[diamondbackterrapin]

Hi everyone, new here and I just bought a used 2009 328i e92 with 60k on the clock

my first German car here and its awesome.

nothing fancy, just the basics..I got the car from a private party and warranty is gone. Its in good condition but needs maintenance items addresed.

Anyhow, thinking about future service, as the title says, anything wrong with going to these guys for routine maintenance with our cars? Seeing how expensive dealers and indie shops are for out of warranty service, is this a good idea to save money in the long run?

I always hear about people finding good European indie shops but when i called around for basic repairs, they werent even much cheaper than the dealer...at best maybe 10% less. One of my closest dealers shop rate is 95/hr and one of the indie shops ive called to charged $120/hr...i was like wtf more than the dealer..?

Thoughts? I know most of the forum people will probably swear by dealers or certain German indie shops, but what about the other 95% of non forum bimmer drivers out there? like soccer moms and dads? i mean, do MOST people just go to whatever local mechanic is nearby to do service when the car is out of warranty?

[Joe-]

Originally Posted by diamondbackterrapin

Hi everyone, new here and I just bought a used 2009 328i e92 with 60k on the clock

my first German car here and its awesome.

nothing fancy, just the basics..I got the car from a private party and warranty is gone. Its in good condition but needs maintenance items addresed.

Anyhow, thinking about future service, as the title says, anything wrong with going to these guys for routine maintenance with our cars? Seeing how expensive dealers and indie shops are for out of warranty service, is this a good idea to save money in the long run?

I always hear about people finding good European indie shops but when i called around for basic repairs, they werent even much cheaper than the dealer...at best maybe 10% less. One of my closest dealers shop rate is 95/hr and one of the indie shops ive called to charged $120/hr...i was like wtf more than the dealer..?

Thoughts? I know most of the forum people will probably swear by dealers or certain German indie shops, but what about the other 95% of non forum bimmer drivers out there? like soccer moms and dads? i mean, do MOST people just go to whatever local mechanic is nearby to do service when the car is out of warranty?

NO about jiffy lube. 1 they will not have the filter that you need and 2. They over torque and everything. Please keep your car away from them

As far as meineke, Not really sure I haven't used them in like 15 years, in my e46 I used mavis but brought my own rotors and pads. Was satisfied no squeaks or anything they did a great job. 9/10 these places don't carry the parts and have to order them. 9/10 they don't have the proper tools for our cars either. Of course this is subjective because really depends on the type of job.

Most of the things on these cars you should be able to do yourself

[username604]

jiffy lube won't have the right oil
as for brakes, i think you'd be okay at a regular shop so long as they've done a bmw before and know about the brake wear sensors

[SilverII]

No jiffy lube anything... they are scammers. Just google jiffy lube scams

[ndog14]

Before you go to a chain repair shop try a local shop. My family takes our 06 Mustang GT, 06 Explorer, 11 Impreza, and 11 Lexus RX to a local tire shop that also does other maintenance and repairs. I take my bimmer to 3 different Indys but for tires I still take it to the local tire shop.

[talisman311]

approved oils for your BMW http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...ngineOils.aspx

jiffy lube...are you crazy?!

[gatoracer]

Originally Posted by SilverII

No jiffy lube anything... they are scammers. Just google jiffy lube scams

^ +1

Worked there at one point for a short amout of time. Stay away from pretty much any quick lube place. Try to find an indy shop if you can. As others have posted Iffy Lube likely won't have the filter, and probably not the oil.

[Dark_Knight_335]

I wouldn't take my Schwinn bike to Jerky Lube, let alone my mother's Civic. Dishonest assholes, they ripped me off years ago charging me for services they never performed.
I am shocked they aren't all shut down, and it will be a happy day when they do.

[cstmx_ryder]

why don't you just do the oil change your self? It literally takes only 15-20 min......

[chromisdesigns]

Sure! And I recommend Maico for paint work, as well...that's if you don't DIY with spray cans.

[ttribe]

Jiffy Lube and Meineke for your E90? Absolutely not. Find a good independent BMW mechanic.

[BOBKUR]

Independent shop that specialize on BMW. Stay away from fast lube stores, the clowns will be looking for the filter and drain plug for hours.

[ndog14]

If you have to take your car to Jiffy Lube because other places are too expensive you shouldn't be owning a BMW. Do you even put 91 octane gas in it?

[techwhiz]

Find a good indy or DIY.
I can't remember the last time I had someone else put pads/rotors on any car I've owned.
I let someone else do the line flush but installing the parts is easy.

[AddictedToBavarian]

Stay far away from Jiffy Lube, don't even drive near one. My company has contracts with more than 1 repair shop and JL is one of them. I swear they are the most incompetent people I've seen. Usually young kids and undocumented workers that can't even handle just fluid changes over there.

Not to mention.....

[BluesDriver]

Originally Posted by Joe-

NO about jiffy lube. 1 they will not have the filter that you need and 2. They over torque and everything. Please keep your car away from them

Although I agree with not going to jiffy lube, I just had my first "free" oil change and my dealer over torqued the filter cap. I'll see about the drain plug when I do my next in between oil change myself.

[Tom K.]

An OEM BMW oil change kit runs about $75 from Tischer if you want to DIY.

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...egoryID=164147

And since my dealer charges around $105 (or $79.95 with a coupon), I have them do it.

You weren't really considering Jiffy Lube to service a BMW were you?

Tom

[Joe-]

Originally Posted by BluesDriver

Although I agree with not going to jiffy lube, I just had my first "free" oil change and my dealer over torqued the filter cap. I'll see about the drain plug when I do my next in between oil change myself.

I don't doubt that, I've been to some shaddy BMW dealerships too!

[N55]

I used to use Meineke for my 08 335 oil changes in between scheduled ones. I bought all the oil filters and oil from BMW and took all the parts to Meineke for them to do the job. They charged me $20...

Only bad thing was that they put their greasy hands on the steering wheel and etc.

[BOBKUR]

You can't beat the dealers service special for $79.95.

[Efthreeoh]

Listen, take it from me, a guy who's owned BMWs for 25 years and does almost all maintenance DIY:

DO NOT TAKE A BMW TO ANY REPAIR SHOP OTHER THAN AN ASE CERTIFIED AND BMW TRAINED MECHANIC. MAKE SURE THEY ARE A BMW SPECIALIST OR AT LEAST A GERMAN CAR SPECIALIST THAT REPAIRS BMWS.

Any other non-BMW mechanic will fuck your car up.

It's that simple.

And never take any car to Jiffy Lube; they are idiots.

[Bob Shiftright]

Originally Posted by diamondbackterrapin

anything wrong with going to these guys for routine maintenance with our cars? Seeing how expensive dealers and indie shops are for out of warranty service, is this a good idea to save money in the long run?

No, it is not a good idea.

The oil and filter are $76.00 from Tischer -- possibly less from your local dealer with the BMWCCA discount.

There is no free lunch. If you get a $50 oil change at Jiffy Lube, they need to pay for the oil, the filter, as well as their labor and overhead. So chances are they left something out. If they screw up your oil change, they can cause $10,000 in damage.

I wouldn't let them near a Honda or Toyota. If you want to save money, do your own routine maintenance.