Your fleet running reports

[V8Granite]

Fuck all that, any car like that instantly puts me off.

I work with electronic products having random shit fits all day long so don’t trust much more than a Casio watch.

There are lots of incredibly intelligent software people who tell me “you’re wrong it can’t do that”

A week later telling me “oh ok, so how did it do that then”

At any point in time a modern car can download your internet history and steer you off into a ravine!

Dave!

[Holley]

Fuck all that, any car like that instantly puts me off.

I work with electronic products having random shit fits all day long so don’t trust much more than a Casio watch.

There are lots of incredibly intelligent software people who tell me “you’re wrong it can’t do that”

A week later telling me “oh ok, so how did it do that then”

At any point in time a modern car can download your internet history and steer you off into a ravine!

Dave!

I did have an unnerving experience about a month ago where the car thought there was an obstacle on a slip road and decided to try and steer me into the verge! You can stop it but not the nicest feeling.

One last rant is the warning beeps whilst listening to a podcast. Always seems to occur at a punchline and you miss about 5 seconds so have to rewind. Sounds pretty mild really and I'm a fairly relaxed guy, but it honestly makes me so angry

[Beany]

Parts prices for modern BMWs, even from indies, are kinda hilarious.

Bosch service parts (filters, fluids etc) and NAPA gearbox oil = £550

BMW service parts and gearbox oil = £1050, £450 of which is the gearbox oil, which costs nearly twice as much as ZFs own stuff.

Labour is 5.5hrs at 70/hr

Good of the indy to list out the options though (including individual brands etc) rather than saying "you can have BMW parts or OE quality" and leaving it at that.

I've gone for BMW everything, other than the cabin filter (BMW one is fifty quid and doesn't specify activated carbon...) and gearbox oil. For, you know,the obvious reason that £450 - which is ex vat I might add - for box oil is taking a fucking liberty.

[Swervin_Mervin]

That sounds like a lot, all round. 5.5hrs to do a box service? I think I paid about £300 for the ZF service kit a few years back and an hour's labour. What are they doing for the other 4hrs? Or does that include for the cam cover gasket as well?

[V8Granite]

I assumed the 5.5 hours is for the entire service ?

That gearbox oil price is laughable, there will be a huge markup on that.

Also, aren’t all cabin filters charcoal filters ? I’ve never had one that isn’t.

Dave!

[Swervin_Mervin]

https://williamsperformance.co.uk/produ ... ervice-kit

There you go. Genuine ZF kit and 10l of either Millers or 7l of Liqui Moly for £185.

[Sundayjumper]

Compare cost of filters etc. with these guys on eBay. They’re my go-to for everything except oil.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/carpartsinmotion


I get oils from here. Not sure why their feedback looks bad, I’ve had zero problems with them.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/lubriagecarpartsaccessories

[Beany]

Yeah, it's 5.5hours all in, most of which is for the gearbox which with the ZF8s is a pain-in-the-arse job that involves getting the box up to temperature after refilling, doing the Magical ZF Dance of Acceptance etc to flush the fluid through all the valves, coolers, etc.

The rest of it is pretty standard stuff, although I did note that the engine oil wasn't in the parts list, but as it's the thick end of a grand all in for doing both engine and gearbox services I'm sure fifty quid isn't going to make a difference overall.

They're gonna have a sniff aboot and try to source the oily smell, too - as I say, I suspect rocker cover but there are other potential culprits; and have a look at the rear wash. That's another job where if it's not just the line needing blown through (and sadly I don't think it is) then I'm not really in a position to be tearing the drivers side front of the car apart, and they can probably do it without too much trouble if I give 'em a motor - then it's only labour.

I figure they'll be making plenty of margin on this job, so they can't grumble if I supply my own parts for any future work.

[Beany]

Also, aren’t all cabin filters charcoal filters ? I’ve never had one that isn’t.

Yeah that's what I thought, but nope, you can still get cabin filters that aren't activated charcoal, and even if it were, £50 for a fucking cabin filter even for New Money Raith is still a pisstake.

[Mito Man]

There’s always been 3 types for non OEM. Basic paper filter which is usually less than £10. Anti microbial filter which is a bit more, then you have activated charcoal.

There’s also the recirculation filter which seems to be made of corrugated plastic.

[Swervin_Mervin]

Yeah, it's 5.5hours all in, most of which is for the gearbox which with the ZF8s is a pain-in-the-arse job that involves getting the box up to temperature after refilling, doing the Magical ZF Dance of Acceptance etc to flush the fluid through all the valves, coolers, etc.

The rest of it is pretty standard stuff, although I did note that the engine oil wasn't in the parts list, but as it's the thick end of a grand all in for doing both engine and gearbox services I'm sure fifty quid isn't going to make a difference overall.

They're gonna have a sniff aboot and try to source the oily smell, too - as I say, I suspect rocker cover but there are other potential culprits; and have a look at the rear wash. That's another job where if it's not just the line needing blown through (and sadly I don't think it is) then I'm not really in a position to be tearing the drivers side front of the car apart, and they can probably do it without too much trouble if I give 'em a motor - then it's only labour.

I figure they'll be making plenty of margin on this job, so they can't grumble if I supply my own parts for any future work.

My point being it looks like you're getting a good Jolly Rogering on the parts alone, before you even get to whether it's 5.5hrs of a job (which I can't believe it is). Looks like parts should be about £2-300 tops.

[Carlos]

A proper service is not just filters and fluids though. A decent specialist will check codes, brakes, tyres, bushes, cleaning, lubing and so on this all adds up.

I'd gladly pay my reliable mechanic 5hrs at £70 for that.

[V8Granite]

To be fair though, 1 hour to do a full gearbox oil change is F1 car territory. My box took 20 minutes to warm up on the driveway alone and cleaning a good 10 minutes prior to even touching a bolt.

That’s on an old Merc 4 speed where you still have a torque converter drain plug.

Dave!

[Mito Man]

Looks a piece of piss online for the ZF8. Ok it's a bit inconvenient as there's no drain bolt so you have to undo the whole sump and you need a scan tool to read the oil temp to correctly measure the level which seems to range from £60-130.

[Beany]

Looks a piece of piss online for the ZF8. Ok it's a bit inconvenient as there's no drain bolt so you have to undo the whole sump and you need a scan tool to read the oil temp to correctly measure the level which seems to range from £60-130.

Now do all that - and removing any required undertrays etc - while on the side of the road with the car on jackstands as you crawl under the car with buses going inches past you at 30mph...

And yes, to confirm
Engine oil
Oil filter
Air filter
Cabin filter
Spark plugs (which involves a non-trivial amount of spannering to get access to the rear two plugs)
Gearbox sump/filter
Gearbox oil (which is also non-trivial)

With over half the cost coming from the gearbox parts and labour (and a bit of it being plugs)

I could skip those, but I've no evidence of whether the gearbox oil has been changed in the life of the car so might as well get it out of the way, and the plugs are every 45k miles or so, so it's due a set.

Next service will likely be quite a bit lighter. It is, after all, a ten year old car that's just ticked over 90k.

[Mito Man]

Looks a piece of piss online for the ZF8. Ok it's a bit inconvenient as there's no drain bolt so you have to undo the whole sump and you need a scan tool to read the oil temp to correctly measure the level which seems to range from £60-130.

Now do all that - and removing any required undertrays etc - while on the side of the road with the car on jackstands as you crawl under the car with buses going inches past you at 30mph...

And yes, to confirm
Engine oil
Oil filter
Air filter
Cabin filter
Spark plugs (which involves a non-trivial amount of spannering to get access to the rear two plugs)
Gearbox sump/filter
Gearbox oil (which is also non-trivial)

With over half the cost coming from the gearbox parts and labour (and a bit of it being plugs)

I could skip those, but I've no evidence of whether the gearbox oil has been changed in the life of the car so might as well get it out of the way, and the plugs are every 45k miles or so, so it's due a set.

Next service will likely be quite a bit lighter. It is, after all, a ten year old car that's just ticked over 90k.

If your specialist is servicing your car at the side of the road on jack stands I’d be a bit concerned. I’m just pointing out I don’t think the labour time adds up for an amateur let alone a professional.

[Carlos]

It took you 5 hours to change the pads and hub assembly on 1 wheel on the Model 3 lol

[Beany]

Looks a piece of piss online for the ZF8. Ok it's a bit inconvenient as there's no drain bolt so you have to undo the whole sump and you need a scan tool to read the oil temp to correctly measure the level which seems to range from £60-130.

If your specialist is servicing your car at the side of the road on jack stands I’d be a bit concerned. I’m just pointing out I don’t think the labour time adds up for an amateur let alone a professional.

I mean, sounds like you were suggesting I get my own scantool and DIY it, hence the comment.

And as also noted, given your recent woes, you're hardly in a position to talk about competence or notation of time.

[Mito Man]

Pretty irrelevant as I’m an amateur. If I had the right tools for the job, as a professional would - a hub removal tool, I’d have had it off in minutes and none of the following events would have happened.

[Beany]

I don't think you need to be a professional to set an 80 minute timer for a 90 minute timeout operation...