[iChrisB]

I've got the BMW assured warranty on my E91, but am getting a little fed up off being bent over and 'serviced' by my local BMW dealer and their huge prices.

Anyone had any experience of having their car arrived by an independent BMW specialist whilst still having the warranty? Does it matter? Or will the warranty dudes throw their toys out the pram?!

[mjn77]

I used non dealer for service work and had no issues with getting warranty work done.

[Dann]

As long as the garage is VAT registered and uses Oem quality parts then Its fine.

I've actually found BMW are a couple of quid cheaper than the independent I normally go to

[hp88]

During the initial 3 year/60k mile warranty you can use any VAT registered garage but if you are on the extended BMW warranty plan you will need to use a BMW dealer for the servicing, might have changed but that was part of the t&c when I had it last year.

[mjn77]

Originally Posted by hp88

During the initial 3 year/60k mile warranty you can use any VAT registered garage but if you are on the extended BMW warranty plan you will need to use a BMW dealer for the servicing, might have changed but that was part of the t&c when I had it last year.

Nope. My extended warranty ran out yesterday and i didn't use main dealer for servicing. I had a warranty claim in April, no problems.

[wallsmk2]

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for your email. I can advise that the vehicle can be serviced at a NON - BMW Centre, however to keep the warranty valid, it will need to be serviced at a VAT retailer, serviced in line with BMW standards, using genuine BMW Parts.

Kind Regards

Lisa Smith
Finance & Insurance Sales Co-ordinator

BMW Insured Warranty Services
PO Box 1852
Croydon
CR9 1PW
Warranty Sales – 0345 641 9790


BUT as above, oil changes can sometimes be a similar price to independents so worth doing at a local main dealer just so that you have them on your side when/if something big goes wrong. Also, keep receipts and get a stamp as the warranty company will want to see this for big claims

[BMW Steve]

My 2 (BMW;s) only ever go in to my main dealer if it's warranty work, I use either a local Indi or my mates garage or do it my self. But i make sure that the scheduled BMW services are carried out through a garage and all the other extra servicing i do my self.

[Jet1990]

I recently took out insured warranty on my 330i and i explicitly made sure i asked the question about servicing and any repairs that have already been made on the car ( i was concerned using parts from like euros would not be covered under their warranty) to which the man said as long as its "OE quality" then its covered and the car only has to be serviced from a VAT registered garage in line with "bmw specs"

[wallsmk2]

For smaller warranty claims I don't think they look into the detail of the service history. I had one oil service at an independent and this never seemed to crop up on previous claims. However, I had a gearbox replacement and they wanted to see receipts from this service before they would approve the claim. Twitchy bum time but the dealership were great at pushing it through. If I had all my servicing outside the network, I doubt they would've been as enthusiastic, that was definitely my impression.

[imy]

Eurpean Block Exemption rules means you can service it anywhere (VAT registered) so long as it uses OEM parts and you follow the manufacturers service schedule. I think however you would need a printed reciept of work, with the work clearly detailed and the parts used.

[djgandy]

Originally Posted by BMW Steve

My 2 (BMW;s) only ever go in to my main dealer if it's warranty work, I use either a local Indi or my mates garage or do it my self. But i make sure that the scheduled BMW services are carried out through a garage and all the other extra servicing i do my self.

This is probably the best policy for serviceables. A lot of warranty stuff isn't serviced anyway, so its irrelevant, but the key is maintaining the drivetrain warranty as that is where the costs get big.

Brake fluid, air filters, pads can be done anywhere IMO.

I'd say its worth getting a BMW stamp for the vehicle check as this is what keeps your paint/bodywork guarantee in place, and probably oil since the CBS only requires this every 20k anyway and I'm sure the more anal amongst us will be doing extra changes between this. Neither of these are that much more expensive at BMW vs. indys. Also brake fluid is only £60-70 from stealers too, so its not a bad idea to get some easy points with these services.

[RENT-A-GOAT]

Also helps if you join the BMW owners club UK I had 20% off labour and 10% off parts applied at my local dealership on the last visit maybe also helped by having other family members take their cars there.

[PETERKAY]

like others have already said you dont need to get servicing done at main dealer to keep a bmw insured warranty intact but it does need to be serviced at a vat registered garage. I had a few services done at an indy (before realising how cheap bmw value servicing was)

had a squeaky bum moment in 2013 when the timing chain needed replacing and was given outdated info by various sources (even a service chap at bmw) that if it hasnt always been serviced at bmw the warranty is void)

Like imy said the european rules meant my warranty was intact, the timing chain was done and ive used bmw for the oil services since