[wanderlustX5]

I got an engine oil change alert in my X5 since I am hitting 10K miles soon. I called the dealer BMW Portland and they said they will need the car for 4-5 days. That seemed bizarre for a simple oil change. Is this the case with other BMW dealerships? Should I change the dealership for service to another one in town?

[dream54ing]

time to take the loaner for a road trip

that is really odd. i wonder if they are doing a software update and anticipating problems??

[Marty in NY]

No way!!! Oil changes only take 30 min. What else are they doing? Probably a software update but even with that, it should be less than two hours including a test drive. I would have them justify their time and bet much of it is the car sitting in queue. I'm not saying don't do it, but you should know what's going on.

[gpitts]

Originally Posted by wanderlustX5

I got an engine oil change alert in my X5 since I am hitting 10K miles soon. I called the dealer BMW Portland and they said they will need the car for 4-5 days. That seemed bizarre for a simple oil change. Is this the case with other BMW dealerships? Should I change the dealership for service to another one in town?

I've never had a 10K service take more than a part of a day. It's basically a glorified oil change and fluids check, right??

[Lmoney783]

My oil change says it’s due at 5k miles. Can anyone confirm?

[Tenac]

Originally Posted by Lmoney783

My oil change says it’s due at 5k miles. Can anyone confirm?

How many miles do you currently have and then add that to what it says.

[wanderlustX5]

Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm

No way!!! Oil changes only take 30 min. What else are they doing? Probably a software update but even with that, it should be less than two hours including a test drive. I would have them justify their time and bet much of it is the car sitting in queue. I'm not saying don't do it, but you should know what's going on.

Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm

No way!!! Oil changes only take 30 min. What else are they doing? Probably a software update but even with that, it should be less than two hours including a test drive. I would have them justify their time and bet much of it is the car sitting in queue. I'm not saying don't do it, but you should know what's going on.

I agree! The entire deal would not take more than a day. From past experience, they have had car just sit in the parking lot. I don't get it why wouldn't they schedule on date when they can actually get their hands on. I am changing service to another dealership. Hope it won't be an issue since I bought it at this dealership

I'm curious if they benefit or make any money out of letting car sit in parking lot while their loaner is out with customer for days

[AndroidRobot]

Originally Posted by wanderlustX5

I agree! The entire deal would not take more than a day. From past experience, they have had car just sit in the parking lot. I don't get it why wouldn't they schedule on date when they can actually get their hands on. I am changing service to another dealership. Hope it won't be an issue since I bought it at this dealership

I'm curious if they benefit or make any money out of letting car sit in parking lot while their loaner is out with customer for days

I'm going to assume, as others have said, there's a software update too. They usually need some time to ensure it works as intended before handing the car back over. I wouldn't be worried unless there's an issue with your car. Mine is also getting the 10K oil change but I have about 8800miles on mine. Whenever they finish (if they do) fixing the long list of things I'll let you know what else goes with it.

[russelldav]

Originally Posted by AndroidRobot

I'm going to assume, as others have said, there's a software update too. They usually need some time to ensure it works as intended before handing the car back over. I wouldn't be worried unless there's an issue with your car. Mine is also getting the 10K oil change but I have about 8800miles on mine. Whenever they finish (if they do) fixing the long list of things I'll let you know what else goes with it.

Even if it is a software update that only takes a couple of hours and it would be odd to assume it would go wrong!

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by wanderlustX5

I agree! The entire deal would not take more than a day. From past experience, they have had car just sit in the parking lot. I don't get it why wouldn't they schedule on date when they can actually get their hands on. I am changing service to another dealership. Hope it won't be an issue since I bought it at this dealership

I'm curious if they benefit or make any money out of letting car sit in parking lot while their loaner is out with customer for days

I don't believe the dealer benefits by having customer cars sitting on their lots and the depreciation they take on loaners, which is shared by BMW, is a constant monthly amount per service loaner.
My guess is the new high tech cars are giving them fits and they are having a hard time figuring out how long troubleshooting is taking so they would like to keep their technicians/mechanics busy with a backlog of work. Just ask for their reason and then you'll know.

[AndroidRobot]

Originally Posted by russelldav

Even if it is a software update that only takes a couple of hours and it would be odd to assume it would go wrong!

not really, every dealer I've spoken with has said they request 24hrs for an update despite it taking a few. Their reasoning, so I've been told, is to ensure everything is working properly

[claykin]

Originally Posted by wanderlustX5

I got an engine oil change alert in my X5 since I am hitting 10K miles soon. I called the dealer BMW Portland and they said they will need the car for 4-5 days. That seemed bizarre for a simple oil change. Is this the case with other BMW dealerships? Should I change the dealership for service to another one in town?

Others here have suggested your car might also need a software update. Yes, that's true and these iStep upgrades can take 2-3 hours when all goes well. And sometimes upgrades don't go well requiring remedial work on the part of the dealer to get the software to take on all modules. Sometimes requires a TSARA case be open with BMW for assistance when things go really wrong. And this happens too often!

Also consider most dealers only have 1 or 2 ISTA programming systems and your car may not be the only one needing upgraded software. Pretty much every iDrive 7 car is dealing with issues right now. In other words, dealers are innundated right now.

Nevertheless, 4-5 days is long unless you've identified other issues for repair during this visit. Make sure they give you a loaner.

[russelldav]

Originally Posted by AndroidRobot

not really, every dealer I've spoken with has said they request 24hrs for an update despite it taking a few. Their reasoning, so I've been told, is to ensure everything is working properly

I took my X5 in last Tuesday for a tire replacement, an investigation in to a driver assistance error message and a software update. Dropped it at 8am, they had it back to me before 4pm. The labour on the warranty claim for the software update was 1.2 hours.

I'm not saying they might allow a whole day but 4-5 days seems excessive don't you agree?

[claykin]

Originally Posted by russelldav

I took my X5 in last Tuesday for a tire replacement, an investigation in to a driver assistance error message and a software update. Dropped it at 8am, they had it back to me before 4pm. The labour on the warranty claim for the software update was 1.2 hours.

I'm not saying they might allow a whole day but 4-5 days seems excessive don't you agree?

True, but cars with more options often have more modules in need of programming. And a programming that fails and needs recovery can take that 1.2 hours and turn it into 1.2 days or more. But yes, your case is typical. Not always but typical.

[AndroidRobot]

Originally Posted by claykin

True, but cars with more options often have more modules in need of programming. And a programming that fails and needs recovery can take that 1.2 hours and turn it into 1.2 days or more. But yes, your case is typical. Not always but typical.

Yes, that's a better way of putting things.

[wanderlustX5]

I only asked for oil change. I didn't even ask for software update. They just said it will take 4-5 days.

Here's the response:
"The day does not change it, it is the time of the year, by August we are usually about 4-5 days,

Let me know if you are ok without it for a few days, or if we need to set an appointment with a loaner, "

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by wanderlustX5

I only asked for oil change. I didn't even ask for software update. They just said it will take 4-5 days.

Here's the response:
"The day does not change it, it is the time of the year, by August we are usually about 4-5 days,

Let me know if you are ok without it for a few days, or if we need to set an appointment with a loaner, "

For me, this would be unacceptable. You should be able to make an "appointment" which means a certain day and time. This gets you into the dealer, then depending on what happens, they may need the car longer at which point you have the option of either making another "appointment" that fits your schedule or taking a service loaner and leaving your car with them. I have always waited in their service lounge for my oil change appts while the car was under warranty. I have their coffee, maybe eat their bagel, drink their water and then the car is done. However, just to say four or five days for an oil change when you call to make the appointment is ridiculous. Try a different dealer and see how it goes there.

[X5_CC]

Originally Posted by wanderlustX5

I agree! The entire deal would not take more than a day. From past experience, they have had car just sit in the parking lot. I don't get it why wouldn't they schedule on date when they can actually get their hands on.

This infuriates me! This happened to me at an Audi dealership once. Kept my car two days to do an oil change. What's the point of an appointment then?! Some of these dealers think if you have a loaner, problem solved and no big deal. But to a busy person, it's just one more thing to have to contend with (let alone frustrations like no toll tag, no garage opener, etc.) until they are finally done with your car.

[wanderlustX5]

Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm

For me, this would be unacceptable. You should be able to make an "appointment" which means a certain day and time. This gets you into the dealer, then depending on what happens, they may need the car longer at which point you have the option of either making another "appointment" that fits your schedule or taking a service loaner and leaving your car with them. I have always waited in their service lounge for my oil change appts while the car was under warranty. I have their coffee, maybe eat their bagel, drink their water and then the car is done. However, just to say four or five days for an oil change when you call to make the appointment is ridiculous. Try a different dealer and see how it goes there.

agree! changing dealership, hope it's not an issue.

like your profile pic of Kesari

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by wanderlustX5

agree! changing dealership, hope it's not an issue.

like your profile pic of Kesari

Changing dealers can be interesting. My local dealer is not my preferred dealer for a whole host of reasons so I have purchased all my BMW's from other BMW dealers, some in state, some out of state. Its the brand that I buy, not a particular retail outlet.
I also travel a bit and my car has seen a few BMW service centers in and out of state. None of the non local dealers has ever even mentioned the fact that I did not buy my car from them. I take it in for service, I get offered a service loaner or wait at the dealership, and all is well.
Except at my local dealer where I have been treated like crap because I didn't buy it there, which is one of the reasons I avoid them. You are bringing a brand to a brand service center, you should be treated like a customer in good standing but they are not all created equal as several members of this forum have stated. The only way to know is to go elsewhere.

I normally can't stand to watch subtitled movies but that one was really good!