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      06-21-2014, 12:20 AM   #4
jphughan
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Drives: '16 Cayman GT4
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Austin, TX

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To give a little perspective, ALL BMWs used to have 1200-mile service, but when Ultimate Service was introduced and BMW started looking for ways to make it less expensive to offer, the universal 1200-mile service was one of the first casualties. Somehow the M cars were spared, probably due to outcry from the engineers.

Still, the fact that BMW limits warranty coverage on such cars should tell you how important it is. BMW knows these cars are more likely to fail, and they don't want to be stuck footing the bill. And even if this will be a short-term ownership, a late 1200-mile service will hurt resale badly. I'd look elsewhere. Failing to change the driveline oils early means all of the extra metal that accumulates in those oils during the break-in period stays in there a lot longer than it should.

But asking why the M3 can't be serviced like the 335is is backwards. If anything, the 335is should still be serviced like the M3 -- and that would almost certainly still be BMW's recommendation today if they hadn't started including "free" service. It's also worth noting that BMW's decreased service levels have apparently bit them somewhat, judging by the fact that they recently dropped the oil change interval to 10K for newer cars without changing the cars themselves. You can probably read between the lines there.

I'd also check your facts about the warranty. I don't think the extended warranty would be voided since those are third party products -- even "BMW's", which is just an Assurant warranty. That car's FACTORY warranty may have been voided for any issues that could plausibly have been caused by a late 1200-mile service.
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'16 Cayman GT4 (delivery pics, comparison to E92 M3 write-up)

Gone but not forgotten:
'11.75 M3 E92 Le Mans | Black Nov w/ Alum | 6MT (owned 5/2011 - 11/2015)
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