1st Service Experience
The car is currently at about 7,5xx Kms. The iDrive displays the service requirements of the car under the vehicle information heading. After every start up you get a service due date intimation on a speedo cluster. "Service due in 8/2017" is what I see every time I start the car. That's about 20 months from the date of purchase of the car. The iDrive displays things like brake pad life, oil level, brake fluid change due date, and due date for vehicle check etc.. The oil level in the past 8 months and 7,500 kms has remained constant and has not dropped one bit. The oil change due date dropped from 12,000 kms in the beginning to 11,000 then 10,000 and now finally at 7,5xx kms it said 1,500 kms to go before oil change and "Schedule appointment with BMW service". I have a trip to Hampi coming up with family (a 900 km round trip) + another drive to Belgaum in the first week of next month (1000 km round trip). So I did not want to take a chance and called Navnit Motors to schedule an appointment.
On one my trips to the Airport I had seen that Navnit Motors had taken a new place on Airport Road. It seemed to be WIP and the facility hadn't yet opened. When I called Navnit for the appointment they told me that the service centre was indeed up and running. Since I live in North Bangalore this is a huge boon for me as the only other facility is in Electronic city and that's like travelling to another town from where I live.
I got the appointment easily and this was my first visit to a BMW service facility. The service centre is well appointed and is just off the Airport Road. I walked in at 10:00 am and the place was almost completely deserted. Just one receptionist and one service advisor. I then learnt that this service centre had opened for business just 3 days back
.
I told the service advisor that I am in for an oil change only. I also had to report the failed headlamp washer, which I wanted replaced under warranty. At first the service advisor tried to blame it on me saying its been tampered with and that somebody has pulled it out by force. I think its part of their training to not accept faults in the first go and put the blame on the customer. I said OK, let's assume someone pulled it out. Now pull out the other washer and show me. He look at me and smiled and said no sir, I can't! The washer failed in my first drive in the rains. Clearly a manufacturing defect. He then marked it down for warranty replacement and as expected the part is not in stock. He says it has to come from their Chennai factory. I wouldn't be surprised if it has to come from Germany.
The BMW car key downloads quite a lot of data from a host of sensors inside the car and stores it. They insert the key into a reader and it instantly displays the service requirements of the car. What filters to clean, which ones to replace etc.... I told him I'd just like the oil and oil filter replaced and the air filter cleaned. Other things we can do during first service. But as per the data downloaded from the key it said - replace air filter and cabin AC filter too. I did not want to go against the recommendations as then it could affect my warranty. So gave him the go ahead. Air filter change in 7,500 kms is a waste, considering I have hardly driven in dusty conditions.
The car was ready at the promised time and the formalities were finished quickly. Bill Amount : 26,594.00 of which taxes itself account for about 3,500. Oil (6.50L) + Oil Filter costed me about 11K. The air and cabin filters are priced at about 4.5K each. Total labour about 1.3K + 1.6K for a wash and wax. Expensive for something which is not a full service. But then again the next service is due only after 12,000 kms, again for a similar service. Brake pads show a life of about 45,000 kms left in them. I did not bother with WA/WB/TR as the car is tracking dead straight and there's no wheel vibrations felt at any speed. I'll probably do a basic tyre rotation at the neighbourhood tyre shop after hitting 10k kms.
I must say the overall experience was pretty good and a 'premium' experience overall. The wash quality was exemplary and one the best I have seen at an A.S.S. The interiors, exteriors and the alloy wheels (generally neglected area) were all very well cleaned. After the oil change the engine feels a little smoother and a tad quieter too.
In other news, I hit a bird during my last drive and the hit dislocated one of the front parking sensors. It popped in from the hole and was hanging loose. I was expecting more damage considering the hit was at good speed. Luckily it did not hit the headlamps or the grill. Surely at that speed they would've cracked or dislocated. The bumper has a good amount of flex which prevented it from cracking. I fixed the parking sensor in 5 mins flat and at a cost of Rs. 5/-. Got a tube of fevi quick and applied to the insides of the hole first. Then a little more to my forefinger and put the finger thru the hole and pressed on the hanging sensor. Held the finger in position for a few seconds till the finger latched on to the sensor and then pulled it out. The sensor came back into position and was held in place by the glue. Pulled my finger out with a small ouch and it was done!
During my last drive I also chipped my windshield by a falling stone from a lorry ahead
. The damage is what you'd call a bullseye about 10mm in radius and on the passenger side. Luckily its not expanding. I have ordered a repair kit on
Amazon . Since it has to be shipped from USA, its not yet delivered. I am thinking whether I should contact Windshield experts for the job. I don't want to go for a full glass replacement under insurance as 1) its on the passenger side and does not hamper my vision at all and 2) since I drive a lot on highways, its likely to happen again.