E46 M3 - Best Inspection II service provider in Auckland?

[JohnM575 112]

So time has come for an Inspection II service. I have discussed this in some length with a couple of BMW owners but am still unsure about where I should take my M3 for such a comprehensive service.

Dealer or Independent?

Jerry Clayton & Auckland City BMW - Both provided me with a quote for Inspection II - both coming out at circa $2,000. To me JC seems like the best option having spoken to a fellow M3 owner (I have taken the dealership 'premium' into account).

BM Workshop said they don't do Inspection II as such - rather a "full" service, skipping items such as checking the valve clearances which are standard under Inspection II. Makes me wonder what other items they would skip from what is set out in Inspection II...? I also went to buy a new battery for the M3 from them and they recommended a battery with lower specifications (Bosch S3) than the Genuine BMW battery. This didn't instill a whole lot of confidence. I went down the road to Barry Clarke Automotive and picked up a Bosch S5.

Bellar Motor Works - Did the PPI on the M3 when I purchased it, and work on my old E36 - Anyone able to share their experience with them?

FYI the car has a full service history (100k), with all bar one service at Team McMillan/Auckland City BMW.

Before someone recommends HellBM or Botany Motor Worx, I am looking for someone Central or North Shore based.

Fire away!

[qube 3570]

This must be the one rare case where I would suggest to take it to a dealer. Keep the record book tidy and im sure it will pay off if or when the time comes to sell.

[zero 1162]

I know you didn't want Botany motor worx recommended because of the location, but it is well worth the drive, especially for such an important job.

Glenn is the best BMW mechanic in Auckland IMO.

[MISS BM 712]

I did my own Inspection II on a Saturday.
But my old M3 didn't have a full service history (bonus having guidance of Ray around to help..)

Because current now has a full service history with only dealers, I'll be going JC.. But for different reasons to you unfortunately (Staff Rate as work for company)

To have a full service history doesn't mean only dealerships have done it, as long as it's noted, stamped etc you're good.
My list would be JC (only due to full dealer history) otherwise I'd be going Ray HELLBM (it's seriously only 10 minutes from Albany) and then BM Workshop in Botany... Which is opposite ends of the country anyway.

It's seems the only conclusive opinion that suits your question - just go Jerry's lol

[Neal 544]

Just pointing out that on plenty of E46 M3 the valve clearances often check out fine and as a result don't need shimming. Might be the reason for the comments above.

Mine was last checked at 100,000 km and required no adjustment. It's yet to be touched.

Soundling like they suggested CSL / Mini Cooper Battery size which is popular in the USA for reducing weight

Edited June 22, 2016 by Neal

[Haitoman 110]

Unless it is a bit clackety, all an old M3 really needs is regular oil changes and routine maintenance just like any other car. Inspection II is a swizz.

[KwS 2425]

I agree with Ron, the quality trumps having a sticker/stamp. Ive had a couple of services on various cars at dealerships that have been very substandard, but the book was stamped anyway.

[M3AN 4016]

In my experience very few places do a proper shim check during an Inspection II whether it's on the job list or not, whether they're a dealer or not. If you get a fixed price quote make sure you have it in writing that they will measure and adjust shims and that you'll get a written sheet that gives you before and after measurements.

Unless you get the before and after sheet you might as well conclude they didn't do the job.

[MISS BM 712]

Sorry - I think you both misread where I was coming from.

As sort of noted in the paragraph vaguely as was multitasking while typing - The Noted/Stamped idea goes with the idea of invoices. I can write my own service completion in there if I wanted too. Common sense prevails in this situation when buying a car and checking history.....

What I was trying to get at is - a "FULL SERVICE HISTORY" is a full service history - no matter where you go, or who you used, if it's got that 'full' service history, you've then got the paperwork/stamp for the times it was due for each and every service without fail and the ideal proof it was done right (check that oil type...)

If a car has a full dealer history, it's seen as a more positive note than a full history by back yard John, who works out of his home garage sort of deal, just how the world works to those who aren't AS clued up about service centres as others may be when buying a car.

Eg: Car Serviced at BMW all it's life with full service history or Car has full service history through varied local mechanics.
I know which sentence is seen to look better to the majority of those looking to buy. Even if you know your mechanic does a better job.

[atlantiskiwi 73]

I know you didn't want Botany motor worx recommended because of the location, but it is well worth the drive, especially for such an important job.

Glenn is the best BMW mechanic in Auckland IMO.

Does Glenn work on M cars? I m pretty sure it was botany motor works that Josh suggested I call. He said he didnt work on M cars, which I thought was a little odd. He said my best bet was bm workshop.

Sent from my SM-N910U using Tapatalk

[Neal 544]

Agree on battery size and probably not the best place to compromise on capacity ( use AGM from 7 series myself)

Some will go as far as putting on race batteries for daily drivers and wonder why they end up with electrical gremlins.

[kiwi535 538]

gadget heavty bmws need the full battery capacity,esp in winter when you will have the lights, demisters, fan ,wipers and probably the brake lights and indicators all going at once.

[JohnM575 112]

The comment about putting a light battery in the boot is symptomatic of not seeing the whole picture.

It's pointless in a road going E46 because the lard is in the front and any weight reduction should focus on that end, taking it out of the back shifts the bias even more to the front - increasing understeer.

E36 sedan on the other hand is slightly tail heavy so it make sense to do a light battery and muffler to get weight out of the 'ends' to reduce polar moment of inertia without tipping the weight bias benefits the wrong way.

Taking weight out of the back increases oversteer, not understeer. Not that a lightweight battery would make a noticeable difference in a 1,550kg road car anyway.

Thanks everyone for your input and advice. The M3 is going to Jerry Clayton tomorrow for Inspection II. I had the PPI done only 4,000km ago so there shouldn't be too many surprises. Will report back with how it all goes.

[JohnM575 112]

A little late on reporting back, but the service is all done and dusted. Overall I was pretty happy with their service; here's a few things I noted:

I insisted the mechanic write down the valve clearances (which they did). For me I wanted to have a record of this with the service history. Thankfully they were all within spec so no adjustments were needed.

I also asked for them to check the differential bolts to see if they could swap them out for the updated bolts (commonly replaced part with the M3). They said the bolts were ex-Germany so couldn't swap them out at that time. There is no clunking currently, however I wanted to do it as a preventative measure. On the to-do list for next service.

However, I was left a little stumped when they charged me $470 to install a set of springs I supplied to them (Eibach Pro-Kit FYI). This does not include the cost for the wheel alignment following the installation ($100). This cost seemed a little over the top to me for a job that is said to take a couple of hours from internet M3 DIY'ers, having taken into account the approximate time required and a guesstimate of their labour charge out rate per hour.

Finally the windscreen washer pump had given up the ghost recently so that needed replacing. No dramas there.

Inspection II service cost excluding the spring installation and wheel alignment = $1,830 inc GST. About what I was expecting.

Hope this is of some assistance/interest to the fellow M3 owners out there.

Edited July 8, 2016 by JohnM575

[hybrid 1043]

Welcome to paying for dealership branding and showrooms. A lot of us just DIY this sort of stuff or get the trusted regulars to do the work. the e46 m3 is an old car, the true first gen trained mechanics have left the dealerships a long time a go. Jerry Clayton is now owned by Sime Darby .. when this happened everyone walked out the door who was a true BMW mechanic. From memory only two of the older guys stayed on but where quite jaded when dealing with them ... they were there to guide the young mix brand mechanics ... this is when things started to slip.

I havent gone back in 5 years so things may have changed .. but I would say for the newer cars, not the older vehicles such as the M3.

Indy specialist shops are where its at for this sort of work.

[zero 1162]

However, I was left a little stumped when they charged me $470 to install a set of springs I supplied to them (Eibach Pro-Kit FYI). This does not include the cost for the wheel alignment following the installation ($100).

Wow, they saw you coming.

[kiwi535 538]

Wow, they saw you coming.

so constructive

[JohnM575 112]

Wow, they saw you coming.

Really? Doesn't make much sense mucking around getting the car to another place such as Mag & Turbo or the like just to install the springs IMO when the car was going to be at JC. First and last time I took a car to Mag & Turbo they started to take to the wheel well and arches on my old E36 with a hammer before I intervened in order to prevent the tyres fouling (standard MSport wheels on the car FYI). This consequently cracked the paint on the guard, which I followed up with the store manager and got a fully respray of the guard on them (thankfully).

Lesson? Pay peanuts, get monkeys.

[Lubed 55]

Welcome to paying for dealership branding and showrooms. A lot of us just DIY this sort of stuff or get the trusted regulars to do the work. the e46 m3 is an old car, the true first gen trained mechanics have left the dealerships a long time a go. Jerry Clayton is now owned by Sime Darby .. when this happened everyone walked out the door who was a true BMW mechanic. From memory only two of the older guys stayed on but where quite jaded when dealing with them ... they were there to guide the young mix brand mechanics ... this is when things started to slip.

I havent gone back in 5 years so things may have changed .. but I would say for the newer cars, not the older vehicles such as the M3.

Indy specialist shops are where its at for this sort of work.

Who does not love a good old fashioned misinformed dealership beat up? come on lads lets keep to the truths and enough of the dribble.

[polley 916]

Who does not love a good old fashioned misinformed dealership beat up? come on lads lets keep to the truths and enough of the dribble.

I know a mechanic at a BMW dealership who I went to school with, and I wouldn't trust them with my wheelbarrow.

[kiwi535 538]

the dealer bashing is pointless.They have huge overheads to cover,We know they charge a lot .The constant whining about it gets old

[zero 1162]

Really? Doesn't make much sense mucking around getting the car to another place such as Mag & Turbo or the like just to install the springs IMO when the car was going to be at JC. First and last time I took a car to Mag & Turbo they started to take to the wheel well and arches on my old E36 with a hammer before I intervened in order to prevent the tyres fouling (standard MSport wheels on the car FYI). This consequently cracked the paint on the guard, which I followed up with the store manager and got a fully respray of the guard on them (thankfully).

Lesson? Pay peanuts, get monkeys.

Moral of the story;

If you don't want to pay $470 for one hours labour, ask first for a price.

[zero 1162]

so constructive

Do you think $470 for installing four springs in a e46 is a reasonable price?

[JohnM575 112]

Moral of the story;

If you don't want to pay $470 for one hours labour, ask first for a price.

I had got a quote for the Inspection II service prior to work commencing. This quote excluded the spring installation, so yes that was an error on my behalf for not inquiring about that prior.

I have since followed it up JC basically asking why it cost so much. Funnily enough the service part actually came in a few hundred dollars cheaper than their original Inspection II quote so that was pleasing.

[kiwi535 538]

Do you think $470 for installing four springs in a e46 is a reasonable price?

he has already spent the money,someonle else has lready commented on the delaer pricing thing ,your post didnt say to ask for a price or even ask the OP to query the price with JC just a pointless post to make him feel even better about the experience and in a not so sublte way say .wow i wouldnt pay that.