Low oil after picking up from Dealership - Stevens Creek BMW

[CalOski]

I don't drive my M much any more since I now work abroad ('09 w/ less than 41k miles) and noticed that there was a minor leak on my last trip home. First mistake was taking it back to the original point of sale, Stevens Creek BMW for a service since the computer was saying I needed to get the brake lines checked anyways.

Surprise, they found a leak in the gasket near the oil pan, which I have read is not an uncommon problem with M's, especially ones that aren't driven often. Quoted around $2,000 (because of the work required to access the leak, including something with the subframe) and I don't have the time to screw around and find a mechanic for a 2nd opinion because my time back in the US is very limited. Later I do some searching and apparently the service manual (if the repair was still under warranty) calls for about 7.5 hours of labor, which means they charge around $225/hr for a mechanic (kind of high; parts were about $100). However, I understand costs in the bay area are high and I thought that saving $500 in the long run is not worth the extra time spend finding a reliable mechanic (Mistake 2).

I go pick up the car today and everything seems fine but about 40 minutes down the road, I get the low oil warning. I know this is tricky as sometimes when you reset the measurement, it comes back ok. However, the warning was "red" rather than "yellow" (low oil vs. minimum level) so a bit more worrying. Fortunately, I always carry a quart of oil in the trunk. Put in 1/2 quart at a time, and still getting the warning (switched from red to yellow after the full 1.05 quarts go in). Have to put in another 1/2 quart when I get home to reach "green" levels.

I don't know where they get the cheek to charge so much for labor when even the most basic tasks are screwed up by these monkeys. How can I trust that they can reliably fix something more complicated like an issue with my transmission if they can't even make sure oil levels are ok before signing off on work?

Not sure how many of you guys are in the bay area and still user dealerships for service, but I can whole heartedly say that you probably shouldn't use Stevens Creek. I've written to complain but to be honest, I'll never spend another dollar with them and they probably know it. Place is jam packed anyways so no need to deliver decent service I guess.

[Fr0gman]

Honestly it's hard to trust most dealership...mountain view almost put 5W30 in the M...then he didn't believe me when I said it takes 10W60. Also noticed my MPG gauged dropped to 10.4. Someone had a spirited drive...

[yipronny]

Yep, sorry to hear that. Seems like they are all crooks. Haven't had much luck with any of the dealerships in the Bay. However I heard greats things from Peter Pan BMW by San Mateo area