2009 BMW M3 Sedan: You Sure You're OK?

You shouldnt have paid for anything. The oil is free during the maintenance period. All top up and scheduled oil changes are free including labor.

You need to find a better dealership.

PY

$21 is pretty expensive. You should be able to find it at another dealer or online for around $10-12. I think you might have to wait until it hit the MIN level to get a free top off from a dealer. My BMW is not under the maintenance plan so I'm not sure though.

Who cares... I am sure Erin didn't pay for that out of her own pocket...

I am sure all the editors will treat the long term vehicles differently if they have to pay for everything out of their own pocket.

One of the many reasons why this "real world" long term test isn't very "real world".

Since I own an M3, I feel that all information that comes from a prominent site like this should be validated.

This is supposed to be the real world test, but at $21 a pop it exacerbates the thought that a BMW maintenance is cost prohibitive, which is not true.

@ everyone: I do my damnedest to treat our test cars with the same TLC I would my own cars. Which is why I bother to monitor the oil level at all. But today I was in a hurry. I ran into the parts department on my lunch hour and asked for a liter of oil. Our mutual friend, SubyTrojan, informs me that I should have approached a service advisor and perhaps the oil would have been topped off gratis. So now I know for next time.

@ louiswei: So this test would be more "real-world" to you if I had to drop $10 or $20 every time a test car needed oil? Done. I'll ask Scott to take it out of my paycheck. Now, how's about you buy me dinner.

The dealer probably wouldn't do it because it's still above the "min" level.

And regarding the $21 price tag for the oil, welcome to Santa Monica, California, where everything has a quality-of-life surcharge.

"@ louiswei: So this test would be more "real-world" to you if I had to drop $10 or $20 every time a test car needed oil? Done. I'll ask Scott to take it out of my paycheck. Now, how's about you buy me dinner."

To quote Fez from That 70s Show...ah BURN.

Erin, find another dealership. Every time my dad needs oil he takes his 535 to the dealer and they give him a free oil change under scheduled maintenance. Ten minutes, some free coffee and he's out of there.

@Erin

Sure, I'll buy you dinner but you have to give me a ride in either the M3 or the GT-R.

Deal?

After dinner I'll show you where you can find cheaper oil at either your local Wal-Mart or Target...

Any time you want to make a car look cheap to maintain just throw in that link to the GT-R service. That thing made your Ferrari seem like it cost nothing to own.

@ eriches and louiswei--

I'm feeling the heat!

Is this an episode of "Moonlighting?"

@ louiswei: Deal. Better hurry if you want a ride in the GT-R. eriches@edmunds.com

Also, there is no local Wal-Mart or Target in Santa Monica. I'd have to drive all the way to Culver City for that.

Oh no, don't post your e-mail address here...

@Erin,

Ahh... Come on, Culver City is like 5 miles away from Santa Monica, even with the gas money, the total cost will be lower than $20/quart. At Wal-Mart you can get it for less than $10/quart.

10W60? Wow. I didn't even know such a thing existed. I guess that is part of the benefit of using a truck-engine in my G8 GT huh? $2.65/qt for Mobil 1 non-synthetic.

"Also, there is no local Wal-Mart or Target in Santa Monica. I'd have to drive all the way to Culver City for that."

No Wal-Marts! what sort of strange land do you live in not to have at least one Wal-Mart in the local area?

@haydenfive and others,

"The dealer should have done this for free under BMW Ultimate Service, no?"

No. Adding engine oil between the scheduled oil change intervals is not covered under Ultimate Service. The first top-off is only covered by the dealer as a courtesy usually. Seems odd, I know.

"No Wal-Marts! what sort of strange land do you live in not to have at least one Wal-Mart in the local area?"

I live in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area and the nearest Wal-Mart is a solid half hour away at least. They are not as common in many metro-areas.

The one time I stopped by the dealer when my oil was low they were more than happy to top it off for me. Usually its not worth my time to drive to the dealer just for them to top off the oil though.

As for all the where to get oil talk, there is this new thing we have now called the internet...
http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=AccessoryCatalog&catalogid=4462&siteid=214672&categoryID=138022

(and yes with shipping it works out to about the same for a single quart, but you could order a case and save some for the next time)

Walmart does not consistently have an oil suitable for this car, so I'd be concerned with running to Walmart just for this.

Castrol TWS 10w60, though a rip-off, is typically around $12 per quart even through BMW.

Better choices for this, among other M engines, abound...

Not critizing Erin, because this is still an important part of ownership....that thing engine is going to consume oil, that it takes either a hard to find oil or a suitable replacement, and that the "stock" oil can be quite pricey if not bought in advance.

Joe

@ eriches and louiswei
seriously, did louiswei just get a date with a cute girl (ok i dont know if she's cute, but she drives a M3 and GTR) with access to awesome cars for insulting her? I've been going about this whole pick-up thing all wrong!

old volvo - I look at it more like Erin gets some free dinner out of this, rather than louiswei is scoring a date. She's having Scott deduct $20 for oil off of her check, but in return she's going to make louiswei buy her a $60 steak. Ms. Erin is a cagey negotiater.

Most European car manuals warn against adding oil unless it is at or below the min mark.

@crowb

No, I'm pretty sure he just got himself a date if he plays his cards right. Granted, this date could be nothing more than Erin ordering up surf and turf while drinking a couple $12 appletinis (no offense there Erin if that's not ur drink) and dropping his ass off @ home by 10...but a date is a date no matter the outcome.

Props to him for getting her to agree to it the first place.

Erin, you guys should check this out: http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E93-M3-S65_4.0l/Maintenance/Engine/Oil/

Great place to get VW, BMW, and Audi things. Only thing is shipping. But still much cheaper than thee $20 you spent.

louiswei, you would pay for dinner just for a "ride" in a GTR or M3?!! I'll only buy dinner if I get to have the car for a whole day by myself. When I have my GTR, maybe I can charge people for ride!!

hybris, bimmerjay....from my observations, Walmart don't have stores in expensive area, as their normal intended customer don't live in expensive area. Kinda like there are no Bugatti dealer in the ghetto.

"No Wal-Marts! what sort of strange land do you live in not to have at least one Wal-Mart in the local area?"

Sounds like paradise to me...

Stoppre75 -- I see your point, but respectfully I must differ with you. Its all in one's perspective I suppose. Either way, if I were Erin, I'd make this one expensive joy ride.

On the topic of oil level display, a lot of level sensors are not as accurate as temperature/pressure sensors, they tend to have a higher sensor noise. Even though the oil level is close to minimum level on the diplay but the computer gives it a PASS, I suspect there is a hysterisis factor in play.

Actually, being something of a jerk works just fine. It is usually called flirting. It works doesn't it Erin?

Being a half hour away in the heart of San Fran is what... 1 mile? Maybe 2?

I imagine this thread has caused some amusement in the IL office.

old_volvo:
"@ eriches and louiswei
seriously, did louiswei just get a date with a cute girl (ok i dont know if she's cute, but she drives a M3 and GTR) with access to awesome cars for insulting her? I've been going about this whole pick-up thing all wrong!"

+1

@Crowb:

I feel where you're coming from and I'll partially agree. IMO though he's got her at the table so potential is there for him to be charming and create a date out of it.

But she could very well be cold and unforgiving and take nothing from it but the dinner. (but we'd all hear about that from louiswei and I'd have to boo her for being so mean)

This has become funny and peculiar, adding interest to my sad, boring day at work. I'm looking at the glass half full for Louis. G/L dude.

@ crowb and stoppre75,

You two are taking this way too serious and really cracks me up.

But GT-R + dinner is in the order though...

What some of you may fail to realize, is that anyone that's as knowledgeable about cars, and all their associated maintenance requirements, i.e. regularly checking/topping off necessary fluids etc., as Erin evidently is, is pretty awesome in my book!

Erin REALLY knows what she's talking about, more so than the vast majority of so-called "car people" out there!

Erin: If your rendezvous with Louis isn't all you imagined it to be, please feel free to let me know.

Maybe Edmunds should host either a "Singles" car enthusiast based get-together, or sponsor a "win a date with one of our Editors, ALONG with the long-term car of YOUR choice" Sounds pretty good to me!

BTW: Quaker State actually sells their full-synthetic 10W-60 oil, which is produced by Shell, and is essentially a euro-blend for Ferrari/Maserati.
Scroll down, and to the left:
http://quakerstate.com/#/products/motor-oil/ultimate-durability

louiswei, good luck finding 10W-60 oil at Walmart or Target. Maybe you can ask Erin to drive you around to 5 or 6 stores though in search for it.

I hope the dinner date and ride re-cap makes it to the blog!

The Castrol 10W-60 bottles used to be silver, but now I see they have appropriately made them gold to match the price.