Melbourne servicing recommendations

[Zaphod]

I bought a lovely 3yo 135i from Doncaster BMW. A friend noticed one tail light was not working, so I booked the car in. They replaced a 3 rear lights (centre cover was cracked) and 4 of the fuel injectors too.

Service was friendly and the coffee was pretty good.

However I was quoted $750 for my next service (45,000km or so) and was told $1500 was the likely cost for front brakes as the discs are generally worn and can't be machined. Is this correct?

As this is my first Euro these prices seem rather high - 5x what it cost at the local place for my MX5. At those prices I'm happy to wash my own car and make my own coffee!

I'm looking for recommendations for reputable places in Melbourne to get the car serviced. North, East or central parts of Melb would all be options. I'm assuming my local garage won't have the BMW diagnostic gear.

I've searched but not seen a lot on here about Melbourne service.

[RaihaX]

Southern BM is in Melbourne if memory serves me well.

*edit* yes I am right - here is their site http://southernbm.com.au/

[Alpine*]

Andrew @ SouthernBM.

www.southernbm.com.au

Nobody knows 1's better than these guys (or 3's for that matter).

[woosh]

there's also 'worx automotive' who deal with many euro cars, majority bmw's, and are located in brunswick. they're not as large-scale as southern bm though.

[SparklingRed]

Those prices seems about right for a dealer service.

There's also BMTech you can try.

[Smiley1175]

I also recommend Southern BM, I doubt anyone in Melbourne knows these cars better.

[Eddie135]

SouthernBM FTW

My last service with them was fantastic, they are BMW professionals.

[takahashi]

I will drive all the way pass Cantebury to Southern BM. I dunno about BMTech well enough to comment but you can't go wrong with Andrew.

[SparklingRed]

I think all the guys on this forum from Melbourne has visited Andrew at least once, myself included hahaha...

[Zaphod]

Thanks for the recommendations guys, good to hear recommendations for Southern BMW, just a pity they are on the wrong side of town.

Is it true that the front discs often last less than 50,000km and can't be machined?

[SparklingRed]

Originally Posted by Zaphod

Thanks for the recommendations guys, good to hear recommendations for Southern BMW, just a pity they are on the wrong side of town.

Is it true that the front discs often last less than 50,000km and can't be machined?

I've just ticked over 50,000km and the last service I had, I was told i needed to replace the rotors and the pads. The car is telling me I have another 3800km on them. Mainly depends on how you drive.

[E92325i]

Another one for SouthernBM

Andrew and his team are very professional and honest. I've been taking my car there for quite a while now and was previously with Doncaster BMW as well. It's a little out of the way for some people but it's worth it for me given that it's usually once every 10,000km

I had previously tried to contact BM tech twice on different occasions and they have been quite unhelpful on both occasions

[andrew@southernBM]

Thank you everyone for the support, it is always very much appreciated.

[SparklingRed]

Gonna see Andrew soon when my performance brakes arrive!

[AussieRacer]

Try Phillip at Northern BM in Fairfield - www.northernbm.com.au. Close to Doncaster BMW, and true independent BMW expert of all series. They don't specialise in pricey mods that look good but offer doubtful performance/reliability and mods you need to remove for warranty claims (for which a certain independent BMW shop in Melb is on a watch list by BMW HQ).
Northern BM simply offers a good service at a decent price, and if you want your car to go faster they can help with mods that simply work.

I've moved all my non-warranty/recall servicing to Northern BM.....including my race car.

[quasio]

I recently went through the same process,

Called up all the dealers/shops/specialists near me to get a quote, RWC, oil change(engine, gearbox n diff oil)

For some reason Doncaster kept increasing their quote, from 300ish to 600 ish just for the oil change.. and were the most expensive
BMW Melbourne (southbank and south melbourne) were a lot cheaper. but had a few weeks wait and they have the loaner option.
SouthernBM - prices were fair too, but they were also very busy, and unfortunately very far from me.
German Autohaus - very friendly and knowledgeable, prices fair.
BM Central -very fair prices, most convenient for me and had the earliest spot for RWC

Anyway I went with BM Central and had a good experience and I'd go back to them, or might give BMW Melbourne a try if i want BMW dealer stamps, and a BMW loaner

[Mechz]

I went to BMTech for my last service, They are as pricey as Doncaster BMW.

Next time I won't hesitate going to SouthernBM.

[Eddie135]

SouthernBM is very competitve plus excellent service, had tried the rest not as good in prices.

[Bim135AUS]

totally agree with SouthernBM

Andrew and Jimmy run a class outfit

[Zaphod]

Originally Posted by SparklingRed

I've just ticked over 50,000km and the last service I had, I was told i needed to replace the rotors and the pads. The car is telling me I have another 3800km on them. Mainly depends on how you drive.

Not really, BMW choosing to fit thin non machinable discs has nothing to do with how I (or the previous owner) drives. Other cars I've owned have easily done 150-200,000km on their factory discs as there was enough meat in the disc for them to be machined if needed.

Thanks everyone for the tips - sounds like Southern BMW is the place to go for factory type service, and there are a few good options from the aftermarket too. Good to know :-)