BMW cancelling Free Scheduled Maintenance??

deutsch100 · Dec 13, 2005

Has anyone heard this? I have been posting and reading in an E90 board (since we don't seem to have that many here yet

and quite a few members have been told by their BMW SA to enjoy having it with their current car, because BMW is dropping it.

I guess reason being that Mercedes, Audi, Volvo and even Lexus have dropped it, and people are still buying the cars, so why should BMW offer it?

So far the "talk" about this is that BMW will stop maintenace completely, or offer a semi- free maintenance plan...oil changes, brakes/pad/rotors/wipers/belts/hoses/and bulbs will NOT be included. 15k and 30k services will be covered. Brakes & rotors can be very $$$, especially on the 7 Series.

I think BMW is totally stupid and greedy!!! if they do this. Just because they have record sales, doesn't mean they can get money hungry. I hope some accountant realizes that lots of people choose BMW because of the ZERO maintenace costs. If they drop free servicing, I think a lot of people will then consider Audi and Mercedes again.

Input?

bmw046series · Dec 13, 2005

Not true, this has been a rumor for a long time and BMW said I think just last week that it is a rumor.

wood_e · Dec 13, 2005

The market for high end cars is so competitive I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes the standard...

deutsch100 · Dec 13, 2005

bmw046series said:

Mercedes denied it too while the rumors were floating around that they were going to cancel free maintenance...then voila...MBZ cancels free maintenance. Sometimes there is fire where there is smoke. If BMW is the only one doing it, they can easily cancel it.

MrElussive · Dec 13, 2005

Well the free maintenance is ALMOST pointless for BMW. One oil change every 12K or 15K miles, and two pairs of wiper blades per year. The only thing that makes it worth it is that they cover your brakes! This means you can buy a new BMW and for the first 4 years/48K miles, you can use & abuse the brakes and not give a shit !!!!!!!!!!!!!

blondboinsd · Dec 13, 2005

Audi still has free maintanece to the best of my knowledge

bmw046series · Dec 13, 2005

deutsch100 said:

BMW is making a pretty sizeable profit, Mercedes is not.

Bmw 325i 7803 · Dec 13, 2005

BMW will not cancel their free maintenance. NYC radio is bombarded with "Luxury cars cost a lot to maintain, well not BMW, BMW offers no charge scheduled maintenance for 4yrs 50,000 miles, so bring your BMW in for service and leave your wallet at home...blah" If they were cancelling the program they would not be using it as their salesline in commercials. It seems that consumers don't appreciate the "handling and performance hype" anymore, they only understand HP and 0-60 times, so as a result BMW decides to point out how the car has a zero ownership cost with the exception of gasoline and tires.

deutsch100 · Dec 13, 2005

Bmw 325i 7803 said:

They are advertising it here like crazy too (Los Angeles). Could it be that they are blitz advertising it, just to get tons of people to fall for the free maintenance & buy a BMW? I'm not saying that any of us will lose our free maintenance, just like those with Mercedes...if it was there when you bought the car, then you get it for the warranty. It is rumored in the next year or less, that BMW might cancel it. No one, including me knows for sure...but there is def. talk out there!! German car companies love, love, love to follow each other!

PhatBimmer · Dec 13, 2005

Lets hope BMW doesn't! Free maintenance is a good thing for the peoples.

MrElussive · Dec 13, 2005

I think the free maintence really helps BMW sell cars. Strong residual value makes it really affordable for people to lease a cheaper BMW. They get to drive the premium car without the premium cost of ownership. That's why you see all these BMW's in NYC parked outside and in terrible shape all the time.

I don't care what anybody says or thinks, a premium car deserves to sleep indoors.

Kirby · Dec 13, 2005

Potentially, free maintenance MAKES MONEY for BMW on the backend. How? If a car is brought in for free maintenance per the schedule, it enhances their knowledge of the car, and therefore improves their ability to offer it as a CPO. CPO = more revenue for BMW!

MrElussive · Dec 13, 2005

Really good point, Kirby.

jayfk21 · Dec 14, 2005

I love the maintenance program with my BMW. I love it because I bought my car used. If I bought it new I would not love it as much.

I think a lot of people are forgetting that nothing is free. It's a gimmick to say "free maintenance for 50,000 miles". It's not FREE. Say your BMW-whatever model costs $50,000. The smart BMW folks are going to calculate that on average the maintenance costs will be $1,000 (ballpark/round number)... they add that in to the original sale costs (plus extra, I'm sure).

It's the same deal with the extended plans. You can pay $1000 or $2500 for each plan to get "free work done for the next 50,000 miles, but it's not free... you're paying first for the work that COULD be done, and second for the luxury of being able to bring your car to them for anything you want.

If they got rid of the 50K plan, it would stink for all of us that love it, but assuming the car didn't change, the price would remain the same. And if the car were to get better/more expensive (expected) then the increased cost is also expected...

It's a great advertising campaign and a great gimmick... but nothing is FREE... BMW isn't giving out gifts to us...

Oh well... my 2 cents...

BMW cancelling Free Scheduled Maintenance??

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