What do you think of this dealer recommendations at her mileage?

wtd

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My sister texted me the other day saying that the dealer wanted to charge her over a $1,000 when she took in her 2019 BMW X3 with 17,000 miles. She took it in for an oil change and they said that she needed to have these other things done.

Oil Change: $250 but they said they would give her a discount and only charge her $160.
Vehicle check: $269. She wasn't sure what that all encompassed.
Air Filter: $251.
Micro Filter: $165.
Brake fluid: $273.

I told her she probably didn't need those other services yet but if the Micro filter is the Cabin air filter, she is probably getting close to needing that. I told her to get in her owner's manual to see what the service recommendations are at what mileage.

I'm not familiar with BMW's or her vehicle so I don't know what the service intervals are for them. I think she refused everything but the oil change.
 
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BMW does recommend very frequent brake fluid changes, sometimes more frequently than OCIs!
 
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A JOKE, plain and simple... Never done an oil change on any European rides, but I'd imagine $100 would be absolute max.

Vehicle check? Well seeing that Toyota and Nissan give a complimentary inspection and are fairly thorough as I've watched it there's no way I'd pay for that. They are under the car anyway, what is 5-10 mins looking at various components while the oil is draining?

Micro-filter is likely the cabin and yes some are a PITA to do, but buy it yourself for $25 or less and done. Same goes with the engine air filter...

Brake fluid flush at that time/mileage is a joke as well. Nissan approached me with the same 'well they recommend...' I asked if it affected my warranty... NO, so I simply said there's no way possible brake fluid will fade in a clean/closed system in 2-3 yrs/18,000 miles. Absolutely no way and I've driven several cars way over 100K and yrs with never flushing the system and never had a single issue. I did get it done in my current ride around the 75K/7 yr point and it made no difference in performance whatsoever. Did it just to be done for the life of the car.
 
A JOKE, plain and simple... Never done an oil change on any European rides, but I'd imagine $100 would be absolute max.

Vehicle check? Well seeing that Toyota and Nissan give a complimentary inspection and are fairly thorough as I've watched it there's no way I'd pay for that. They are under the car anyway, what is 5-10 mins looking at various components while the oil is draining?

Micro-filter is likely the cabin and yes some are a PITA to do, but buy it yourself for $25 or less and done. Same goes with the engine air filter...

Brake fluid flush at that time/mileage is a joke as well. Nissan approached me with the same 'well they recommend...' I asked if it affected my warranty... NO, so I simply said there's no way possible brake fluid will fade in a clean/closed system in 2-3 yrs/18,000 miles. Absolutely no way and I've driven several cars way over 100K and yrs with never flushing the system and never had a single issue. I did get it done in my current ride around the 75K/7 yr point and it made no difference in performance whatsoever. Did it just to be done for the life of the car.
I'm sure it partly had to do with her being a woman by herself and it may be that they are pushing services to make up for maybe not having as much inventory of vehicles to sell.
 
Brake fluid is usually every two years on Euro cars.

Cabin filter every year or two at most, the price is kind of high but if you’re going to pay California BMW dealer prices it doesn’t seem too out of line. Same with the oil change really I would imagine most dealers are going to be $150-200 for one. $250 for an air filter is obviously pretty steep.

I thought BMW had four year included maintenance though…?
 
Brake fluid is usually every two years on Euro cars.

Cabin filter every year or two at most, the price is kind of high but if you’re going to pay California BMW dealer prices it doesn’t seem too out of line. Same with the oil change really I would imagine most dealers are going to be $150-200 for one. $250 for an air filter is obviously pretty steep.

I thought BMW had four year included maintenance though…?
I didn't even know she had this vehicle. The last car I remember her having was a Lexus of some sort. I'm not sure if she bought it new or used and I'm assuming it doesn't have any type of included maintenance but who knows.
 
An oil change might come to $100 at dealership prices. Should take 5 or maybe 6 liters of top quality oil. And an OEM filter might run $15.

On my '00 528i, changing both cabin filters took about 10 minutes. I let my 10 year old grandson change the second one last time. No tools required. I used aftermarket cabin filters. Realistically how much harm could be caused by using a not very good cabin filter.

The engine air filter will go many thousands of miles. Mine was getting a bit dirty at about 50 - 60,000 miles. It's a big filter. I used OEM manufacturer's engine air filters.

Replaced the brake fluid every 3 or 4 years.

You don't suppose that estimate was based on the assumption the lady didn't know much about cars. :unsure:
 
Friend has a Porsche SUV. (Forget what it’s called. Cxxxx). Quoted him $2800 for service visit.

It’s not that my friend can’t afford it, but he is not about to get ripped off. He is in the construction business so he will use his contacts to get a reasonable price.
 
It only seems like a rip off because it is. Most BMW and Mercedes new car purchasers are not the type to do their own service or shop for a third party. The dealerships usually give good service and loaner cars if they keep yours overnight BUT you pay for it out the wazoo. They figure they have got a wealth entitled clientele who would not respect them unless they charged a princely sum to maintain it.
You should tell her to find a good Euro Indy shop but if you want them to follow the manufacturers service schedule it will still seem excessive compared to an Asian or US made vehicle.
 
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