98 318ti - Inspection 2 60k mile service?

[dominguezh]

Newbie here. A local shop is quoting me $450 for an inspection 2 on my 318 standard. They said they will use Royal purple oil too. Thoughts on the price and oil? Is this something I could do in my garage? What does an inspection 2 get? Can somebody list the parts they replace? Maybe I could buy the parts cheaper somewhere on the web and have them do the labor? Thanks!


Hector Dominguez
Austin, TX

[1996 328ti]

Inspection II in the Washington DC area is a lot more than that.
If you have the warranty booklet for your car, the maintenance schedule is there. But from what I remember Inspection II is spark plugs, gas filter, air filter, microfilter, oil and filter, transmission and diff fluid and mostly inspect everything else. Every 2 years the brake fluid gets changed.

My routine since I do a few driving schools a year is to replace my tranny and diff fluid every Spring. I do oil changes every 4500 miles. Plugs and air filter get changed every 36K. Microfilter should get down every 15K.

You can do most of this yourself. Join the BMW CCA and find a dealer that offers good discounts on parts.

I do oil changes, plugs and air filter myself. I save the messy stuff for my independent. I also buy Inspection II parts throughout the year so they are sitting on my shelf when needed. No reason you need to go to the dealer not to say there is anything wrong with that. My independent is less than the dealer, has worked at the dealership for many years before going independent.

So bottom line is you can do some of the things yourself. Once I do what I can I bring my car in and have them finish off what I didn't do plus look for things I wouldn't know to look for.

[writeb]

Service I and II Maintenance Checklist:
http://www.circlebmw.com/service/main/99e36.htm

Buy parts from either pelican parts, pacific bmw or zionsville autosport.

In all fairness, 450 is the cheapest i've seen SII in about two years. I got ripped for 6, so be smart.

Also keep in mind, things that need to be replaced, you will pay for extra. Don't sign a pre-authorization that consents to that extra labor and parts without them contacting you with a quote first.

There are some things that a person is just comfortable doing themselves, I discovered that crawling underneath my car is something I'm extremely uncomfortable doing, even with 3 safety devices. Start small, then gain confidence and approach the bigger projects. Good Luck.

[dominguezh]

Thanks for the fast replies to my post. I am glad to see that this is an active board. I will start with the easy stuff and have my guy do the rest. Paul MotorWorks in Austin is where I am going. He is a BMW Master mechanic with many years of experiece at the local dealer. He opened his own shop a year ago and is doing great thanks to the honesty and low prices. Take care.

Hector

[writeb]

No problem dude. I hate waiting for replies too, especially when the Ti is involved.

Regards,
writeb

[J!m]

My inspection II cost over a grand when I had it done. Granted- I had extra work performed such as brake fluid, trans and diff fluid change etc.

[dominguezh]

Yeah, ... just got a final quote. $375 for inspection II for my Ti. It is going to need belts though. $130 for parts and labor. And, the guy will replace my springs for free. : ) Nice shop close the the house. He charged me $475 last week for the same inspection on a 98 740il. And uses Royal Purple oil. Apparently this is the best oil out there.

Hector