OV9

M340 is up for PCP end late September. Planning on keeping it. New ones are too expensive, don’t like the new interiors either. Plus currently paying 2.9% APR and to go from that to at least double buying anything else (new or used, at least if we finance it) is just daft. And it’d be quite nice to keep a car for once

So plan is to clear the finance and keep it. And perhaps start doing my own maintenance, at least relatively easy stuff like oil changes. So looking around for tool sets. Any recommendations? Will buy in stages as jack, stand, sockets etc will start to add up but a good combined socket and spanner set would look good on the new shelving I’ve had delivered for the garage BIL recommends Halfords … budget about £200 max for a combo set.

Halfords stuff remains perfectly good for amateur spannererers imho.

Really for an oil change you only need a ratchet and a socket for the drain plug and another one for the filter housing but this is a nice set
https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-to ... iwQAvD_BwE
I don’t know if the extensions are locking though, which I prefer in case I’m doing something deep in the engine bay and don’t want to drop the end of my tool into a deep crevice.

You’ll still need to buy a massive socket for the oil filter housing, maybe 24mm or something like that.

Wonder if the B58 offers up another alternative to upper extraction, considering the lack of dipstick. More reading needed. Halfords indeed seem to the best bet. Big price ranges everything from 20 to 250 quid.

Halfords are fine for hard use home gamer stuff.

Regarding oil changes, this is a silly thing, but remember it's 6.5 litres you'll need to change, so make sure you don't get idly pick up a 5litre collection bottle thing - you will regret it.

I’ve got one of the big Halfords kits that usually about £150 during promotions.

It’s excellent and my go to set of tools. I’d say 90% of the jobs I do are with that kit alone, only more involved tasks needing a trip to my tool chest.

This is the set I have. Looks like inflation has had an effect…

https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-too ... 35831.html

Another vote for Halfords socket sets here. Mine get used semi regularly for work (plumbing/heating), and still work great despite getting soaked on occasion

Don’t scrimp on screwdrivers. A high quality screwdriver will get screws out cheap ones will cam out of. Wera are good quality and needn’t be expensive- laser tip are great for screws but strike through are useful too, as they are full metal tang

Same goes for Allen keys- again I have wera ones- they have a funny shape that gives more grip than standard ones- I’ve got grub screws out at work that other peoples just spin in

My (inherited) Halfords socket set is around 40yrs old now. I have a newer set of Bahco sockets that Inuse with the impact driver, but the Halfords set had taken some pretty heavy use over the years. Including the ratchet being smacked with lump hammers etc.

Yeah the ratchets can take a kicking, and if you do bust 'em, you can get a replacement ratchet gear set for it, which is neither expensive or hard to get.

I can’t help feel that this thread would be very different if Rev and JL were still about…

Brother in law paid a visit yesterday. Got chatting about this whilst stood in the garage. Started off discussing the Halfords gear he’s got and by the time we’d finished, we’d lengthened the garage by 6 feet, widened it by 4 feet, fitted sheeting on the walls off which to hang tools, nailed a hose reel to one wall to make washing the car easier, installed strip lighting and so on

I’m all for getting tools and getting into car fiddling - i’ve been getting kit and work long on my 25 year old Elise after all. But are you really going to be doing servicing on a (presumably)3-4 year old car and making it harder to resale in the future?

Full servicing, brakes for example, no. Suspension components also, no. Same for any drive belts. But I know enough to recognise that halving oil change intervals is a good thing as an engine ages. So I’ll continue to get BMW to do major services and replace discs and pads etc. But I’ll do interim oil changes myself. Plugs and coils too perhaps. But not anything more substantial. I don’t actually intend to sell it, although I do recognise how unlikely that sounds given my history.

I’m also keen to be able to jack the car up and remove the wheels to give them a proper clean inside, plus clean the arch liners and remove the crud for example. So will be shopping for torque wrenches at some point, may also get a gun to aid wheel removal. I just want to do something myself. Brother in law (who is a bit handy, has totally rebuilt his Gold Wing) also keen to help, which will make things easier.

Magnusson torque wrenches from b&q or Screwfix are decent value, currently on sale I think

You’ll also want a breaker bar to prevent you deciding to use the big torque wrench as a big lever

If you have any power tools already, you can get compatible impact wrenches and powered sockets cheaply if you’re not fussed about getting Chinese knock offs- try AliExpress or TikTok shop

i’d happily do brake discs and pads, but pay someone else to do services (and tick the service book.)

Yeah the only thing that gets you a stamp is the oil change so you want to do everything apart from that.
I serviced the i3 myself every year as it needed £25 worth of oil and filter every year and BMW wanted £300 and pissing about with it for a day. Come sell time flogging it to WBAC I just filled in a generic BMW service book from eBay and they were happy with the full service history even though it was all digital and on the idrive.

I’m also aware that I need to plan for at least oil changes for our daughter’s Mini when she passes her test at 17. That’s her plan anyway…

ShockDiamonds wrote: Sun May 18, 2025 7:38 pm I’m also aware that I need to plan for at least oil changes for our daughter’s Mini when she passes her test at 17. That’s her plan anyway…

Is that the same kid in the back of your videos?! are we that old!!!

Yep it’s mad. She turns 15 in August.

You watch two M539 videos and now think you want to do all your own maintenance! I think RichB makes a good point about this being a modern vehicle, so your ability to fix things will be limited, but preventative maintenance should be possible for some things.. best of luck!