pre (presumably online booking?) discount...

Looks like the discount is due to the car being older than 3 years.

[Alscoob]

So my 540i 70 reg - online prices for my B58C engine, which makes me think they are taking the pizz with an 840

Supplying dealer North Wales
Oil, filter & microfilter - £307.96
Brake fluid change - £62.77

Local Norfolk dealer
Oil, filter & microfilter - £291.48
Brake fluid change - £55.19

No mention in either booking of standard scope or disposal charge, so fair to assume that it would be included?

It does however state that charges may vary once the dealer has inspected the vehicle as other work may be necessary..... but if no other work is required then this is all you should pay IMO.

My Indie quotes his prices and that's all I pay, never anything to add on, unless of course there is something legit that needs doing. Last service I had with him was £240.77 for oil, filter & micofilter with £40 for brake fluid change, all paperwork issued and all on i-Drive and he carries out a vehicle check at the same time.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by Alscoob

So my 540i 70 reg - online prices for my B58C engine, which makes me think they are taking the pizz with an 840

Supplying dealer North Wales
Oil, filter & microfilter - £307.96
Brake fluid change - £62.77

Local Norfolk dealer
Oil, filter & microfilter - £291.48
Brake fluid change - £55.19

Those prices sound a lot more sensible and more what I would expect. I imagine you may be getting a discount for the car being 3 years old, but the difference is far greater than just that.

I asked a few more dealers and got quotes ranging from £477 to £572 so it feels like BMW have rigged the market.

The 840i and 540i are quite similarly priced cars when specced to the same level, since they have to heavily discount the 8. I guess they’re aiming to get the discount back in service costs!

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by JD6

Those prices sound a lot more sensible and more what I would expect. I imagine you may be getting a discount for the car being 3 years old, but the difference is far greater than just that.

I asked a few more dealers and got quotes ranging from £477 to £572 so it feels like BMW have rigged the market.

The 840i and 540i are quite similarly priced cars when specced to the same level, since they have to heavily discount the 8. I guess they’re aiming to get the discount back in service costs!

Well I've just grabbed a reg from BMW used cars to compare. So a 2022, 2 year old 540i x-Drive touring with 30K miles (as opposed to my 3 year old with 19K miles) comes out at -

Suplying dealer (where I bought mine)
Oil, filter & microfilter - £474.26 (previous for 3 year old £307.96)
Brake fluid change - £84.58

Local Norfolk dealer
Oil, filter & microfilter - £449.26 ( Previous £291.48)
Brake fluid change - £64.58

Now you can't tell me that as 3 year old car, the 20% parts discount amounts to £166.30?? I kind of think it's the other way around "Well sir you've just paid the best part of £50K for your big car so we think you can easily afford to pay us a bit more to service it"

Really doesn't matter how old it is it's still the same job and products which are used and it takes the same time to do, as the cars I have used here are mechanically identical. One of the reasons I have used the same specialist for the last 10 years doesn't matter whether the car is a 1 or 5 years old, if it's the same job on the same spec car then the price is the same.

Maybe the reduced price servicing is a lost leader and just to entice you in in the hope that as your car is older it will need more doing to it and they can stitch you up on a set of tyres and brakes while it's in, which they know they can't do on a 2 year old car so load the price.

I do understand that there are some who will keep a car 2/3 years and then p/x or have a deal on a new one and a full BMW history may well be a factor in this, and the relatively small addition cost in the overall scheme is nominal for peace of mind, but it is still the principle at hand of doing the self same work for different costs which is questionable!

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by Alscoob

Well I've just grabbed a reg from BMW used cars to compare. So a 2022, 2 year old 540i x-Drive touring with 30K miles (as opposed to my 3 year old with 19K miles) comes out at -

Suplying dealer (where I bought mine)
Oil, filter & microfilter - £474.26 (previous for 3 year old £307.96)
Brake fluid change - £84.58

Local Norfolk dealer
Oil, filter & microfilter - £449.26 ( Previous £291.48)
Brake fluid change - £64.58

Now you can't tell me that as 3 year old car, the 20% parts discount amounts to £166.30?? I kind of think it's the other way around "Well sir you've just paid the best part of £50K for your big car so we think you can easily afford to pay us a bit more to service it"

Really doesn't matter how old it is it's still the same job and products which are used and it takes the same time to do, as the cars I have used here are mechanically identical. One of the reasons I have used the same specialist for the last 10 years doesn't matter whether the car is a 1 or 5 years old, if it's the same job on the same spec car then the price is the same.

Maybe the reduced price servicing is a lost leader and just to entice you in in the hope that as your car is older it will need more doing to it and they can stitch you up on a set of tyres and brakes while it's in, which they know they can't do on a 2 year old car so load the price.

I do understand that there are some who will keep a car 2/3 years and then p/x or have a deal on a new one and a full BMW history may well be a factor in this, and the relatively small addition cost in the overall scheme is nominal for peace of mind, but it is still the principle at hand of doing the self same work for different costs which is questionable!

welcome to the world of dynamic pricing.... got kids in school and tried to book a holiday, you can tell school holiday weeks by the change in prices... or maybe caught a train in rush hour or versus off peak... or electricity overnight versus daytime. They apply the same to age of car, less incentive to use them when it is perceived to be less necessary for warranty, so need enticing in... and more to go wrong so you might get the difference back with extra work!

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

welcome to the world of dynamic pricing.... got kids in school and tried to book a holiday, you can tell school holiday weeks by the change in prices... or maybe caught a train in rush hour or versus off peak... or electricity overnight versus daytime. They apply the same to age of car, less incentive to use them when it is perceived to be less necessary for warranty, so need enticing in... and more to go wrong so you might get the difference back with extra work!

Appreciate that and well aware of seasonal fluctuations / times etc, but getting your car serviced doesn't fall in the same bag IMO. Even if you could take it in ovenight it wouldn't be cheaper.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

welcome to the world of dynamic pricing.... got kids in school and tried to book a holiday, you can tell school holiday weeks by the change in prices... or maybe caught a train in rush hour or versus off peak... or electricity overnight versus daytime. They apply the same to age of car, less incentive to use them when it is perceived to be less necessary for warranty, so need enticing in... and more to go wrong so you might get the difference back with extra work!

Dynamic pricing which depends on demand on that business, which all of your examples are, is a normal practice. Dynamic pricing which depends on the level of demand of the particular customer is rather different.

If you pull into a petrol station and they want to charge you double the normal price per litre as your car is almost out of petrol, that would fit into the latter category…

I accept that the BMW service one isn’t entirely the latter as the inflated price includes an element of unspecified future goodwill. Paying £510 for an oil change still feels a bit wild!

[SkyJawa]

If it must be a dealer - I would supply them all the parts so they can't rip you off on markup, then just the labour, disposal and standard scope?

[Wills2]

I'm guessing the dealer group is Lloyd, I use their Colne dealership and I have to say they are good however I have a 100,000 mile 5 year service pack on my car and thank God I have looking at the pricing.

I would always haggle though when getting anything done there and they are open to it, £500 for an oil change is a lot.

They recently failed to fix my car and it took two attempts but they fitted 2 new rear tyres FOC saving me £550 by way of an apology which was very kind of them.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by JD6

Dynamic pricing which depends on demand on that business, which all of your examples are, is a normal practice. Dynamic pricing which depends on the level of demand of the particular customer is rather different.

If you pull into a petrol station and they want to charge you double the normal price per litre as your car is almost out of petrol, that would fit into the latter category…

I accept that the BMW service one isn’t entirely the latter as the inflated price includes an element of unspecified future goodwill. Paying £510 for an oil change still feels a bit wild!

They would argue that the elasticity of demand for older cars is higher than for newer cars, where more owners believe that goodwill and resale is dependent on the full service history line, and therefore it fits the bill for dynamic pricing like the others....where the price change is about segmenting the customer base on the elasticity of demand....

[Pond]

It's because of ridiculous costs like above that I refuse to go to MDs or even 'BMW specialists'.

I use a very good, reliable and friendly family-run back street garage to change my oil and brake fluid on all the cars. I change the air filters and pollen filters myself. That way I have invoices from a garage for FSH but don't spend a fortune and don't have to get my hands dirty.

I pay around £120 inc VAT for an oil and filter change and £60 for a brake fluid change.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

They would argue that the elasticity of demand for older cars is higher than for newer cars, where more owners believe that goodwill and resale is dependent on the full service history line, and therefore it fits the bill for dynamic pricing like the others....where the price change is about segmenting the customer base on the elasticity of demand....

I understand your point, but to me it doesn’t fit the dynamic pricing model in the same way as the others, it’s closer to my petrol station analogy as I see it.

However I have just agreed to pay £510, for the reasons above. To piss me off even further they called me back around an hour later and said it was done!

[JD6]

Originally Posted by Wills2

I'm guessing the dealer group is Lloyd, I use their Colne dealership and I have to say they are good however I have a 100,000 mile 5 year service pack on my car and thank God I have looking at the pricing.

I would always haggle though when getting anything done there and they are open to it, £500 for an oil change is a lot.

They recently failed to fix my car and it took two attempts but they fitted 2 new rear tyres FOC saving me £550 by way of an apology which was very kind of them.

Yes it’s Lloyd - they are pretty good but there’s not a lot of choice up here. 2 free tyres sounds pretty remarkable. If mine gets a nice wash and vac I’m generally happy!

[Wills2]

Originally Posted by JD6

Yes it’s Lloyd - they are pretty good but there’s not a lot of choice up here. 2 free tyres sounds pretty remarkable. If mine gets a nice wash and vac I’m generally happy!

Yes it was, I was very pleased as it was booked in for a service and I said I needed two rear tyres, when I came to collect & pay the service manager came out handed me my keys and said the tyres are on us sorry about the mess the other week.

[Allworth]

I find this funny, as I spend £49.99 for the same outcome.