Ticked off with dealer

[AntonV]

Recently I needed to add 1 quart of oil to my 6 month old 135i w/4500 miles. This is the second time I have had to do this. I'm not too concerned about the oil consumption. Seems to be the norm from what I've seen.

The first time, I drove right into my dealer(Habberstad)where I purchsed the car. They topped me off, and I was gone in 5 minutes.

Last week, I was close to Rallye BMW, which I hate, for their lack of customer service. I called up Habberstad and asked them if I wento to Rallye for a top off, would they give me a problem. They said absolutely not.

When I went to Rallye, of course the asked me if I bought the car there. Should have said yes, but I told the truth. He told me I would have to purchase the oil from them. I was pretty ticked off about that, so I just left.

Did I have to purchase the oil from them? Obviously there will always be a better quality of service from the purchasing dealership, but c'mon. It's a quart of oil. I found it to be insulting. I'm guessing I would have paid for the oil, they would have been reimbursed by BMW na, and made double the money on a quart oil.

It cost me more money than a quart of oil to drive to my dealer, but I would never give that dealer my money. That's why I didn't buy the car there. You wouldn't believe the prices they were trying to sell the car for.

NY residents. DON'T GO TO RALLYE BMW

[jibaholic101]

sorry to hear about your terrible experience.

all dealers are supposed to top off oil for free, it is a guideline clearly set forth by BMW NA. i would make a complaint to BMW NA

[adrean8j]

^^^where is this Guideline?

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by adrean8j

^^^where is this Guideline?

Good question. Does the 4 year maintenance include adding oil between scheduled changes? The '08 manual indicates that oil should be added when one quart down, but makes no mention of requiring (or even suggesting) that this service be performed by a dealer. And since most manufacturers will claim that up to 1 quart per 1,000 miles is "normal" consumption, this seems like an owner responsibility - sort of like filling up with gasoline when needed.

Although my BMW cars rarely require any oil between changes, I have no problem with purchasing a couple of quarts of BMW 5/30 synthetic from my dealer and topping off as necessary. The owner's manual is quite clear on the process, even for the mechanically challenged among us.

Tom

[mcoupe60266]

oil top offs are NOT covered by warranty, dealers do it to keep customers happy

[Mitch1er]

Originally Posted by mcoupe60266

oil top offs are NOT covered by warranty, dealers do it to keep customers happy

Correct!! dealer usually give free oil top offs to customer who bought the car from them to keep them happy.

[imported_mega]

wtf why wouldnt they be covered, not under the warranty but under the free maintenance plan, the one that says we dont have to pay for oil and brake pads

[adrean8j]

^^^ We do not have to pay for them under the regular service intervals....i have not seen anything stating that we get them whenever they go bad....if that was the case you could autox/track the car to death and get new pads every month right?

[imported_mega]

Originally Posted by adrean8j

if that was the case you could autox/track the car to death and get new pads every month right?

that's my understanding, they replace them when they wear down to the sensor, I think they know I autocross my car, I left a sticker on it once and they noticed it

I did not read the paperwork close enough to see, but I would suspect every month would not fly

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by adrean8j

^^^ We do not have to pay for them under the regular service intervals....i have not seen anything stating that we get them whenever they go bad....if that was the case you could autox/track the car to death and get new pads every month right?

It's not quite the same thing though.
autoX/track is "racing", which is an exclusion, I believe, in the owners manual.
Racing is outside the "normal" driving that the warranty covers.

Also, from my understanding, after having 2 BMWs, is that oil top offs, windshield fluid, etc... are all covered free of charge under the full maintenance warranty. Having to add oil IS part of maintenance, so I'd call BMWNA and complain that a BMW dealer wouldn't do the FREE maintenance and wanted to charge you for it, even if it was "only" buying the oil.
For both of my BMWs I was told that ALL maintenance was free including top off of fluids. On my E46 I had it serviced at a dealer that I didn't buy it from and they always did things for free, because BMW PAYS them to do it.
They simply file with BMW for the charges.
That dealer is an ass. He probably didn't want to do the paperwork for a simple oil addition, or he was going to double dip.
What part of "free maintenance" doesn't he get?
I even got free windshield wipers when I needed them.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

Good question. Does the 4 year maintenance include adding oil between scheduled changes? The '08 manual indicates that oil should be added when one quart down, but makes no mention of requiring (or even suggesting) that this service be performed by a dealer. And since most manufacturers will claim that up to 1 quart per 1,000 miles is "normal" consumption, this seems like an owner responsibility - sort of like filling up with gasoline when needed.

Although my BMW cars rarely require any oil between changes, I have no problem with purchasing a couple of quarts of BMW 5/30 synthetic from my dealer and topping off as necessary. The owner's manual is quite clear on the process, even for the mechanically challenged among us.

Tom

Ok, but let's say you don't top it off every 3k miles. By 12k, which is before the indicated oil service, you'd be down 4 quarts. Not good.
That could result in engine damage, and since the car is under FULL maintenance warranty, then I guess BMW would still cover the engine damage. After all, part of owning a BMW is the advertised "low cost of ownership", due to the free plan.

I don't read where top offs are excluded, but per the warranty, I can see where top offs are or should be covered.
My experience is that even the non selling dealer will do the work free, and I've been told by both SA's that they get paid to do this.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by adrean8j

^^^ We do not have to pay for them under the regular service intervals....i have not seen anything stating that we get them whenever they go bad....if that was the case you could autox/track the car to death and get new pads every month right?

Actually it does. Brake pad service is not on an "interval" as brake wear is based on usage, like wipers, oil, transmissions, engines, etc...
And, whenever these items go bad they are covered for repair.
There are listed exclusions when the vehicle is used in non intended ways, such as being used for taxi service or track use.
I'll try and look that up to be sure, but I recall it being there in most auto warranties.

An all inclusive warranty implies that everything IS included unless otherwise stated. So, to exclude something the warranty must say that, otherwise it's covered. I don't see where oil top off is expressly excluded, but we all can see where all maintenance is covered.
If this is not the case, then I'd like to see in writing from BMW where only certain maintenance is free while some parts are not.
A warranty is a legal binding contract.

[adrean8j]

^^^ahh...but remember Warranty and the Maintenance plan are two different things. Now I am not disagreeing with most of what is said up above...but at the same time I have not personally seen in writing (granted I have not read the fine print of the entire thing of course) where it says they are "required" to give us the occasional oil top off. I do however agree that IF the low oil light goes off that we should get it under the maintenance plan and that if it is not included in that plan that it should be.....LOL..trust me I do not want to pay for anything if I do not have to...

[AntonV]

Spoke to BMW na. Top offs are not covered. The representative also stated that they should have topped it off anyway, because it's such a low expense, and they should develop better relationships with owners.

Damn, I really wanted to file a complaint against Rallye BMW!

[imported_mega]

what a rip off, I thought this free maintenance plan they force all of us to buy would cover that

this really is my last new bmw, every couple weeks something like this pops up to reconfirm why I wont buy another new bmw

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by RPM90

Ok, but let's say you don't top it off every 3k miles. By 12k, which is before the indicated oil service, you'd be down 4 quarts. Not good.

First of all, I never exceed 10,000 miles between oil changes. Secondly, I haven't had to add oil to a BMW car in years between changes, so I don't top off every 3k and I am never down more than 1/4 quart, even at 10k.

Secondly, if I need oil in any vehicle (and my BMW motorcycle does use 1 quart per 5,000 miles), I find it much more convenient to go to a shelf in my garage, open a container of BMW oil, and pour the required amount into the proper aperture. This saves me the time and gas $ to travel to the dealer for something I can easily do myself.

Also, when I'm not constantly bothering the dealer about inconsequential stuff like a 1/2 quart of oil, they are much more likely to go to bat for me should a big issue arise.

Considering the number of folks who proudly do their own interim oil changes, I'm really surprised at how many believe BMW owes them free topoffs.

Tom

[IDBMW]

I guess Ralley BMW never wants to sell you a car. If I was a BMW dealer I would top it off for free if you bought it from me or not. Even though oil top off is not covered by warranty or the maintenance they could still give you a top off since they get the bulk oil free from BMW so it is no money out of their pocket. And now you are spreading it over the internet and there could well be other reading this that say I would not buy a car from them either.

[mike06612]

I have never even considered bringing in the car to be topped off with oil, washer fluid, air in the tires, etc. There are some things I think are just easier to go to that quart of oil, that gallon of washer fluid, and just do in the garage, and not deal with the hassles of bringing it in, waiting, etc.

Plus for whatever reason, I've never considered topping off the oil to be BMW's responsiblilty, it's always been something I considered as ours.

[imported_mega]

some of us buy new bmw's so we dont have to do that kinda stuff

not me though, I do my own oil changes too

[adrean8j]

Originally Posted by IDBMW

I guess Ralley BMW never wants to sell you a car. If I was a BMW dealer I would top it off for free if you bought it from me or not. Even though oil top off is not covered by warranty or the maintenance they could still give you a top off since they get the bulk oil free from BMW so it is no money out of their pocket. And now you are spreading it over the internet and there could well be other reading this that say I would not buy a car from them either.

How do you know that the "bulk" oil is free to the Dealerships??? Curious to know this answer....

[IDBMW]

Originally Posted by adrean8j

How do you know that the "bulk" oil is free to the Dealerships??? Curious to know this answer....

BMW pays for the oil not the dealership since the oil changes are included in the price of the car. I toured the service area at my local dealer and saw the 50 gal drum of oil the use. I am sure the dealer has to account for the oil but a few quarts here and there is no issue. On my Z4 between 5k and 20 k miles it was using a quart every 5k but then stopped so I was in a few times for oil.

[adrean8j]

^^^Once again I pose the question "How do you know the dealership does not pay for the oil?" Just because you see a drum sitting there and they use that oil for the maintenance program does not mean that the dealership does not have to budget for it. Did a logistics or financial person at a dealership privy to that type of info let you know? Or is it just an assumption? That is what I would like to know....