Is the maintenance plan worth $600?

[EugeneM]

Hey everyone,

I got a 2015 CPO i3 with 13k miles. However BMW no longer makes the ultimate care/maintenance plan automatically transferable to 2nd owners.

The dealership offered me to get the maintenance plan for an extra $600 so because the car was registered in April if 2016, I'd get the remaining 3 years of maintenance for that $600.

To clarify I am not talking about warranty. There I have the remainder of the factory warranty and the CPO warranty on top of that.

What kind of maintenance is there for a newish i3? $600 is a lot to pay for an oil and filter change once a year and some wipers. Is it worth te money they want?

Any opinions are welcome.

 

[Eikon]

If you have BEV definitely no.

If you have REX, probably still no.

The only maintenance items are windshield wiper, brake fluid and cabin filter for BEV.

Otherwise brakes and pads should last a long time with regenerative braking.

 

[JamesSimone]

Hey everyone,

I got a 2015 CPO i3 with 13k miles. However BMW no longer makes the ultimate care/maintenance plan automatically transferable to 2nd owners.

The dealership offered me to get phen375 the maintenance plan for an extra $600 so because the car was registered in April if 2016, I'd get the remaining 3 years of maintenance for that $600.

To clarify I am not talking about warranty. There I have the remainder of the factory warranty and the CPO warranty on top of that.

What kind of maintenance is there for a newish i3? $600 is a lot to pay for an oil and filter change once a year and some wipers. Is it worth te money they want?

Any opinions are welcome.

You've answered your own question. "$600 is a lot to pay for an oil and filter change once a year and some wipers." If I were you, I would save $600.

 

[i3Houston]

Nope.

I have 2015 and the only issue it had was with the fuel sensor(very common in 2015 i3 rex) and ithat is covered under factory warranty.

CPO requires them to fix any issues, since most of the miles will be electric miles but also the Rex is very reliable BMW motorcycle engine. It is suppose to last even if less than average care is taken.

 

[graememwl]

$600 for 3 dealer oil and filter changes is not a bad deal and if you need brakes, it's a great deal.
$600 for 3 oil and filter changes and if you use an indy is marginal. If you need brakes, it's probably a decent deal.
$600 for 3 oil and filter changes if you are the DIY type, even if you do need brakes is a very bad deal.

Just depends on whether your are the "take it to the dealer for everything" kind of person.

 

[i3Alan]

$600 for 3 dealer oil and filter changes is not a bad deal and if you need brakes, it's a great deal.

First of all, $200 for a single oil change is NUTS! "Not bad" would be $50, even at a premium dealer. Keep in mind that the REX uses less oil than most small cars, and access is not at all difficult.

Second of all, the i3 should get at least 100K miles on the first set of brakes, as they get very little use, relative to non-EV and non-hybrid cars.

Third of all, if an expense is not a sure thing, then one would be wise to ONLY buy insurance when the expense would be a hardship. This maintenance plan is an insurance policy. Don't insure things you can afford to cover yourself, unless the payback is highly likely. Never think the insurance companies don't win most of the time. Casinos have worse odds, but not much worse. Smart insurance is truly needed insurance.

Stick your $600 in a savings account, and spend it as needed for maintenance. Do the same for all other insurance type purchases you really don't need, and you will win, even if occasionally a specific plan banked instead of bought would have paid off.

 

[Mick787]

We have recently bought an i3 here in the UK from a main dealership. It is a low mileage 6 month old BMW 'company' staff car (CPS?). During the sales pitch by the salesman we were dissuaded from buying the service plan which he said was financially not worth it at a cost of £399. Call me suspicious, but I decided to do some homework. Why, because he appeared to know very little about the i3 and despite his politeness, seemed to be constantly going to check things with his colleagues in order to answer our questions. In short, I didn't believe him when he said it would NOT make financial sense to buy the service plan. He never even took us to the service desk.
One call to the service desk revealed that once again he had talked through his backside. The cost to do the first service, (due in 1 years time), at today's rate, with BMW would be £353.48. On top of that would be the vehicle inspection and would come at a total of over £500. So we could see that there was an instant saving to be made. In addition to that saving, the next service and the vehicle's first 3 MOT tests are covered. So for us, it is a 'no brainer'. May I suggest you do some homework and make sure you know exactly what you will/will not be getting for your cash. These are seriously technically advanced pieces of machinery and IMO should not be going to 'under the arches' garages.

 

[Anonymous]

$600 is a lot to pay for an oil and filter change once a year and some wipers.

For service, you are looking at one oil change a year + the standard vehicle check list they do at that time, and one brake flush every two years + the standard vehicle check list they do then too. Figure $150 for the oil change +, and the same for the brake flush +. Each is going to be a minimum of their one hour labor charge, plus materials and shop and disposal fees.

My two local BMW Dealers both have less than stellar service departments, the closest one has 80% one-star reviews on Yelp, so I prefer going to a local highly-rated independent service garage that specializes in BMWs. You also have the option of doing your own routine maintenance - and then it's just your time and the cost of materials.

 

[jadnashuanh]

FWIW, my local BMW shop charges about $90 for a brake fluid flush. Have a BEV, so no experience with a REx oil change.

 

[PETERi3]

OMG~
I was charged MPU (maintenance plan upgrade, 72 months / 100k miles) for $2488 by SoCal BMW dealer when I purchased MY2014 CPO BMW i3 REX in Nov. 2016....which the original 4 years / 50k maintenance still transferable, right?
The finance manager kept saying the brake service required in 2020 will cost $1500up bal bal bal....
And the MPU is returnable with a couple bucks document fee...
Any one here success on returning the MPU? Please advise.

 

[thehagfish]

I'm in SoCal as well, I just purchased a CPO 2016 Rex and was also up sold on the MPU for about $2500 bucks. Convinced the brake pads alone could cover the cost I wasn't too worried, but after driving for a week and using my brake pedal less than 5 times per day I realized that I was probably not going to need the extended maint plan. I called and they told me to send the VIN and current Mileage, and that they will refund, but you should be able to get a prorated refund even if it's been years since you purchased.

Hope this helps, they didn't try to make it difficult. I'll post when I actually get the refund (although since I financed it they are going pay down the principle with my refund, not sure if i could fight it and get a check instead?)

 

[PETERi3]

:lol: Thanks for this forum.
I got a check in 3 weeks after I visited the dealership two times in Dec.
The best thing is I got almost full refund, only $25 document fee charged.

 

[SaveOurPlanet]

Hi all,

I went to the dealership today, they offered me to service the i3 REX with 35.000 miles for:

Engine Oil - $120
Vehicle Check - $145
Filter - $135
Brakes flush - $146

So a total of more than $540.

I was quite surprised of the high costs.
Are the service costs the same for each dealership?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[jadnashuanh]

BMW may have 'standard' hours for a task, but each dealership decides on the price. The prevailing labor rate does vary, sometimes a lot from dealership to dealership. One might expect say a dealership in downtown LA to have a higher labor rate than one in east podunk. FWIW, the last time I paid for a brake flush, it was $90 at a BMW dealership. Not exactly east podunk, but a small city versus a large metropolitan area.

 

[Anonymous]

SaveOurPlanet, since you are not covered by a service plan, try checking with a local independent service shop that specializes in BMW's, and see what their rates are for similar service. That would give you a ruler to gauge if the BMW prices are "market" or inflated. Bavarian Motors in Atlanta has good reviews. There are also three BMW dealers in the Atlanta area, to compare as well.

 

[SaveOurPlanet]

mark,
Thank you for your reply. Good idea. I will check one more shop.

I am doing very low mileage; does anybody know if the i3 Rex needs to be serviced really every 12 mths?
I was reading some docs on the bmw website - and I got the impression they are going for this short schedule...

 

[Anonymous]

BMW indicates oil and filter change every 12 months on the Rex. If you are still under factory warranty, I'd stick with that, as you could have a warranty claim denied if you aren't following the proscribed maintenance. Out of warranty, judge it on use, but for me, I will be sticking to the one year schedule, as even with little use, the oil will absorb water as it sits, and start to deteriorate.

Seems expensive, but on my ICE car, I had to have the oil changed at least twice a year, sometimes three times a year, which is as much as or more than having the oil changed in the i3 once a year.

And you can always change the oil yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm6Dcmuuzwg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3_FDTahze0

 

[jadnashuanh]

You never really know what's in your oil unless you have it tested after a year...safest to purge it. From a mileage standpoint, the synthetic oil should easily last much longer than a typical user will drive in a year, but the inhibitors only last so long. My ICE only sees about 4-5K per year, and I still change its oil just in case. It sits in the garage on a battery maintainer except for some periodic 1K runs.

 

[rostym]

I have a 2021 i3s BEV and had maintenance done today. This was a certified preowned car purchased last Feb, since I have added about 5K miles and mileage about 18K miles total. Service included brake flush, vehicle check, change microfilter - cost was $586.40 and I feel like I've been robbed. According to my service adviser that was with about $100 in discounts so w/o that it would be almost $700 for routine maintenance (w/o an oil change since this is a BEV)! Will not go back to that dealership. Labor (at $188.69/hr - strangely odd number) charged for 2.5 hours which seems like a lot, but that is probably what their rates book allows. Anyone else paid this kind of cost for that little work?

 

[Mondomensch]

The brake fluid flush is necessary but can be done at an independent (I think about $200 here in expensive Bay Area iirc).

“Inspection” every 4 years seems to be a BMW money maker (listed for my X3 also). Not sure about independents doing this, but at least it’s 4 years apart.

Cabin air micro filters pair can certainly be saved on by doing it yourself even. Also many brands of the correct filter pair are easily available.