How much does it cost to do a "Major Service" to my car?

Question

I own a 1995 BMW 318is, and i haven't had any service in awhile. Recently, I took it to a shop to get something fixed, and I asked them to change my oil since it's been awhile. They called back and said my car needed a "Major Service," that the oil filters were flithy, the brake fluids needed changing, new spark plugs, antifreeze, the works... They quoted me $600 to do it all. Is this a fair price? If not, how much does this usually cost?

Answer 1

the cost ultimately depends on the vehicle, since you have an obvious import, than it is possilbe for the service to be a bit pricey, but I don't think $600 pricey. On average, you should be looking at anywhere from 300 to 400 MAX!! look through you local junk mail or newspaper. you will almost always find places that are having grand openings or are under new ownership and eager for new customers!

Answer 2

it is hard to determine what 600.00 is paying for.. so go to the shop and ask for a breakdown of the charges b4 u pay for them. if u buy antifreeze, urself it will be around 7 to 10 a gal.oil and a filter is about 15 parts only. plug wires and plugs around 80, and fuel and air filter about 20 or so, and brakes, well that is guesswork. my suggestion is this, go to the shop and ask for a list of parts they want to replace. go to the nearest auto parts store that has quality parts.. (not autozone or advance) buy the parts and have them delivered to the shop and tell the service man u r on a tight budget, but u trust him to do the work and not call with another problem. tell him with a witness, that u expect him to do a professional job. u will trust him with ur baby, but he had better be damn sure that the car will be right when he finishes. if he can't swallow the responsibility. take ur car elsewhere. return the parts and start over. they r trying to make ur beemr perfect. so let them make him commit to his word.promise u they r that good, without that fateful cal that somethingelse was discovered.

Answer 3

It's hard to say. It's not an outrageous sum of money if they do all those jobs. Just check that the price includes the cost of parts (sparkplugs) and fluids. $600 isn't particularly expensive if they are putting in decent quality oil - an oil change is the main service on any car, old or new.

Answer 4

I believe it is all to do with the mentality of the driver, for example you sound like a sensible, responsible person, who takes driving seriously and with care, however you then get the "boy racer" type of driver, pedal to the metal, carelessness is their style. Now that is two, groups out of many, everyone has a different attitude when they are out on the road, and I think it is the conflicting attitudes that cause road rage. For example, I am an 18 year old guy, been driving for a year, and when people see me behind the wheel, automatically the term "boy racer" pops to mind, when clearly I am not, I have witnessed the devastation driving carelessly can cause, and this is not something I wish to happen, therefore I take care in my driving, and speed. Though as I said earlier the mentality of other drivers towards me, is "boy racer, no good driver" and this frustrates me in how I am treated on the road, and THIS is what can make me have road rage. If everyone stopped using stereotypical views of everybody else, and treated everyone with courtesy and politeness, then drivers would have a lot less road rage!

Answer 5

I'd worry that the price was too cheap and they just wanted to get you in and then actually charge double that. Why not go one step at a time and first do the BMW basic maintenance items scheduled in your owner's manual first. Then see how reasonable they charged just to change the air filter and coolant for example, and compare that to what the dealer charges for the same service.

Answer 6

I guess it depends on where you go, here in Michigan it is around $300.

Answer 7

$ 600.00 for a BMW? Not bad! Grab it and run.