[cruvon]

Hi, my car is out of warranty and am looking at other options to get my car serviced, brake pads replaced etc. when due without having to pay the premium the dealrships charge. Any suggestions of good garages in Sydney who could do servicing on a 320i Exec E90? I just got BMW to service my out of warranty car for $800.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of going to an authorised dealer v/s a qualified garage doing the same?

[bcoz]

I have used Bee-Ems in Hornsby (actually closer to Asquith than Hornsby) in the past for my previous E36. They specialise in BMW and Mini and their pricing was reasonable. As my 330d is only a few months old, I will be servicing it at a BMW Dealer at least while it's under warranty.

Bee-Ems' website is here...
http://www.bee-ems.com.au/

[cruvon]

Originally Posted by bcoz

I have used Bee-Ems in Hornsby (actually closer to Asquith than Hornsby) in the past for my previous E36. They specialise in BMW and Mini and their pricing was reasonable. As my 330d is only a few months old, I will be servicing it at a BMW Dealer at least while it's under warranty.

Bee-Ems' website is here...
http://www.bee-ems.com.au/

Thanks for the reply "bcoz", did you see a marked difference in servicing charges when you moved to the new shop compared to the authorized dealer, what was the difference like? Also, did you have any issues when you sold your E36 from buyers expecting a authorised dealer servicing history?
Thanks

[BMW //MPOWER]

Post warranty, i've been getting mine serviced by an indy up (Phil @ Kelray Automotive) in Asquith.
I use only OEM parts which i source either from a friend who works in the parts dept at a local dealership or off pelicanparts.com over in the US. I keep all receipts for work done on the car & parts used, which is more comprehensive than you'd get from a dealer.

[bcoz]

Originally Posted by cruvon

Thanks for the reply "bcoz", did you see a marked difference in servicing charges when you moved to the new shop compared to the authorized dealer, what was the difference like? Also, did you have any issues when you sold your E36 from buyers expecting a authorised dealer servicing history?
Thanks

I only used Bee-Ems a couple of times during the last year (after I moved into the area), so I didn't get a chance to compare most repairs on a like-for-like basis. However, I would say that they were about 20-30% cheaper than what I had been used to paying.

I ended up selling the E36 to my nephew at a discount. He knew the history of the car since new so the servicing history didn't come into play, although he did get all the service logs.

[bcoz]

If you haven't already done so, you may wanna check out this thread as well (it mentions a few other alternatives)...

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198035