BMW Maintenance and Repairs

[smallbear]

Could any BMW owners give me advise please on where to have a five-year-old 730 Li serviced and for minor repairs? Are there good aftermarket specialists, or is it advisable to use only the main dealer?

If using the main BMW dealer, can they usually be trusted in respect to the repairs themselves and transparency of pricing?

Also, is the main dealer the only establishment which is able to reset the service indicator, or can others do that? Thanks for any information.

[smallbear]

Apologies for the typo -- I meant to say "Could any BMW owners give me advice".

[wprime]

Do you have one? How much are you spending now at the main dealer on maintenance?

[bazmlb]

Nelsons in Chonburi are fairly reasonable, most of the work i get done is on older models, also where are you to get recommendations for the right area.

[smallbear]

Many thanks to wprime and bazmlb for the replies. To answer your questions, I have found a 730 Li which is in good condition and if all is well with an inspection, I will buy it. However, my concern is that I might be left exposed on repair costs, when parts need replacing.

I'm based in Hua Hin.

Normally back home I would do my own repairs, but I've noticed here with Toyota (just by way of example) that they don't have a parts order counter. Whenever I ordered something, they try to force the customer into having it fitted by them. Are local repairers able to order parts from the main dealer? I got the impression before that dealers may be acting with anti-competitive measures.

Obviously if my only choice is the main dealer because local repairers are not allowed to order parts from them, I could find myself at their mercy - which in Thailand, is asking for trouble!

[Jitar]

Perhaps you need to try another dealer or build a better relationship with the service department. We buy parts from Ford, Isuzu, Mitsubishi and Toyota dealer without any problems. The dealers we use have a parts clerk within the service department, (some better than others). BMW dealers should be no different, they make a buck whether they fit the parts or not.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Jitar

[bazmlb]

Many thanks to wprime and bazmlb for the replies. To answer your questions, I have found a 730 Li which is in good condition and if all is well with an inspection, I will buy it. However, my concern is that I might be left exposed on repair costs, when parts need replacing.

I'm based in Hua Hin.

Normally back home I would do my own repairs, but I've noticed here with Toyota (just by way of example) that they don't have a parts order counter. Whenever I ordered something, they try to force the customer into having it fitted by them. Are local repairers able to order parts from the main dealer? I got the impression before that dealers may be acting with anti-competitive measures.

Obviously if my only choice is the main dealer because local repairers are not allowed to order parts from them, I could find myself at their mercy - which in Thailand, is asking for trouble!

I have sent you a message with some people to contact re parts.

[MMarlow]

If you're considering a relatively recent and expensive (E66?) 7-series I'd suggest that you stick with the dealer network, particularly if you are paying the sort of money that a decent 5 year old 7 will cost. A BMW service history on newer models will be advantageous if you need to re-sell it.

In terms of quality of repairs, not that you should be needing many, you'll have no problems with the official dealers whose technicians are well-trained, same with pricing.

Any place that is able to service the car properly should be able to re-set the service indicator, if they can't you shouldn't even consider using them.

The 7-series is a seriously complicated car to work on and many non-franchised shops are not happy, or able, to work on them except for the very basic operations such as oil and filter changes. If you flick through some of the Thai-language car magazines (Option, Autosport, Auto) you'll find a couple of BMW specialists advertising but they aim for the older models usually.

[smallbear]

If you're considering a relatively recent and expensive (E66?) 7-series I'd suggest that you stick with the dealer network, particularly if you are paying the sort of money that a decent 5 year old 7 will cost. A BMW service history on newer models will be advantageous if you need to re-sell it.

Thanks, that's very helpful. Yes, the vehicle I've found is an E66. There seems to be some confusion here with local owners not quite knowing what they're selling. In many cases they advertise what they say is an E65, which turns out to be an Li-badged car. Others advertise an E66 Li, which turns out to be an 730i (which I take to mean therefore an E65).

More worryingly perhaps, several sellers seem to show pictures of the pre-facelift model of c.2004, with the double round cut-outs in the front bumper, which follow the line of the headlamps and the small rectangular rear lamps in the tailgate, yet claim the year to be 2007, 2008 and astonishingly, one as a 2011.

The vehicle I've found is clean and doesn't seem to be misadvertised, let's hope!

May I ask, is there a choice of BMW dealerships franchises in Bangkok, or are they all the same company?

Edited January 29, 2014 by smallbear

[Skint]

The best thing to do is ask for the chassis number and contact BMW. Your paying a premium for a car here so if it were me I'd expect it to be fully serviced at BMW Bangkok.

The adverts are all misleading the tents don't have a clue what model they have.

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Edited January 29, 2014 by Skint

[smallbear]

The best thing to do is ask for the chassis number and contact BMW. Your paying a premium for a car here so if it were me I'd expect it to be fully serviced at BMW Bangkok.

Great idea about the chassis number check, I never thought of that. Thanks. Yes, completely agree about the full service history. It was first on my list of needs. It's normally reasonably priced here for a main dealer serivce, so if they can't show a complete history of that, then I look elsewhere.

[JAS21]

The best thing to do is ask for the chassis number and contact BMW. Your paying a premium for a car here so if it were me I'd expect it to be fully serviced at BMW Bangkok.

Great idea about the chassis number check, I never thought of that. Thanks. Yes, completely agree about the full service history. It was first on my list of needs. It's normally reasonably priced here for a main dealer serivce, so if they can't show a complete history of that, then I look elsewhere.

I had a 5-series, I was under the impression that any BMW Dealer over here could look at any cars service history on his computer.

[thailandbeachisland]

Is it true that most of the time only official BMW can work on their cars compared to Benz that can have maintenance done by any garages (and many advertise Benz but not BMW, is it because of BSI or because some electronics require equipment that standard garages do not have ?)

Thanks.

[Tat2TS]

If the car is 'grey market' BMW garages won't service unless you can provide the import docs to show all import taxes have been paid, but you can still order parts from them. The manager of the Rama 4 BMW dealership advised me to take my 320i E92 to a Bosch service centre because they have all of the correct equipment to do whatever is required mechanically or electrically. I can highly recommend them. They have several service centers in Bangkok but also 1 on the road going from Hua Hin to Cha am. Had a oil change and front brake pad change there last week, took a few hours, but it was done properly with the correct equipment.

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[Tat2TS]

I forgot to mention, I'm going to put my E92 up for sale, if your interested?? 2009, 28km on the clock, M sport styling, it's clean and a head turner. I'm also in Hua Hin.

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[Woodsie888]

If the car is 'grey market' BMW garages won't service unless you can provide the import docs to show all import taxes have been paid, but you can still order parts from them. The manager of the Rama 4 BMW dealership advised me to take my 320i E92 to a Bosch service centre because they have all of the correct equipment to do whatever is required mechanically or electrically. I can highly recommend them. They have several service centers in Bangkok but also 1 on the road going from Hua Hin to Cha am. Had a oil change and front brake pad change there last week, took a few hours, but it was done properly with the correct equipment.

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Recommending you to a MMS Bosch service centre is a nice and simple way for Millennium Rama IV to circumvent BMW's guidelines regarding servicing of Grey Market cars as both Companies are owned by the the same group. Win/win for all.