Strange service display in bmw

[Fantom]

Going to look at an F31 335d tomorrow but i noticed on the photos the service history shows quite a big gap (~38k miles) but the "OK" are all still showing in green, see below. It was my understanding that the late services would appear in orange?



I know these cars work on condition based servicing, but surely it wouldnt allow it to go that far?

Anyone have a potential explanation for this?

[Watchthis]

There are computer programs readily available which will write anything you want on to your BMW service history. Treat the idrive display with a pinch of salt

[Fantom]

Thanks for the reply.

I would have thought if someone went to the trouble of editing it they would just add an extra service instead of just changing from orange to green?

It would be good to know if it is possible for it to be green and "legit" with a gap this large, if that makes sense

[georgeyboy12345]

That'd be enough to put me off.

[Watchthis]

Its possible there were service(s) done between those showing on the idrive and the service counter reset but nothing put on idrive. Then if the car was next serviced by BMW on time it would come up as green. Best thing to do is look up the net to find the dealer code and contact them to find out if everything matches up.

Ideally you want invoices for the non idrive services. If not then assume the car hasn't been serviced properly and price accordingly.

[Watchthis]

Just had a search...dealer code 08613 is for Bavarian Boucher (MINI) in Belfast. Unless your 3 series estate is identifying as a mini then thats a fake idrive service history thats been put on there.

08611 is Bavarian Boucher (BMW) in Belfast

Edited by Watchthis on Saturday 4th November 21:58

[SteBrown91]

Watchthis said:

Just had a search...dealer code 08613 is for Bavarian Boucher (MINI). Unless your 3 series estate is identifying as a mini then thats a fake idrive service history thats been put on there.

Well considering many BMW and mini dealers share premises and workshops I think declaring it as fake is a bit of a stretch - but I would be calling the servicing dealer to check

[Fantom]

I had a look too, it might be the correct service centre as it was located near there, also 08611 seems to be the on site bmw dealer, could be that they did it on the mini computer for some reason? I think it's definitely worth calling as you suggested but sadly they aren't open tomorrow.

[ABMA]

BMW service is either Condition based/ or every two years.
So ideally the car should have been serviced by March 2022 for it to be GREEN on the drive as a late service would be AMBER.

Likely the car was serviced (or the idrive was reset) during these two years.
Personally I would like to see evidence/ invoice that confirms the car has been serviced before March 2022 (38k miles is too much to drive without a service).
Otherwise I will look somewhere else.

[Earthdweller]

I’ve got an orange “ok” in my idrive display because the service was 136 miles overdue!

And it was only 136 miles overdue because I couldn’t get it booked in any sooner

[thatsprettyshady]

Covid was a good excuse to not bother servicing your car, it seems.

[CorradoTDI]

Fantom said:

Going to look at an F31 335d tomorrow but i noticed on the photos the service history shows quite a big gap (~38k miles) but the "OK" are all still showing in green, see below. It was my understanding that the late services would appear in orange?



I know these cars work on condition based servicing, but surely it wouldnt allow it to go that far?

Anyone have a potential explanation for this?

It maybe further down the list if done by an independent but I'd check with BMW.

If it's on 90k ish now then it will be due timing chains (engine out) and a whole load of other stuff that's not done as part of normal servicing so make sure it's reflected in the price!

[Mr Whippy]

BMW have buggered mine up twice now.

MOT says 9mo late which was impossible as it was done on time. But now that’s stuck in there.

And then this year they did a recall and vehicle check and brake service, but logged it as having the MOT despite it not at that time, and then the brakes are showing as ‘late’ with an ! orange warning despite me doing them DIY and resetting.


So don’t trust what’s on there. It is essentially a waste of time and the crappiest idea for a service record ever.

My BMW garage even just wrote random mileages on receipts, then scribbled out and put actual ones and initialled… so my official paperwork looks a bit awry.



All in all, you’ll have to sit for an hour and rebuild the history by hand/phone calls to check what actually happened because BMW are fking morons.