Help! DIY vs Dealer maintenance dilemma

[m3cs]

Hi all,

Just looking for your personal opinions please. Really in two minds about what to do. I can't be the only one who's had a similar dilemma.

I have just bought a mint 2014 F10 M5 with 40,000 miles and full BMW service history. It's due an oil service.
I am an experienced and capable DIY mechanic.
I plan to keep the car at least 2 years and around 10,000 miles.

To get an oil service done by my local Sytner BMW, it'll cost £350. Local independent specialists want more (bizarrely!).
BMW would just do oil and pollen filters - air filters don't get done.
The service is recorded in iDrive obviously.

If I did this myself, it would cost <£200 in Castrol oil and Bosch filters (I'd do the air filters too).
I would retain the invoice and also start a paper service history booklet*.

Imagine you were considering buying my car at 50,000 miles, 2 oil services from now, for around £20,000.
How would you value it if I'd DIY maintained it, compared with if it remained a 'full BMW service history' car?
Just trying to weigh up whether it's worth keeping it serviced by BMW or going with DIY (saving £300).

• (There's ways to DIY the iDrive service entry, but the moment the car goes to BMW for a service again in future, these would be wiped due to not agreeing with their server backup - I don't want to do this therefore, as I wouldn't want a future buyer feeling somehow duped.)

[bunchofkeys]

On a M5 I'd want full BMW dealer service history and no DIY services.
Especially if I were to try and purchase the BMW extended warranty.
This was a must when I bought a F85 X5M.

[Pando99]

I had a RS4 from new till 9 years old and once out of warrenty i did all oil changes myself and just put it to Audi specialist or Audi for the 2 yr inspection. Saved a fortune and still got good money when i sold it.
Go for it. Dont get worried about it. If you trade it in it wont matter hugely. Its only buyers that care.
The condition and your history will speak for itself

[m3cs]

bunchofkeys said:

On a M5 I'd want full BMW dealer service history and no DIY services.
Especially if I were to try and purchase the BMW extended warranty.
This was a must when I bought a F85 X5M.

The F85 is a much newer car. I’m discussing a 10 year old M5.
Doubt it’s possible to get a half-decent warranty on it due to age.

Edited by m3cs on Monday 19th August 22:34

[twokcc]

m3cs said:

Hi all,


I have just bought a mint 2014 F10 M5 with 40,000 miles and full BMW service history. It's due an oil service.
I

You qualify for the BMW insured warranty not be cheap but get a quote then make your mind up.
Same as poster above I ran a 10year old Z4 35I for 2 years had about £7K warranty work done on it ok got to 80K miles. Warranty cost £500 per year with £250 excess and limited break down cover(still excellent). No brainer IMO and will make the car far easier to sell.
OK service will cost more but you can haggle and one near me one about 5 further away was considerably cheaper than my nearest dealer

And you can have non service items done by an indy- to save any arguments always used genuine BMW parts. Can often get discs/pads from dealer who do discounts (e.g) Cottwold) and give excellent service inc quick delivery. Saved abot £100 on £450 front disc and pad change.
No cover for 1st month but no inspection required

Edited by twokcc on Tuesday 20th August 09:10

[BOR]

I think at 10 years old, buyers will start to expect that the cars are slipping out of the dealer network.

It will be a cheap car with high running costs, so I don't think buyers would continue to maintain at dealer rates so DIY wouldn't worry me too much as long as there are some receipts showing purchase of oil and filters.

That said, 350 quid seems incredibly low. I would have guessed at 2x or 3x that amount for an M5 service.

If that is literally just for an oil service then it could be worth doing just that bare minimum to get the stamp, then doing plugs/filters etc yourself.

For a saving of only a couple of hundred quid, it doesn't seem worth it in repect of resale risk.

[VeeTenM]

Get it done at the dealers. You can always buy the oil yourself if its cheaper and supply it to them.

[Jamescrs]

I wouldn’t touch a BMW M car without a proper service history at any age, I’d want either a main dealer or specialist service recorded.

[Joe M]

"To get an oil service done by my local Sytner BMW, it'll cost £350. Local independent specialists want more (bizarrely!).
BMW would just do oil and pollen filters - air filters don't get done.
The service is recorded in iDrive obviously.

If I did this myself, it would cost <£200 in Castrol oil and Bosch filters (I'd do the air filters too).
I would retain the invoice and also start a paper service history booklet*.

Imagine you were considering buying my car at 50,000 miles, 2 oil services from now, for around £20,000.
How would you value it if I'd DIY maintained it, compared with if it remained a 'full BMW service history' car?
Just trying to weigh up whether it's worth keeping it serviced by BMW or going with DIY (saving £300). "

Sounds to me like your saving nearer £150.... Is that really worth it to lose the FSH?

[m3cs]

Joe M said:

Sounds to me like your saving nearer £150.... Is that really worth it to lose the FSH?

Nope, 2 services like I said.

Any who’s seems like the general consensus is to keep it with BMW for now, so I will. Thanks all.

[E63eeeeee...]

It's not just about how people would value it though, it's whether they'll buy the other one that does have a full dealer service history. For a couple of years I'd say keep it up. It's not just the fluids and filters, it also means someone else is looking at the car and potentially spotting things that might make your MOT history look worse too. I'd say that both those things are worth a few hundred quid.

I'm still maintaining the service history on the 2014 E63, even though I service my other cars. I'd stop if I decided I was going to keep it indefinitely but for now I'll keep it up.

[dontlookdown]

If you were planning on keeping it for the long term I'd say DIY all the way.

But for two years and 10k miles, it's a no brainer to keep up the BMW service history. It will help sell the car and you'll only save ca £300 anyway.

[helix403]

I’d prefer genuine BMW parts if I was the buyer. I found some Bosch filters not very good.