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Looking at a used 5 series tourer and potentially about to walk away from another car due to service history.
There is 20k miles between oil changes in the history. I’ve had BMWs in the past and the history (main dealer) is in the iDrive system and independents are not and need paperwork to back up.
All fine up to that point but because it’s condition based servicing (CBS) I can’t find the oil schedule online as the car just says what it needs and when it needs it.
I don’t want to walk away if the schedule has been followed but I can’t find a way to tell if it has been.. Does anyone know if there is a way?
Any help or advice welcomed. Thanks
Ask the previous owner? After warranty/3yrs I've never used dealer servicing. Too expensive and not necessarily thorough. Currently have a 4yr old 330d tourer and a 22yr old 535i. Both purchased one previous owner at around 3yrs old.
Thanks Brian. It’s with an independent dealer, 2 owners 5 years old. I’ll speak with them again in the morning and see if I can get in touch with last owner but won’t hold my breath.
IIRC from my 5 tourer it’s 2 years or 20k miles for oil. Found a pic before the last oil change that still saying 13k miles on it (but I’d hit 2 years, pandemic mileage situation)
Thanks IA. It’s just outside that on mileage but over on time by a bit..
and a 22yr old 535i.
I’d love to see a pic of that.
Not an expert but I did buy a 330i e45 many years ago with 2 services at 40k miles. I asked the garage to throw a service in the sale price and extend the warranty to 1 year. Never had any issues until I sold it 70k miles later. Try that with the dealer maybe?
Thanks kryton that’s a good shout. This is same mileage two oil changes.
I would also like to see a pic of the 535 Brian. And I agree re. independents, I’ve always took past BMWs/mini to the local indie after 3yrs and had fantastic service. Quite the opposite at a main dealer when there was part of a service pack left on a 320i and it ended in a report to trading standards!
and a 22yr old 535i.
I had an e39 535i too, in 2012 the autobox went into limp mode - the quote to investigate the issue was more than the car was worth, only had 125k on it...
Most reputable indies can update the I drive. In fact I would expect them to. The dealer code will simply be 0000 for an indy service. In response to the original question for the SH to be full, complete and up to date then all the I drive items have to be in green ideally, not amber or red. Although a 30 day late service still qualifies, or 1,000 miles. They rarely go to 20k, normally 17k or 18k.
I hope I have answered the question but if not shoot again.
PS. I choose to stick to BMW dealers beyond the 3 years as their value servicing is competitive. Plus it helps protect the value of the car (rightly or wrongly) and can help good will warranty work if you don't extend.
only had 125k on
Lifetime auto fluid? I had mine changed at 80k miles. Some say you don’t need to…
Thanks Nick, that’s helpful. I’m going to speak with them in the morning as they’re advertising it as full service history so will challenge how they can demonstrate that.
Good point about goodwill should something big go pop later in the cars life.
Get them to send you pics of the I drive, both the service history and then having clicked each item what work was done and then you can reverse engineer the SH and compare to the schedule.
From indies, I have extremely rarely found a claimed FSH to be FSH but it does happen.
That's the beauty about buying AUC. You (normally) get an audited SH and a cast iron warranty and if you extend it in 12 month time it is 40% cheaper than if you start it yourself (when buying indy or private).
But this obviously comes at a price as you haveno doubt found out Nick
Mobil 1 EP, for example, is warrantied for 20k or OEM recommendation AND 12 months max between changes. The oil used is important with these extended cycles... https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/mobil-limited-warranties/mobil-1-extended-performance-limited-warranty
My 2006 E91 says 19k miles (or 2 years) when its freshly reset after an oil change, so I can believe a newer one might break the 20k barrier.
That's a lot of time between changes though - Practically I tend to try and do it around the 15k mark which seems a reasonable halfway house between budget conciousness and mechanical sympathy.
Wouldn’t be the slightest bit bothered. 20,000 miles is nothing with modern synthetic oils.
I once got 45,000 miles out of an Insignia diesel on its original oil and if anything it seemed to make it run better.
Re 535i pic.OH is out in it ATM, when she gets back I'll attempt post a pic for the E39 fans. Re the loyalty thing, I was actually recommended an Indie by the BMW service manager( a pal of mine)., I recall him saying their two best technicians had left to start their own business, and whatever the dealer couldn't sort went to them anyway. They also specialise in Merc and Volvo.
Yes some brilliant BMW indy out there and some seriously shit ones. The same goes for Franchised ones. My local BMW dealer is superb while my local BMW indy is terrible.
Thank you for the responses all. Spoke to the dealer this morning and got all the required pics from iDrive. I had misinterpreted a line in the service history called “inspection” as just an inspection.. and turns out it was a pretty comprehensive service including oil, filters, plugs, etc.
All items green and done on time then the most recent indie service done 2,000 miles ago. So 3 oil changes in 42,000 miles. Really glad it’s all up to date as the spec is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Thanks again all and looking forward to that e39 pic 🙂