Should I service my car myself?
I own a 2020 BMW 320i Touring and have recently had a major service completed by my local main dealer. This service came up as due on the cars iDrive system along with a vehicle check service. The vehicle check service consists of:
All fluids will be checked and topped up if required
All wheels and tyres will be checked for damage, wear and tyre pressure
All electrical systems and lights will be checked for damage and correct set up
Headlights will be adjusted if required
All seat belts will be checked for wear and safe operation
A road test will be carried out if required
Relevant service light reset
All of these tasks I can complete myself or are part of the recent MoT and so I declined this. The cost would have been £120 and includes £30 for the scope requirement. Every time I start the car I now get a visual and audible message telling me this is overdue. Should I cough up and have this done, or is it possible to update the iDrive myself or get a local BMW specialist to do this? Also will this affect the resale value when I sell or p/ex the car.
Carrying out servicing yourself or paying for a garage or dealer to carry out the work you is a matter of personal choice. Doing it yourself is inevitably cheaper, but in terms of the vehicle service history some buyers will prefer to see a set of stamps in the service book rather than a folder of receipts. The correct diagnostic tool would allow you to reset the service warnings yourself, or the BMW servicing tool called ISTA+.
Answered by David Ross on