The True Cost of Deferred Maintenance

By July 28, 2014 December 8th, 2021 Blog, Education & Tips

the true cost of deferred maintenanceIn recent years, BMW has offered free scheduled maintenance on new cars. FREE! Sounds great, right? (Who doesn’t love free?)

As Grandpa used to say, “Nothing in life is free”…or maybe it was, “Freedom don’t come free.” Anyway, you get the point. Even “free” stuff comes with a price.

In our BMW speciality shops we have seen the results of this so-called “free” maintenance. Many times BMW owners who follow the schedule (because their warranty demands it) end up deferring maintenance until a date that is beyond when it should be. Their warranty doesn’t cover non-scheduled maintenance, so they either 1) go against their better judgment or 2) unknowingly wait – and put it off until their next scheduled maintenance date comes up.

Let us be clear: We’re certainly not blaming BMW owners for this. Obviously car owners have a certain level of trust that the manufacturer is going to recommend what is best for their cars. Right? Well, you might be surprised to learn that while BMW does engineer quite a magnificent machine, they are not immune to the potential pitfalls of deferred maintenance.

One of the reasons we’ve been so successful at Coast Motor Werk is that our customers know we are not about squeezing every last dime out of you that we can (read our blog post about our technicians being paid salary as opposed to commission, and why that matters). Rather, we are about increasing your car’s efficiency, performance, and longevity. We are about treating your BMW with respect, taking excellent care of it, and extending its life as long as possible. We’ve seen enough BMWs still performing beautifully, way beyond their anticipated lifespan, that we believe it is possible with every BMW we encounter. All it takes is a little education and a little proactive TLC on your part.

BMW scheduled maintenance services are broken up into the following:

Intermediate Oil Service – The typical interval for an oil change on a modern BMW is 5-10K miles. We recommend an oil change every 5-6K miles.

Oil & Safety Service – This service includes an oil change with filter and a safety check including crucial items such as brakes, indicator lights, rubber belts and hoses, engine coolant, steering linkage, and suspension components. Your technician will also check for fluid leaks, wipers and wiper fluid, tire pressure, the horn, and the dashboard warning lights. (source: Bimmershops.com)

Inspection I – Also known as the Minor Service. On 1986 – 1998 models, it is recommended at 20,000, 60,000, and 100,000 miles. On 1999 and later models, it is recommended at 30,000, 90,000, and 150,000 miles.

Inspection II – Also known as the Major Service. On 1986 – 1998 models, it is recommended at 40,000, 80,000, and 120,000 miles. On 1999 and later models, it is recommended at 60,000 and 120,000 miles.

To learn more about the true cost of deferred maintenance and how to best increase your BMW’s lifespan, give us a call or stop by our HB location today.

Share