Tune up rip off??

My brother has a '95 325i and it's about time for a tune up. The local mechanics are going to charge him $800 just to replace:

6 spark plugs
Air Filter
Fuel Filter
Anti Freeze
Brake Fluid


We arn't mechanics but I'm sure that we can tackle this ourselves. We do know the locations of every part and we have basic car knowledge. Do you guys think we would be better off doing this ourselves instead of paying ther mechanics? It shouldn't be too difficult should it? Opinions needed.

I would say, go for it. This way you will learn about your car and get more connected with it. Plus if you run into trouble you can come here.

Service/repair manual - $10
6 spark plugs - $10 and 15 minutes
Air filter - $10-$30 and 10 minutes
Fuel filter - $5 and 30 minutes
Anit-freeze - $10 and 20 minutes
Brake fluid - Never done it before but its probably just as easy.

Buy $50 in parts and spend the afternoon with your bro and some suds.

There is no way in hell I would pay $800 For a tune up on ANY car, even a Rolls! Even if I could afford it! What a rip off!!!
Tell them to go pound sand where the sun don't shine. They must think we are all fools just because we drive a BMW! If you are out of warranty, find a good local mechanic THAT YOU TRUST, and go with him.
Anyone that would pay that is mentally numb! :loser:

Originally posted by buymeabmwm3
Service/repair manual - $10
6 spark plugs - $10 and 15 minutes
Air filter - $10-$30 and 10 minutes
Fuel filter - $5 and 30 minutes
Anit-freeze - $10 and 20 minutes
Brake fluid - Never done it before but its probably just as easy.

Buy $50 in parts and spend the afternoon with your bro and some suds.

If I had a BMW, there would be no way in hell I would buy $2 spark plugs... Try at least $10 each... oh well, no big change compaired to $800.

Please at least change your air filter yourself! I could do that when I was 5 years old.

Originally posted by buymeabmwm3
Service/repair manual - $10
6 spark plugs - $10 and 15 minutes
Air filter - $10-$30 and 10 minutes
Fuel filter - $5 and 30 minutes
Anit-freeze - $10 and 20 minutes
Brake fluid - Never done it before but its probably just as easy.

Buy $50 in parts and spend the afternoon with your bro and some suds.

i would like to find 6 plugs for my bmw for $10 and fuel filter for $5. those must be some cheap plugs and filter.

i was quoted a price of 100.00 just to replace oil, from a dealer. they should get real. that is totally off the mark.

Too bad you don't live near me, I would only charge 799.00! :) Whatever you do, I would stay with BMW parts. They seem to give the best reliablilty. You can do it all yourself. If you have any questions, just pm me. I'll try and check it from time to time.

Just out of curiosity, what do plugs and a filter cost from a dealer? I'm still under warranty and have not had to pay for any yet!
Also, when I'm out of warranty and want to change my own oil, how do I reset the alarm?
I sure am glad that we have someone like a REAL tech here on the forum. Thanks.:smile:

you will need the tool to rest the service reminder light. but if u don't have the tool or don't want to buy one then u could jump the terminl with a wire. the old bmw i think u jump terminal 7 n 9. and the newer one is 7 n 19.

The service indicator lights are easy to reset. Don't go buy that $100 tool. All it does is short two wires. For $100. Thats ridiculous. There are several pages online about how to do the reset yourself, just do a google search.

Hey C, your plugs have a 100k mile life, and the filter never gets changed, meaning lifetime.
The oil change for 100.00, is about right. Synthetic oil isn't cheap these days.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like I have a lot of worry free driving ahead. You don't mind paying for good performance. Thanks again.:bigthumb:

Whoa whoa whoa. 100 bucks for Oil? I can get 5 quarts of mobil 1 for $30. And a filter for like $10. And then do the oil change myself in less than an hour. Thats fully synthetic.
Which filter never gets changed? Fuel or air?

100 bucks for me to do it, a dealer...
For your car, it all gets changed, for c's car, the fuel filter never gets changed.

Originally posted by buymeabmwm3
Whoa whoa whoa. 100 bucks for Oil? I can get 5 quarts of mobil 1 for $30. And a filter for like $10. And then do the oil change myself in less than an hour. Thats fully synthetic.
Which filter never gets changed? Fuel or air?

I hate to break the news to you, but... Mobil One is NOT a pure synthetic oil. It's a blend. To my knowledge there are only two, and AMSOIL is tops in my book. I don't know what BMW uses, but if you want pure, AMSOIL is the one.

And to BMW tech, why don't you change the fuel filter? I would seem to me that sooner or later it would clog!

Hey C, I guess they never expect problems with them. I have the same thinking logic as you, just following guidelines though.

You purchased a car you can't afford! If BMW is doing a 100,000 mile tune-up then that's about right. Also They're not just changing the items you listed. You also forgot your paying that auto tech an hourly rate to tune up you car.

There are 12-15 items that will be changed for that price. Somethings you won't be able to do yourself... trust me! Take your car apart and jack it up... it will be driving like a ford hoopty.

Some things you just got to pay for when you choose HIGH PERFORMANCE!