See the garage reviews page on my site.

--
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<deadmail (AT) burnt (DOT) org.uk> wrote

Unless you like paying £12 per litre for Mobil One (or that's what they told
me they put in), I would supply your own oil when using Claytons for
servicing. I had my car (1998 E39) in for an oil service with them recently
and they relieved me of £225 for the pleasure. I thought independents were
supposed to be cheaper than main dealers! They also quoted me £600 to change
the belts (which are supposed to last the lifetime of the car) and replace
some slightly worn suspension parts.

I will not be using them in future. Instead give Tom at Bavarian Garage in
Clifton (near the Zoo) a call 0117 9745214. He's a one man outfit, ex-BMW,
no nonsense kind of bloke. Much more realistic pricing and only does things
to the car that actually need doing.

Fergal

In article <417e570c$0$16702$afc38c87 (AT) news (DOT) easynet.co.uk>,
Fergal <fergal (AT) whatever (DOT) co.uk> wrote:
Hmm. That's main dealer price, so why weren't they using the BMW
recommended oil?

Both belts on my 70,000 mile 528 were looking distinctly iffy - cracking
on the outside, so I changed them. No problems finding spares, so I doubt
they're meant to last a lifetime. FWIW, it's a straightforward DIY job,
since they are self tensioning.

Do you know what this independant charges per hour? BMW rates are so high
because of the posh waiting rooms and receptionists, etc. Never seen this
at an independant - or would I wish to. I'd rather my money went to pay
skilled happy mechanics.

--
*He's not dead - he's electroencephalographically challenged

Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk> wrote


Is Mobil One not BMW approved then? What oil should they have used? My car
is out of warranty and has done 100k, so I'm not bothered about using
official BMW parts. Clayton's charge £55+VAT ph labour and say they only use
BMW original parts. They seem to treat all cars no matter what age as if
they were new, which seems a bit OTT. They don't even have a posh reception
area to justify their costs

Tom at Bavarian Garage charges £40 ph labour and has a small garage located
on a very narrow Clifton backstreet. I took my car in for him to have a look
at the suspension parts Claytons said needed changing. He put the car up on
the ramp and showed me exactly what needed doing, none of which was urgent
and could wait until the next service. This is the kind of mechanic I would
rather deal with and just wish I had found out about him before taking my
car to Claytons.

"Fergal" <fergal (AT) whatever (DOT) co.uk> wrote


Yes, certain weights of Mobil1 are approved by BMW.
But the real point is that the BMW branded oil is good stuff and readily
available to dealers through their parts network. The price of it to
consumers is about the same as Mobil1 (at least in the USA), and one would
have to assume that the dealers can get their own oil at a pretty deep
discount, so why would they use Mobil1?

-Fred W

In article <417f58f6$0$16702$afc38c87 (AT) news (DOT) easynet.co.uk>,
Fergal <fergal (AT) whatever (DOT) co.uk> wrote:
Trouble is Mobile 1 is not necessarily the same thing anymore than Castrol
GTX is - the formulation changes over the years. And between countries,
IIRC.

The latest BMW branded oil is IIRC made by Castrol, but not readily
available elsewhere. Perhaps others can remember the actual grade/spec - I
can't.

Also, the latest spec oil is for cars with the latest spec servicing
intervals. Older cars with shorter distance intervals used a lower spec
oil originally, although a dealer will use - and charge for - the latest
stuff regardless. So it may be a bit of a waste of money.

--
*It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats.

Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Fred W." <Fred.Wills@'remove this to reply to' myrealbox.com> wrote in
message news:j9udnfLfSoWdDeLcRVn-2w (AT) adelphia (DOT) com...
Claytons is not a main BMW dealer though, they just think they are and
charge accordingly. That's why I was so surprised when I saw the price they
charged me for Mobil One (allegedly). If I wanted to pay those kind of
prices, I would go to a main dealer.

Even though I could get Mobil One retail for about half what they charged
me, what would be a good, cheaper alternative? Should any respectable brand
10w40 fully synthetic be ok?

"Fergal" <fergal (AT) whatever (DOT) co.uk> wrote
I don't know about your engine, but 5W-30 is the recommended weight
in my '01 330xi, I use Mobil 1.
Theoretically, any synthetic that meets the oil-service spec (this is
in the US) is ok. BMW's oil is re-branded Castrol, btw.

FloydR