- 2021 BMW owner reveals shocking dealer quote for routine maintenance service.
- Work included oil change, cabin filter replacement, OBDII scan and vehicle check.
- Internet reacted with disbelief at the outrageous price for such a basic service.
Owning a high-performance German sports sedan like the BMW M3 isn’t exactly a budget-conscious move, but one dealer’s service quote looks wild even to seasoned enthusiasts. A 2021 M3 owner just shared an estimate from their local dealer totaling $1,200 for four very simple items.
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They included an oil change, a cabin air filter replacement, a “vehicle check,” and a “Standard Scope.” Let’s get into what all that is and what the owner did in response.
A Reddit user under the name Khalnayak says his M3 would’ve cost him a pretty penny if he didn’t know better. His dealer quoted him a cool $1,199.85 for a routine maintenance visit. The most expensive bit is the $399.95 oil change. It’s not as if the M3 takes 18 quarts of gold-laced super synthetic anti-gravity oil either. It takes 7.4 quarts of 0W-30.
The $340 Cabin Filter
Even at $15 a quart, we’d be talking about $105 in parts. Somehow, despite that, it’s maybe the least shocking part of the bill. BMW would also like $340 for a cabin air filter replacement. Let’s be clear here: the Valeo-made cabin filter isn’t any different than the one you’ll get in a base 3-Series. That means it’s available for less than $40 at most auto parts stores.
Maybe it’s just really hard to reach? After all, it seems like Volkswagen doesn’t know how to make the cabin filter accessible without taking body panels off. Maybe BMW is in the same boat. Turns out that the cabin air filter is about as easy to access as most others. In fact, here’s a video of it that runs for less than four minutes.
Really, the wildest part of this bill has to be the pair of other charges. One is for a $179.95 ‘Standard Scope’ which by most accounts is a deep level scan of the ECU via the OBDII port. Then, there’s a $279.95 “Vehicle Check,” which is likely a comprehensive review of the car and its most important parts. Perhaps the worst part about all of this is that it happened “right after the free maintenance ended,” says Khalnayak.
Walking Away From The Quote
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Like just about any other experienced enthusiast, this owner basically told the dealer to kick rocks. The poster says “Looked the guy in the eye, called out his bs, and went straight to FCPEuro.”
It’s a reminder that many routine service items on performance cars can be handled with quality parts from third-party suppliers at a fraction of dealer pricing. If more owners made that choice, manufacturers might be forced to rethink what they consider reasonable for basic maintenance.
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Since we are talking about dealership pricing here’s my “oil change and filter quote”
byu/Khalnayak inBMW