Okay, I have questions about oil changes.

- Do I need to go all the way to the BMW dealership to get an oil change? My car is a 2001 330i and they do it for free, but they always give me sh!t about putting it on the rack because it's lowered. They said they had to do it from the ground.

- Is there some button or switch that resets the oilservice thing on my dash when I turn on my car. Because I had it done at JIFFY LUBE once and it didnt reset the oilservice thing. Is there something that the BMW shop does? If someone knows, can you guys please tell me.

- Has anyone here had problems with their local BMW dealership? Do they give you crap like, "We can't put ur car in the racks because it's lowered" ?

- I couldn't get my car aligned there because they said it was lowered beyond BMW specs. But I had it done at a body shop run by two guys. What is the matter with these people at the BMW dealership? Are they taking advantage of me because I'm a teenager?

Try this (http://www.bmwe36tips.20m.com/diyoilchange.htm).

Fairly simple (my parents won't let me do it because they are afraid i'll kill myself by having a car land on me... grr!). Has a link to reset the service lights too.

And welcome to BMW Dealerships... the one I have to go to (next closest one is over an hour away) are a bunch of jackasses. They treat EVERYONE like shit, young, old, doesn't matter, they are 'high and mighty' and work at a BMW Dealership so they are obviously better than the world...

of course we have our exceptions too (guy on the board that is a BMW techie)...

good luck

BMW dealerships depend just like any other service establishment.

If you want to save money in the long run and get to know your car, learn how to do the oil change by yourself.

The only value to the dealer right now is $60 for the oil change and a free wash (which is not as good as it sounds). Plus, any little niggles will be taken care of.

Two of the three BMW dealers that I've dealt with have been very positive. The one dealership that I bought my first car from was a complete joke in terms of service.

Arrogant, you have an E46, right? If your car doesn't have a diagnostic port (round connector by your passenger side strut bar) there is a procedure for resetting the service indicator. You place the key in the ON position, I believe, and have to press a button for 5 seconds. Let me see if I can find the procedure and get back to you.

BMW doesn't want to guarantee an alignment job when you replace your suspension components because the alignment specs are now different from stock spec. BMW as a manufacturer looks negatively on any aftermarket tuning done to it. While your local alignment shop may not have any difficulty, a BMW dealership would. Now, this might not be the case all the time, since there are some BMW dealerships that are aftermarket friendly and customer service oriented. You just have to find one that is. :)

Haven't those guys at the dealership heard of using 2x4s in front of the ramp to give your car a little boost to clear the front airdam?

And there is a round port in your engine compartment to reset the oil service lights. Maybe the Jiffy Lube guys had a broken one. When that happens they just send me to another one to get the reset done. I don't know where they get their reste tool from, but it's huge hunk of plastic. The Peake tool is much smaller, but you can't beat a fused jumper for the price.

Originally posted by arrogantBMWdriver
- Do I need to go all the way to the BMW dealership to get an oil change? My car is a 2001 330i and they do it for free, but they always give me sh!t about putting it on the rack because it's lowered. They said they had to do it from the ground.

It's possible that your car is lowered so much they rack won't fit under the car, but that is easily fixed using some 2x4s and driving the car onto that. That will raise the car to the needed height to get the car onto the lift.


- Is there some button or switch that resets the oilservice thing on my dash when I turn on my car. Because I had it done at JIFFY LUBE once and it didnt reset the oilservice thing. Is there something that the BMW shop does? If someone knows, can you guys please tell me.

On the E46 it's different than the E36, I have no clue. I belive they intergrated the Diagnostic port with the OBD-II port on the newer cars (hence the Peake tool not working)


- Has anyone here had problems with their local BMW dealership? Do they give you crap like, "We can't put ur car in the racks because it's lowered" ?

Never at BMW cause my BMW isn't lowered, but when I had my Acura, I got shit from everybody. Acura, Don Olson Tire, Firestone, Sears ... pretty much everywhere that had those lifts you had to drive over instead of the ones you slide under the car. I actually had one place tear off my front bumper.


- I couldn't get my car aligned there because they said it was lowered beyond BMW specs. But I had it done at a body shop run by two guys. What is the matter with these people at the BMW dealership? Are they taking advantage of me because I'm a teenager?

Depending on how much your car is lowered, the adjustments that are built in for camber from BMW may not be able to adjust your front wheels enough to make them level. So, you may need to but camber plates. But more than likely your car is so low they can't get it on the alignment rack... they haven't heard of 2x4s aparently. Some places have alignment racks that are actually at ground level. I had to go to a special place to get my car aligned because it was so low before.

Okay, just looked up the info for resetting the oil service light on the E46. Quoted from Jon Caldito:

Get inside vehicle and with ignition switch off, press and hold down on the left button on the instrument cluster then turn the ignition switch to position #1.

Keep holding down on the button and the word "tESt" will appear on the cluster. Then the word "rESEt" will appear. When the "rESEt" word flashes, let go of the button and press it again.

It's possible that your car is lowered so much they rack won't fit under the car, but that is easily fixed using some 2x4s and driving the car onto that. That will raise the car to the needed height to get the car onto the lift. My car isnt that low. I only had it dropped 1.4 inches in front and 1 inch in back. The guy at Velocity Motorsports said that was a very moderate drop. So i shouldnt have problem with the people at BMW.......

Errrr.. whenever I have a low car (rarely), I'll have a co-worker lift up the end of the vehicle on their fender so I'll have enough room to slide the arms underneath the lifting points.

Jon what dealership do you work at... in ATL?