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Properly
maintaining your BMW can give you years of safe, reliable
and economic motoring. Unfortunately, in this era of the "disposable"
society, it has become increasingly more difficult to find
a service facility that understands maintenance is much
more
than an oil change, a few filters, a belt check and topping
off fluids. Compounding the problem is the general belief
that the "routine service" provided by the dealer
during the warranty period is sufficient. We at Bavarian
Machine
Specialties are intimately familiar with the consequences
of comprehensive maintenance--both good and bad.
Comprehensive
maintenance has two facets: the "when" (what time
interval) and the "what" (the item to be serviced).
Your
BMW is comprised of a myriad of metals, plastics, fluids and
chemicals. Although there have been significant advances in
fluids technology, materials design and construction it is
important to understand that every individual part of your
car, in varying degrees, exhibit wear, fatigue, degradation
and contamination. Today’s synthetic oils may well
retain their lubricating qualities beyond 15,000 miles, however,
by 5,000 miles that synthetic oil is laced with microscopic
particulates and contaminates. Engine oil is only the tip
of the iceberg. Our chart of comprehensive recommended service
intervals for cars using synthetic oils can be found here,
while a similar chart for cars using conventional oils can
be found here.
To maintain consistency and thoroughness we created worksheets
for every scheduled service (here at the shop we call them
Service Sheets). These sheets detail each step we take for
any given service. Many years ago our Service Sheets were
really nothing more than BMW factory recommendations. However,
as costs and the demands on time increased, BMW chose to eliminate
many service items. As we were convinced that doing a proper
and thorough job was more important to our customers (and
their cars) than the ideas of some marketing firm. We continue
to practice what some may call “old world” service.
The
navigation on the left contains links to the Suggested
Maintenance schedules
The
table on the right contains links to our various Service Sheets.
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Realistically, BMW’s recent
low-maintenance sales pitch is simply a marketing ploy
geared toward selling more cars. After the warranty
period ends, all that remains is a false sense of security.
For people who expect longer-term ownership from their
BMW, a more accelerated schedule of maintenance and
a dedication to the appropriate repairs are required.
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3117 D'Amico