Insp 1, other work, & the future for my car

[AW8]

Car going into main dealer Tuesday for Insp 1. Prices for those interested, (main dealer is in Sussex)

Originally quoted £350 but have got them down to £175.63 plus cost of me supplying Mobil 1 oil which was on sale @ £32 for 5 litres at Asda...so effectively will stand me at £223.63 all in & to include in cost a new carbon micro filter,(haggled to £33.67) & new oil filter kit, (haggled to £16.62). I will ask to see old items too.

Unfortunately it seems my negotiation efforts were in vain as my nearside rear window regulator died on me today with windown down. Managed to pull glass up into the frame & held in situ now with duct tape. Fortunately found this early am today so was able to caal dealer & add the job onto the back of the Insp1. If not so busy I would have perhaps been tempted to do the regulator myself but thought it less hassle to get dealer to do this to. I think this will come in at £220 fitted. My local indy did it last time & in 45 mins. Dealers quote/charge 14 units for this so 1hr 10 mins labour. I could save myself circa £65 going indy but really cant be doing with hassle.

In any case car there for day as in house bodyshop need to sort minor rattle to the lower tailgate under bodyshop warranty. I had a new lower one fited by them earlier in the year after old one sustained a very minor dent to same & courtesey of an elderly Skoda driver who claimed he didnt see me whilst I was stationary & waiting to proceed at a roundabout !

So I wont have much change from £450 and thats before any work or recommendations for work found on thew Insp 1. Depending on numbers involved it makes sense to d.i.y. or indy resolve any highlighted issues if present & if I agree they need doing. My Peake is hinting a precat O2 sensor may be due soon so I will be interested to see what if anything they say re this.


To date I've kept the FBMSH up on the car including the coolant & brake fluid stamps though I will have a dilemma if I keep the car. It will be 10 yrs old in Feb 2012 & will qualify for a vey significant 60%, (10 plus), discount at my local main dealers, (currently I get 30% discount under 4 plus scheme). The issue is I have 2 trusted indies & a third one yet to be used but actually run by a former head technician who until quite recently worked at the same main dealer I use.......he comes recommeded by a local to me member of bmwland & the labour rate just £40 per hour, (I think the local dealer pre discount labour rate is around £127 plus vat per hour!)

Main reason I have stuck with the BMW history is in hope BMW UK might consider a goodwill in event gearbox played up this side of 100k. Being realistic the chances of assistance are dslimmer the more miles the car has travelled. I n any case I expect to be totally left on my own re any goodwill over 100k miles.

Last year I had the other rear regulator changed plus the second rocker gasket changed and new PCV crank hoses. I also fitted a new header tank myself.

My car may not have all the toys that some enjoy but I am defintely NOT negligent when it comes to keeping on top of maintenance.

Once the other side of 100k and saying goodbye to any chance of goodwill & will be likely to get my indy to change the geabox oil & pan filter.

Perhaps in the future if I get a break from paying the more responsible I might even consider a trip to Jason for a 320HP remap or heaven forbid eventually justify treating myself to a Mk4 Nav.

There is of course always the potential for the future prospects of a 4.6is or I could go all sensible and go for a 3.0d facelift - would have to be rempped of course.

Trouble is having owned my car for 4 yrs and over 35k miles I kind of feel loyal towards it and guilty at the tought of changing.

Oh well time will tell & whatever the future holds its fair to say my wallet is unlikely to get too dusty.

[pvr]

Not sure why, but I always feel that the cars maintained by indies always seem to need lots of intermediate work done. Not backed by any evidence of course, but just general gut feel I get from reading and seeing the cars from those that do go down that route.

Think you need to buy my X5 at some stage

[535dboy]

That all sounds very reasonable - I think my first service on the Lotus was about £400 !

Personally I always like the idea of keeping the main cars in the network (not that I ever keep them that long of course!)

The Lotus however won't go to a Lotus dealer again intentionally. You only get a 2 year warranty and that has now expired.

I use a chap who set up on his own having left working for the dealer I used to use.

Only charges £45/hr and lends me his car.

Given that I service and change the oil every 3 or 4 track days that saves me quite a bit.

The cars are relatively simple too so don't need the big equipment to sort things out

[CondorX5]

[quote=""AW8""]

Perhaps in the future if I get a break from paying the more responsible I might even consider a trip to Jason for a 320HP remap or heaven forbid eventually justify treating myself to a Mk4 Nav.[/quote]

That's one of the worthwhile upgrades, given the improved functionality of the Mk4......however, updating disks from official sources doesn't come cheap.....Cotswold BMW quoted over £200 for a new disk No wonder so many use alternative sources, its a pure ripoff!!

[quote=""AW8""]

There is of course always the potential for the future prospects of a 4.6is or I could go all sensible and go for a 3.0d facelift - would have to be rempped of course.

Trouble is having owned my car for 4 yrs and over 35k miles I kind of feel loyal towards it and guilty at the tought of changing.

Oh well time will tell & whatever the future holds its fair to say my wallet is unlikely to get too dusty.[/quote]


No nononono.....go for a 4.8is. Go on, you know you want to I get quite attached to cars as well, hance having a heap of them cluttering up all available space at home - really need to get rid of at least the Rangie now!!! Keep saying I need to - but over 100K miles.....and the big V8 still rumbling so nicely....(not quite as nice as the 4.8is, but still decent!)

When I start spending too much on repairs, or I start to worry about something on a car, I look to change (or in my case simply add to the collection!!!)

Life's too short for regrets, I'm at an age now where I have a sense of urgency about getting everything done that I always dreamed of!!!!!

[pvr]

Oem satnav disk is £99. from the dealer if you trade in the old disk.

[AW8]

Back to the dealer visit.

Car now back, no extra work done or advised.

Not bad for 95,951 miles.

I have also since checked that the filters have actually been changed. '

[Chompers]

Glad all went well with the service AW8 and nice not to require additional work but I would have expected that from a well maintained 'X' like yours

[x555]

Goes to show that high milers aren't the problem when buying it's how well they have been looked after that counts

[pvr]

I have now decided to not renew the warranty that expires in 20 days ... just hope mine stays the same as AW8 then

[AW8]

Thanks for comments folks.

Sure the recent Insp 1 didnt show anything but to be fair I keep an eye on nearly all things they look for on an Insp 1.

In reality since the Insp 2 I have caused a few things to be done. Nothing more than regular known items that need attention on these.

Thrust bushes

Rear bushes

Both Rocker gaskets plus PCV hoses

FSR

Header Tank

2 rear window regulators

Battery, (possibly in part due to delay in accurately diagnosing FSR).

Pre cat O2 sensor x1

Discs/Pads/Tyres

Both Chromatic Door Mirror glass panels.

PAS Hose

Both outer front CV Joints

My car more a case of well & promptly maintained than historically owned without issue.........Despite FBMWSH I have saved money by occasionally sourcing parts sensibly & sorting by d.i.y. or a trusted indy.





Not wishing to put you off the renewal decision

[pvr]

To be honest, nothing would have been covered by the warranty as they deduct percentage for mileate, age, don't pay for investigation charges etc. So from a £400 bill, which is covered by warranty, you still end up paying at least £200.

[AW8]

Indeed.....I had considered independent warranty cover but the factors mentioned were relevant in my decision to go it alone.

For anyone else reading this the rocker gaskets & PCV hose issues are unique to the prefacelift 4.4i & nobody should expect a car to be exempt from needing or having had these sorted at some point in the cars life over 60k miles.