[BEMR]

Honestly I'm not driving a BMW because of free maintenance. I pay more to play golf for instance at nicer courses, since the discount golf courses seem to attract the lower quality asshole players, lol.

[Nitrousbird]

I'd vote, but this change has 0.0% impact on be buying or not buying another BMW.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by David70

I have an ATS and believe all of the maintenance is covered for 4 years and 50k miles. How is this new BMW Maintenance plan better?

Please check your documentation and report what you find. I'm going on what Cadillac has posted on their website.

PREMIUM CARE MAINTENANCE-
Fully transferrable, the Cadillac Premium Care Maintenance program covers routine oil changes, tire rotations, certain air filter replacements and a thorough Multi-Point Vehicle Inspection for 4 years or 50,000 miles.

[TheBingoBalls]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

Please check your documentation and report what you find. I'm going on what Cadillac has posted on their website.

PREMIUM CARE MAINTENANCE-
Fully transferrable, the Cadillac Premium Care Maintenance program covers routine oil changes, tire rotations, certain air filter replacements and a thorough Multi-Point Vehicle Inspection for 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The manual just repeats what's listed and stated on the website. Looks like Cadillac's maintenance is pretty straightforward:

• Oil Change
• Tire rotation (7,500 miles/12,000 km)
• Cabin air filter (passenger included)

Of course there are other things but those are way past the initial 4 years. So yeah, from what I'm reading, not really better or worse than BMW you just get that additional year and mileage so basically one more oil change.

[bjcarls]

Originally Posted by Bosozoku

Exactly. Most BMWs are leased anyway.
And isn't BMW the most-frequently-leased brand in the US?

I thought the lease rate was around 52%? That doesn't seem that high based on small business ownership and the benefits.

[bjcarls]

Originally Posted by BEMR

Honestly I'm not driving a BMW because of free maintenance. I pay more to play golf for instance at nicer courses, since the discount golf courses seem to attract the lower quality asshole players, lol.

Come on. I belong to a GC because of the care free service. If they told me I had to pay extra for the driving range and to put my bag on the cart I would be disappointed. I'd rather pay BMW $250 over the life of the car and not have to worry about the small stuff, if it were to go wrong/wear out.

[OneRib]

This puts BMW right in line with all other luxury car makes except Cadillac. I don't care about the free oil changes and will now look at overall maintenance schedules for every brand I am thinking of. I significantly upgraded BMW because of the warranty. I especially loved it for my wife because she didn't have to be hassled with random dealer repair fees. I expect a lot of random brake jobs going forward.

Favorable BMW leases are now the only thing keeping me in a BMW (financially speaking only).

So within a space of 3 years we have decreased the ED savings from 7% to 5%, lost automatic transferred maintenance, and have a weakened maintenance plan.
Brutal.

[Pyrat 2]

I'll bet they pass the savings on to us in the form of a reduced sticker price. I can hardly wait to see how much they reduce the price on the car. $5 or maybe $10. Probably negative 1%.

[Dabozo]

Originally Posted by 08njSTEP

If the cost is only wiper blades and 1 oil change then this is a REALLY stupid move. The ill will is certainly not worth the savings.

This.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by s0ul

Last thing on my mind when I bought my BMWs and my upcoming M car was the maintenance / warranty. Yes, those are nice but if you can afford these cars, you should be able to afford the maintenance yourself.

I understand what you are saying, in theory, but facing a $12K or $15K repair bill annually is what can occur on some of these vehicles. Add about $5K more and you are entering the lower end of the exotic car territory.

I have a dear friend who purchased a Ferrari 360 Spider, the most beautiful 'vert ever made IMHO, and couldn't stomach the maintenance after about 2 years and nearly $35K. I made the calculation when I purchased my i8 and determined that vs an F430 the i8 would save over $50,000 during a 48 month period of ownership. I can afford the i8 or the F430 as well as all of the other vehicles in my sig, 2 that aren't mentioned and the $140,000 vehicle that will be delivered in May or June of this year, but I didn't get to that point by being frivolous with money. If I don't have to spend it, I won't.

We all have choices in how we spend our money and this was part of my calculation in determining my vehicle choices. Car enthusiast, yes. Hard-core driver, definitely. Foolish with $, no.

Cheers-mk

[BEMR]

Originally Posted by bjcarls

Come on. I belong to a GC because of the care free service. If they told me I had to pay extra for the driving range and to put my bag on the cart I would be disappointed. I'd rather pay BMW $250 over the life of the car and not have to worry about the small stuff, if it were to go wrong/wear out.

I know what you mean on that, I'm talking about a 25 dollar discount green fee vs 75 dollar full price green fee, the more you pay, the better the quality of players. . I need another drinknowsorry

[pimp4cheddar]

Originally Posted by PARTSFROMERIK

I mean 60$ for a pair of wipers isin't much. Have you gone to advance or autozone? The "good" brand comes out to 26 a piece so throw in taxes and you're at the same price? people who complain about things like that digust me. lol Pay to play bro.

Of all the things to focus on with my statement...you speak to the joke I made on $60 wipers instead of the $1,500 bill for rotors, pads and sensors??

You've missed the point by miles...............................



And to those thinking that people can't afford the cost of service and are complaining - it's a stupid point to attempt to make.

Never confuse the concept of someone being smart - with someone being cheap or broke. The allure of burning money unnecessary isn't impressive...nor does it make you an "enthusiast" over anyone else...

[SayGo]

Soooo lets keep complaining about getting free stuff. If you can't afford to maintain your vehicle then....you can't afford to own the vehicle. If you solely base your car buying decision on having all the scheduled maintenance included, BMW is not the car for you.

[uansari1]

Originally Posted by s0ul

Last thing on my mind when I bought my BMWs and my upcoming M car was the maintenance / warranty. Yes, those are nice but if you can afford these cars, you should be able to afford the maintenance yourself.

If you're a finance geek like me, you consider TCO (total cost of ownership) when deciding what car to buy/lease, so your statement is illogical in this case. Under TCO, you look at the aggregate cost, which for me meant a payment of $700 a month or $8,400 per year (including lease and insurance). For that amount of money, I could also have gotten a lesser car and covered the cost of maintenance in the same cost. On the other side of the equation, I can now get another BMW when my lease is up, or instead lease that Jaguar I've been eyeing, since it will now cost the same.

It's not about not being able to afford maintenance (I earn enough to cover it at the expense of investing less in the market or toward retirement, etc)...it's about smartly managing your money and considering the aggregate costs to maximize my cash.

Originally Posted by SayGo

Soooo lets keep complaining about getting free stuff. If you can't afford to maintain your vehicle then....you can't afford to own the vehicle. If you solely base your car buying decision on having all the scheduled maintenance included, BMW is not the car for you.

One could argue quite easily that maintenance was never free! It was included in the cost of the car...basically, BMW is increasing the cost of the car without you realizing it.

[tturedraider]

Just a little tidbit, not directly related, but.....that wonderful 10yr/100,000 mile power-train warranty that Kia and Hyundai boast of so proudly.....it only applies for the original owner. Subsequent owners only get the 5/60 new car warranty.

[-c-]

Originally Posted by rjc32000

The company will always do what's best for its *shareholders* even if it means alienating its customers. That's what I see here.

Yes sir!!!! See it everyday! Then I joke and say hey I'm a shareholder! Just not an important one since I don't own +million shares!

So my opinion matters not.

In fact I see quality cheapened to gain higher payback to the share holders then they all wonder where the customers are going and then have to lay off people.

And the best part is when they end up firing that ceo he gets 40 mil in the bank for screwing everyone!

Sorry just bitter ! .

[pruettfan]

I think this is a step in the wrong direction but I am sure BMW has studied what the competition is doing and what motivates the sales of their cars. I think it is a mistake, it won't change what brand car I buy but I am not happy. I also think this combined with the lack of transferability of the maintenance is really going to impact resale values which is unfortunate. We will see I guess.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

Not quite.
I have had a similar experience with my X5 3.5i. If I didn't have the additional 14K miles/12Months, I would have had approximately $3,000 in maintenance from the brakes and oil changes.
Emotional or not, this is a serious issue and I squeeze every penny I make...hard, so that I can maximize my enjoyment of life in a responsible fashion. That calculus includes a financial analysis of every car I purchase vs. the competitors and BMW has been almost impossible to beat when including the maintenance for a serial owner such as myself and many others on this board. If the maintenance goes away, I will probably do so, as well.

Cheers-mk

Since the competition does not offer 4 year free maintenance, what you are really saying is the only reason you are driving BMWs is that they offer a great free maintenance program; otherwise you would have other brands in your stable now. Is that correct? If correct, you are making car choices based on the free maintenance programs, not the attributes of the product itself. If not correct, why would you leave BMW because they lessened their free maintenance to go to a brand that doesn't offer a better program.

Either way, I don't understand your logic.

[-c-]

Originally Posted by pruettfan

I think this is a step in the wrong direction but I am sure BMW has studied what the competition is doing and what motivates the sales of their cars. I think it is a mistake, it won't change what brand car I buy but I am not happy. I also think this combined with the lack of transferability of the maintenance is really going to impact resale values which is unfortunate. We will see I guess.

Lol bimmer post should forward the poll to BMW!


Show the bean counters what their doing.

Not like they will care but it be nice to show them their really hurting their fan base.

It's very possible though if the feedback is overwhelming and negative they can change their stance.

[dmboone25]

Although I don't know if this is apocolyptic news some others have expressed....

I can see how this could be something that causes someone on the fence to go another direction. Such as if you really like another car better but thinking practically, would choose BMW.

With this perk "reduced", I can see people leaning the other direction if a BMW and comparable competitor are really similar in other ways.

[TheBingoBalls]

Originally Posted by pruettfan

I think this is a step in the wrong direction but I am sure BMW has studied what the competition is doing and what motivates the sales of their cars. I think it is a mistake, it won't change what brand car I buy but I am not happy. I also think this combined with the lack of transferability of the maintenance is really going to impact resale values which is unfortunate. We will see I guess.

Think you're confusing yourself or mistyped something. What you stated, you're talking about the same thing. As far as I know and what I've read, BMW's limited warranty and/or CPO is transferrable (CPO requiring an application no later than 60 days of transfer of ownership) so that doesn't change. While maintenance isn't transferable, I can't see how not getting free fluid changes is going to affect someone's decision to buy a BMW.

If I'm wrong, someone correct me. Quite a few people are getting maintenance confused with warranty.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by pimp4cheddar

Has nothing to do with being an enthusiast...it's thought and theory.

There's no reason to skimp on it. If they wanted to reduce the coverage period from 48 months to 36...(while I wouldn't like it) fine, I'd accept it. But to remove brakes, clutch and the other shit they did - that's simply terrible.

As I wrote above...I went through 4 brake jobs and 1 clutch in my last 335 before I traded it in. That shit adds up and will honestly make many people think twice about buying a BMW.

It seems as though you're forgetting that outside the forums...the other group of people that buy BMW's (something like the 85-90% of all BMW consumers) consider this during their decision making process.


This is a bad move. Very bad move...

Brakes and clutches are consumables. Your lucky BMW ever did cover them. Is the competition offering free brake and clutch replacement? Given your rate of consumption, you should probably go buy the brand that gives you stuff for free. BMW has decided not to keep doing that.

The non-enthusiast BMW owners will still keep buying BMWs anyway. They are not going through clutches and brakes at your enthusiastic rate anyway.