WWUD?

[KingCon]

I am reaching 50K miles soon. I take my car to an Indy shop, they do great work. (200hr) so they better! They recommened that I have a 50K miles service done on the car.

It was explained to me that it takes 2-3 days, they would replace all filters, spark plugs, etc that the BMW dealership would do. However, they would also clean the entire engine of buildup with a certian solution that the owner has developed. (I know this sounds crazy) He is a engineer who worked for Mercedes/BMW for 40 years and developed this to deal with the carbon buildup that occurs in certian models (can't remember the entire story).

They also said if I didn't need to replace the gaskets it would cost me $3200.00. () their pitch was that if I planned on driving the car past 70K miles (and I do) that this service was a must. Also, that I would be able to feel a difference in my car.

I like the owner. He is a good guy and has always been honest and friendly with me. I plan on doing some Dinan work with my car through him, but he thinks the service is more important. I'm going to leave the website for reference, not to bash! http://www.performingimports.com/

Any thoughts?

[X5Dawg]

Wow, that is a big expense every 50K miles.

Seeing you are in the ATL area, if you would like a second opinion give Alan a call over at www.germancarrepair.com. I have been taking mine to them over the past year and have been very happy with their work. Just had them do a tranny rebuild. I have a 136K miles on my X and he has never mentioned anything about a carbon build-up issue. He has told me though if you plan on keeping the X you should do the oil every 5K miles instead of the recommended 15K.

[FSETH]

Gotta agree with X5Dawg. That is a ton of money! A service II that is typically done at 60k should not run over $1,000. I would not take my vehicle to that Indy shop ever again if I were you. Also, this service should not take anywhere close to 2-3 days. It should take one day tops. Don't let him put his home remedy fuel cleaner into your car as carbon build-up should not be an issue especially if you are using Top Tier gas with good detergents such as Chevron, Texaco, Shell, etc.

[Tomaz]

I have no doubt the owner is friendly to you, you are making his house payments! You need to find a different place to service your car, your getting ripped off. As far as replacing the gaskets for $3200, you will feel the difference, your wallet will be much lighter. Welcome to this web site, you can learn a lot about what your car really needs.

[KingCon]

HAHAHAH, you guys are great. Thanks for the feedback. I just had my oil changed for the low price of...158.99!!! I am going to try both references that were posted. Looks like the $30 to join this forum will be money well spent!

[BimmerDude]

KingCon, tooooooo expensive for an oil change. But what I do agree is his maintainance pics of the 740 engine with 78k miles on it. This is the pic I've been looking for. This is reason I change my oil every 4k to 5k. Whoever thinks changing your oils at 12k or more is ok, think again. Take a look at the pics in the maintainance section of this guy's website. But I agree with every one else, way to expensive and too long.

[Tomaz]

The photo's of the gunked up engine on the website are pure scare tactic. Those photos are not a typical engine at any mileage. A normal service interval and synthetic oil is adequate for long engine life. I personally have driven BMW's to 250K miles without any problems or excessive oil consumption and there are many engines around over 300K running well with normal synthetic oil maintenence.

[mrbmwx5]

Originally Posted by KingCon

HAHAHAH, you guys are great. Thanks for the feedback. I Looks like the $30 to join this forum will be money well spent!

^^^ well said!No need to hire a rocket scientist to work on your BMWs.

[X5Dawg]

Originally Posted by Tomaz

The photo's of the gunked up engine on the website are pure scare tactic. Those photos are not a typical engine at any mileage. A normal service interval and synthetic oil is adequate for long engine life. I personally have driven BMW's to 250K miles without any problems or excessive oil consumption and there are many engines around over 300K running well with normal synthetic oil maintenence.

For the norm, you are probably correct. However, even my mechanic has told me stories about opening up an engine that was supposedly maintained per mfg. recommendations and he said the buildup inside was shaped just like the valve covers when they removed them. He also has a coffee cup on his counter full of the gunk they pulled out of an engine that will not even pour out of the cup.

Again, he just recommends you do your oil changes more frequently just to be safe.

[KingCon]

I agree. I change on average every 4k miles. What on average do you pay for an oil change? I think $158 is way too expensive.