Advice on sending BMW car for servicing.

[socrates]

Currently my sister is mentally incapcitated for about a year now and so I am trying to take care of her affairs. My sister owns a bmw 116d which is about 8 yrs old and . I drive it at least once a week to visit her and keep the car going. I have never owned a car before so I do not know much about upkeep about cars. I am thinking if I should send the car for basic servicing to prevent major problems from developing in the car. I think it it is at least 2 yrs since the car was last serviced.

I know the official BMW workshop will costs more expensive than 3rd party workshops. I would appreciate if anybody can recommend a relaible 3rd party workshop that will not overcharge me as I am quite a noob with cars. What will they do during a basic servicing session? How long does a car servicing session take? How much can I expect to pay? Appreciate any advice. Thanks to all.

 

[sinicker]

Perhaps you can share where you stay and we can suggest some workshops nearby....

 

[iduncheckmail]

Wat ever the workshop says , insist for basic servicing .
8years old liao, just drive till the wheels come off. No point do major servicing or change major parts

 

[Conan1986]

there’s actually a bit more to car servicing and not all servicing interval covers the same thing.

perhaps you can share with us the mileage of the car, what mileage was it serviced last and where it was last serviced.

most modern BMW has condition based servicing and it should show you info in the infotainment unit.. perhaps you can take a look there and see if you can pull up past servicing info and see what’s recommended now.

it does sound like you are pretty new into this car servicing thing so it’s highly recommended to look for reliable workshop thru your friends and always seek second opinion if any workshop comes up with big ticket items for you to replace

 

[socrates]

I stay in the Boon Keng area. Yes I am very new to the car servicing thing and never owned a car before so I don't know what to look out for. My sister cannot communicate so I cannot find out from her when the last time car was serviced. I am just trying to take care of the car and avoid any serious problems.

I don't know about this condition based servicing in the BMW. Tomorrow I will try to play around with the infotainment unit and get the information.

Tomorrow I will have a look at the mileage and post it here.

 

[ZhuTou!]

If u drive the car and dun feel anything wrong, no error lights appear while driving, just change the engine oil will do. Error lights are those yellow and red colour icons. Bmw should appear some error msg on the screen as well.

Engine oil is change every 10k km or 6 mths whichever come first.

 

[Conan1986]

If u drive the car and dun feel anything wrong, no error lights appear while driving, just change the engine oil will do. Error lights are those yellow and red colour icons. Bmw should appear some error msg on the screen as well.

Engine oil is change every 10k km or 6 mths whichever come first.

Erm, the service interval that you quoted is for Jap and Kor cars.. Conti service interval is further apart

@socrates you can explore Ubi area then.. other than engine oil, usual service will also include air filter etc, while major can vary greatly and is much more expensive. that’s why it is important to know which type of servicing is due..

 

[socrates]

These are from the dashboard and infotainment unit.

A lot of the sensors for flat tyre, restraint etc in the car is not working properly although the car still drives smoothly. Even the infotainment has some problem as it keeps rebooting itself and air con also not working.

Appreciate all the advice.

 

[Conan1986]

wow it’s really super low mileage for an 8yo car.. a lot of the faults are electronic items which are not uncommon.. car components can deteriorate on non-usage as well..

i think can can just have the basic servicing with brake fluid replacement, and have them check on the sensors.. workshop wise, i see Bavworks and Revolz very aggressive in their advertising and are quite focused in conti cars.. otherwise can consider monster garage which is right beside a BMW parts distributor.. still it is best to go with a friend or to a friend to their trusted workshop to check out..

just send the car in for normal service first (oil change and brake fluid).. they will work on those and when they check your car, it isn’t uncommon that they’ll call to say something else needs to change especially when the car has several fault lights already.. just remember you don’t have to agree on the spot, can take time to evaluate and seek second opinion or to find an alternative for better price.

 

[Needmysleep]

@socrates pmed...

 

[socrates]

wow it’s really super low mileage for an 8yo car.. a lot of the faults are electronic items which are not uncommon.. car components can deteriorate on non-usage as well..

i think can can just have the basic servicing with brake fluid replacement, and have them check on the sensors.. workshop wise, i see Bavworks and Revolz very aggressive in their advertising and are quite focused in conti cars.. otherwise can consider monster garage which is right beside a BMW parts distributor.. still it is best to go with a friend or to a friend to their trusted workshop to check out..

just send the car in for normal service first (oil change and brake fluid).. they will work on those and when they check your car, it isn’t uncommon that they’ll call to say something else needs to change especially when the car has several fault lights already.. just remember you don’t have to agree on the spot, can take time to evaluate and seek second opinion or to find an alternative for better price.

Thanks for your suggestions. Any idea roughly how much normal service (oil change and brake fluid) will costs and how long will the servicing take ?

 

[socrates]

@socrates pmed...

Pm you back. Thanks you.

 

[Conan1986]

Thanks for your suggestions. Any idea roughly how much normal service (oil change and brake fluid) will costs and how long will the servicing take ?

Should be $200 thereabouts? Depends on the quantity and quality of oil used. You can ask with the workshop for the cost directly before commencing work. External workshop usually just need 1-2hrs if you’re the only car, but usually with a few cars in queue, it’ll usually be up to 4hrs. Make an appointment then go so you won’t go there then find out they’re full for the day

 

[Sainterly]

Thanks for your suggestions. Any idea roughly how much normal service (oil change and brake fluid) will costs and how long will the servicing take ?

Anyshop can change engine and brake oil for u. ya as other mention. give and take $200 more or less.
just remember for conti. and 8 year car. use something like 5w-40w fully sync will do. i would recommend slight better brand for conti.
like amsoil, liquid moly, motul.
as for brake oil. either Dot 4 or 5 is good enough

 

[socrates]

Should be $200 thereabouts? Depends on the quantity and quality of oil used. You can ask with the workshop for the cost directly before commencing work. External workshop usually just need 1-2hrs if you’re the only car, but usually with a few cars in queue, it’ll usually be up to 4hrs. Make an appointment then go so you won’t go there then find out they’re full for the day

Thanks for the advice.

 

[socrates]

Anyshop can change engine and brake oil for u. ya as other mention. give and take $200 more or less.
just remember for conti. and 8 year car. use something like 5w-40w fully sync will do. i would recommend slight better brand for conti.
like amsoil, liquid moly, motul.
as for brake oil. either Dot 4 or 5 is good enough

Thanks for the suggestion of what type of oil to use. All this new to me.

 

[myviowner]

Thanks for the suggestion of what type of oil to use. All this new to me.

Hi, back then with my 7 yo B class MB. I went for the most affordable EO replacement. till scrap. SGD 33.30 +. Inclusive of 4L engine oil and aftermarket engine oil filter and labour and all the safety checks.
Locally blended engine oil. (Sinopec / S-Oil)
Shop name is One Garage & Colour. Location at Kaki Bukit. Facebook search for them and Booking is preferred. Call them to check pricing for your servicing.

Other mainstreams engine oil could cost you more and based on your usage, is over kill.
Unless there is plan for your to take over and extend coe (Unlikely with current COE trend) IMHO

 

[blue666]

My previous BMW was serviced at BVO. You can google its address and it is not far from Boon Keng.

They specialize in BMW. Normal service is about $200-$300, depending on what are the items.

 

[socrates]

Hi, back then with my 7 yo B class MB. I went for the most affordable EO replacement. till scrap. SGD 33.30 +. Inclusive of 4L engine oil and aftermarket engine oil filter and labour and all the safety checks.
Locally blended engine oil. (Sinopec / S-Oil)
Shop name is One Garage & Colour. Location at Kaki Bukit. Facebook search for them and Booking is preferred. Call them to check pricing for your servicing.

Other mainstreams engine oil could cost you more and based on your usage, is over kill.
Unless there is plan for your to take over and extend coe (Unlikely with current COE trend) IMHO

Thanks for the good advice. Looking to just do basic maintence and hopefully not too incur too much costs.

 

[socrates]

My previous BMW was serviced at BVO. You can google its address and it is not far from Boon Keng.

They specialize in BMW. Normal service is about $200-$300, depending on what are the items.

Thanks for the suggestions.