Is the maintenance plan worth $600?

[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]

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.

[MKH]

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...

[MKH]

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.