[Schweitzer]

Originally Posted by Tracus

Wow, never heard this one...
You are a very patient individual, and you must really love that Mercedes...

Ha ha ha. lol I can't wait to get rid of it. The bullcrap notion that it's normal wear and tear is insulting enough. Looks pretty though and has tons of power, even though it corners for sh*t. Not a bad cruiser.

[tturedraider]

Check out what 3ers cost in the 80s with no included maintenance.

YEAR/MODEL____BASE PRICE__2015 DOLLARS

1982 E30 318i____16430____40575
1983 E30 325e____21000____50250
1986 E30 325e____21000____45660
1987 E30 325i vert__28875___60575
1988 E30 325ix____33290____67060
1990 E30 318s_____21500____39200
1992 E36 325i______27990____47540
1992 E36 325is coupe__29100__49430
1993 E35 318i______23710____39100
1994 E36 318i vert__29900___48080
1996 E36 328i______32900___49970
1996 E36 318ti_____19900____30225
2006 E90 325i______31595____37350
2012 F30 328i______35795___37155[/FONT]

[adc]

If you are shopping at the low end of the market, you may already be aware that other brands have closed the gap and are now making competitive vehicles. So instead of paying a $5-10k premium on a BMW, people might consider other cheaper and arguably more reliable cars instead.

[Poochie]

I am on my third leased BMW and in my experience, the 4 year free maintenance is not really of that great value as people seem to think. I must of had one front brake change for the duration of each three year lease and two oil changes, more or less and I live in stop and go NYC traffic. The service requirement intervals are streched so far and few apart that one would rarely utilize the coverage unless you're tracking/abusing your car. That being said, the inherent peace of mind of knowing that any service was covered by the dealers was originally one of selling points for my first BMW lease decision, over the competition. The comprehensive service prevented the dealers from padding the bill for unnecessary maintenance and assured me there would be no dispute over a covered issue should there be a gray area over "Warranty" and "Maintenance" (Call me skeptical but we don't call them "Stealerships" for nothing). I honestly believe this move was put into play to help the dealership become more profitable. It's sad that coverage is becoming so narrow but like they say; all good things...

[Teutonic]

Originally Posted by Schweitzer

Ha ha ha. lol I can't wait to get rid of it. The bullcrap notion that it's normal wear and tear is insulting enough. Looks pretty though and has tons of power, even though it corners for sh*t. Not a bad cruiser.

Not bad looking, but your maintenance experience is scarry and dissapointing to say at least. And you are right: can't buy this bs with normal wear at that milleage. It is insulting.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by Desert_Fox

It seems like BMW is trying hard to alienate their customers. The bad will from this move seems greater than the internal cost of keeping the program as-is. In an era where the competition is making damn good and competitive cars, seems like an odd strategy.

And yet, 2015 set sales records. So I guess they decided to "try" a little harder....

[MightyMouseTech]

This maintenance schedule will have no influence on me buying another. I already made that decision.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by Schweitzer

Never with a BMW. But as I've posted before, I bought a brand new 2014 MB E550 for the spouse and am now on my THIRD set of rotors....in 18,000, just over two years. They start to shimmy every 9,000 miles. All city, normal driving, not riding brakes or traversing the hills. It's infuriating that I have to fight to get them to pay for them. Because contrary to what Mercedes tells me, brake rotor replacement every 9,000 miles is not "standard wear and tear" IMO.
You guys tell me if I'm being unreasonable.

I had a Lexus IS250 for 8 years--rotors replaced 1x in 72,000. Last year, my wife's Mazda CX-9 needed new rotors at 45,000 mi.

[JasonCSU]

Originally Posted by JasonCSU

Wow, what model is that outrageous quote for? I recently replaced the front and rear pads, rotors, and sensors on my 135 for $1100. Good thing I can do the work myself because that labor rate is ridiculous. Plus, it shouldn't take over two hours to replace the front brakes especially when a lift is being used.

PARTSFROMERIK

I am still curious on an answer to this.

[Sedan_Clan]

People are really blowing this out of proportion.

[techwhiz]

Well, I bought a CPO and got a bit of free maint. (What was left.)
I pid for the extended maint with the CPO. What a rip. A couple of oil changes and some pads.

I would never pay for BMW maint up front.
That being said, I don't know when the next car I buy will be.
I have a 335 and the cost of a new one loaded like mine would be close to $60K.
So I can pay an additional $45K+ to get a new version of what I have now.
More technology but no better performance. Pass.....

[gearboxtrouble]

Bad move, it was honestly a big deal for what seems like >75% of their US customer base - ie the lease market on entry level models where people lift the car they can afford on a monthly payment, sometimes without being able to set aside an extra $1-2k a year in maintenance. Those models are getting less competitive vs their peers and some dangerous looking new competitors like Jaguar have actually extended their free maintenance program to 5 years. The 1/2/3/4/5 series, particularly the entry level ones will lose market share.

[techwhiz]

Originally Posted by Schweitzer

Never with a BMW. But as I've posted before, I bought a brand new 2014 MB E550 for the spouse and am now on my THIRD set of rotors....in 18,000, just over two years. They start to shimmy every 9,000 miles. All city, normal driving, not riding brakes or traversing the hills. It's infuriating that I have to fight to get them to pay for them. Because contrary to what Mercedes tells me, brake rotor replacement every 9,000 miles is not "standard wear and tear" IMO.
You guys tell me if I'm being unreasonable.

Take it on an off ramp and do some aggressive braking.
You are suffering from deposits not warping.

[Schweitzer]

Originally Posted by techwhiz

Take it on an off ramp and do some aggressive braking.
You are suffering from deposits not warping.

It's worth a try. When you say hard braking, do you mean full-on anti-lock stopping from like 65 MPH?

[WilliCO]

Originally Posted by tex2670

And yet, 2015 set sales records. So I guess they decided to "try" a little harder....

Actually, that's exactly what it is. You won't see a company make a high-profile change to a customer service program on sliding sales. They're selling everything they build right now, so they can cut features from the product safely with minimal, or hard to measure, effect on revenue.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by WilliCO

They're selling everything they build right now

Other than some of the more limited production models, there's no shortage of inventory or long lead times for customer ordered vehicles. Take a look at the days of inventory, model by model. And then take a look at how many leftover 2015 cars are still sitting on dealer lots, and the incentives they are offering to try to move them. Sure, they will eventually sell all of them, but right now generally there's a lot more supply than demand.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Schweitzer

It's worth a try. When you say hard braking, do you mean full-on anti-lock stopping from like 65 MPH?

BMW have performance brakes, you need to run them pretty hard to keep them happy and not get deposits on them. Not full on anti-lock stopping, just normal aggressive driving.

[David70]

Originally Posted by N.S.A

I know they don't but if they are gonna lower their coverage why not switch to Amg when you buy the maintenance program bmw offers for the 2017 models of Bmw for low 2k I believe

You are back to comparing features and benefits of two cars and it really has nothing to do with any included free maintenance program. Reality is the new BMW included maintenance is far better than MB's and my guess is part of the reason BMW's went down some.

You can also extend the BMW coverage for a fee.

[WilliCO]

Originally Posted by shark715

Other than some of the more limited production models, there's no shortage of inventory or long lead times for customer ordered vehicles. Take a look at the days of inventory, model by model. And then take a look at how many leftover 2015 cars are still sitting on dealer lots, and the incentives they are offering to try to move them.

Alright, "selling all they can build" probably overstates. I'd turn that around on you though - other than the highest volume models, like the 320 and 328, there aren't many 2015 BMWs left at all. Ralph Schomp, which is the largest BMW dealer in the Mountain time zone, has 87 2015s left on the lot and 48 of them are 3 series, none of which are 335s. Incentives are OK.

By comparison, a similarly sized GMC/Jeep dealer here called Medved has 372 2015s left. They'll give you $9500 off of a $51,000 F150 for just walking in the door.

Those are n=1 observations, of course.

[subrven1]

Are you kidding me? Spend 50K + on a car and then extend brake life by depending on Engine braking?

I bought a BMW because i enjoy driving. The maintenance of brakes was great because you could LOVE your BMW.

Now, I have to worry about Poor Steer feel, Engine braking, Wiper blades....what next?

Originally Posted by kent11202

There were two bulls, one old and one young, standing on a hill looking down at a herd of gorgeous cows.

The young bull said to the old bull, "Let's RUN down there and have us ONE of those cows." The old bull said, "Why don't we WALK down there and have them ALL?"

Pay attention younger folks. Moving forward along those lines, if you are going to beat the crap out of your clutch and brakes, why in the hell should BMW pay for your abuse?

If wiper blades are NOT a big deal, and they are not, then why does BMW want to eliminate them from the maintenance program - it's more of a "feel good" benefit for the customer than anything else. When I took ours in for service, unbeknownst to me they changed the blades. When I noticed that I asked, "Why in the hell did you do that? It wasn't necessary." "Because we were supposed to based on age."

As far as brakes are concerned, we are at around 1,300 feet above sea level and every trip we make involves a long downhill trek. Guess what? We can actual take advantage of engine braking and extend brake like. Likewise, neither of us has a compelling reason to hold off on braking until the last minute or tailgate people knowing there's a fair chance we need to engaging in more robust braking.

Why BMW included brakes, clutches (for all 25 people that own a manual) or wiper blades in the first place is beyond me.

Now, being somewhat paranoid, it isn't going to surprise me if BMW subsequently decides (in a couple of years?) that, in order to synchronize all facets of the "BMW Experience," "We will, going forward, align our warrantee with our free maintenance program. As such, our warrantee will now cover THREE years."

[shark715]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

BMW have performance brakes, you need to run them pretty hard to keep them happy and not get deposits on them. Not full on anti-lock stopping, just normal aggressive driving.

What sort of deposits are you talking about? I've never heard of this, but I'm interested as I'm always careful not to abuse/overheat the brakes, but yet I've had rotors warp and require replacement. Maybe I was "under using" them? Thanks.

[subrven1]

F30 lacks pretty much all of what you say. Driving dynamics in my F30 suck. On Center steer feel and returnability issues are like those seen on the Focus.

Originally Posted by rjc32000

Is anyone else surprised how many forum members claim to have chosen BMW over every other brand solely for the free maintenance?

Here I was thinking that driving dynamics, racing pedigree, top-rated engines, exquisite styling and innovative technologies drove people to the ultimate driving machine. Apparently all those factors were distant background noise compared with those free wiper blades.

Look, I understand that people are unhappy BMW is changing their policies. But the reactions here are so over the top and incredible that they almost defy belief.