[rich1068]

I've got my 320d E91 on order and my mind turned to servicing. I know I'm a way off but I'm thinking about this motor quite a bit at the moment!

As I understand it BMW have a version of long life servicing where basically you wait for the car to let you know. I'm familiar with this on VAG motors. However, I only do around 10k per year and the bulk of that is around town. On my previous VWs, Audis and Skodas I've preferred to go with a fixed yearly service (using non long life oil) as this seemed to be the better option according to the manual. What's the correct schedule for the BMW engines?

Ta.

[creepy coupe]

Mine was every 20k when it came from the dealer,which in reality could end up being about 16k, but I had my oil changed at 7k with the intention of having it chaged every year.

[AlanQS]

The car has onboard Condition Based Servicing. This means that you only need to service it (to remain compliant with warranty) when it tells you so.

From new, depending upon the length of trips you make, the first oil change will be between 18k and 24k miles. The onboard computer will tell you the mileage to go to the next service every time you start the car. Doing a specific check with the settings button will give you mileage and time to go which will usually be two years from date of purchase.

So, in effect, if you do 10k miles per year then as you near the end of two years you will be due your first service. There are also time related servicing items as well so as you will be close to two years it will be time for brake fluid change and microfilter. I had all three items done at once at 18k (lots of short trips brought the mileage to next service, down) and it was just over 22 months since I bought the car so close enough to the two years anyway.

Like Creepy Coupe said, if you don't like having the same oil in your car for two years you can change the oil more frequently but I don't think BMW would allow such a long service interval if it was going to damage the engine and give them additional warranty claims.

[rich1068]

Interesting. So there's nothing in the handbook small print about not using Condition Based Servicing if the driving conditions are generally short and urban? As I mentioned, most of my recent car owning experiences are with VAG motors and they like to shout about long life oil and extended service intervals but there's usually something saying 'But...' Hence I've gone for 10k/1 year in the past.

Originally Posted by AlanQS

The car has onboard Condition Based Servicing. This means that you only need to service it (to remain compliant with warranty) when it tells you so.

Warranty isn't my major concern, even though my cars are leased I like to look after them. That said, I'm not talking about silly interval oil changes like our colonial cousins seem to insist on.

I suppose my next question would be whether the BMW fixed price service thing at £350(?) for 5 years would be worth it. And, if there is some small print about the suitability of Condition Based Servicing in my situation, whether it would be covered.