Most luxury cars require specific maintenance protocols that often come with increased price tags. That’s because all of the added bells and whistles they usually have in comparison to their more affordable counterparts. These added features need to be analyzed and assured to be running properly.
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And BMWs are no exception to this rule. In fact, The Driver Adviser states the Bavarian auto brand “is the most expensive to maintain on an annual basis.” According to the outlet, owners will spend an average of $986 per year on a beemer. That’s $78 more than the second most expensive manufacturer to maintain on its list, Mercedes-Benz.
The popular automotive TikTok account, Royalty Auto Service (@royaltyautoservice), highlights some of the pitfalls of delaying maintenance. In a recent clip that’s accrued over 180,000 views, they showed off the state of a BMW owner’s ride. The business owner and head technician, Sherwood Cooke Jr., highlights the car’s problems. As it turns out, the issues it’s facing are the result of the owner ignoring its overheating warnings.
Unfortunate result
Sherwood’s video begins with the tech standing in front of the BMW with another shop employee. He says that the car is an example in “how to blow up an engine 101.” Furthermore, he stated that he’s seen this issue before. “My sister actually did this one time,” Sherwood says into the camera.
Next, the pair delves into the vehicle’s problems. “When you get that overheating signal, you want to shut it off,” Sherwood cautions. Then, the fellow shop tech breaks down how the customer consistently ignored the warning signals from her car. After receiving a notification that the vehicle was overheating, she continued to drive it.
It wasn’t long before she received a low oil pressure warning. Following this, the vehicle started to “run real bad” and that the engine was “knocking.” It was at this point that she finally decided to stop driving the vehicle. However, it seemed by that time, it was too late. The engine began steaming and it was evident something was gravely wrong with her car.
About halfway through the clip, Sherwood asks the other tech to turn the engine on. This way, they can assess the extent of the damage the car’s potentially sustained. Next, the lens pans to the engine bay as it’s being fired up. The car can be heard struggling to turn over, and the engine shakes under the opened hood.
“Smoking a little bit,” Sherwood says, noticing the vapors emitting from the BMW. He walks toward the back of the car and checks out the exhaust. “Oh yeah, that’s not a good smoke,” Sherwood’s son, who is operating the camera, adds. Royalty’s head tech then tells the employee inside of the vehicle to turn the BMW off.
‘That was no good.’
Sherwood’s assessment of the vehicle was clearly unfavorable. At this point in the video, he walks back to the open engine bay and looks inside. Further complicating matters for the BMW repair is the fact that its engine comes with “turbos,” as Sherwood states.
The auto tech says if the driver just addressed the problem when it arose, repair costs would’ve been less. “I mean total, with everything—installation, coolant, everything—she might’ve been in a couple hundred bucks, you know? Two, three hundred dollars.”
The auto shop owner then issues a PSA
“If it says low coolant, at least put something in it. Here’s the thing, is like people say, ‘Well I didn’t want to put the wrong thing in there.’ It’s like, just put water in it, right? Just put water in it. You’re fine. You know, if you can get distilled water, put distilled water in it. If you need to put ditch water in it, put ditch water in it, right? It gets you where you’re going. I don’t care what you gotta do, but get something in there until you can get to where you need to go. The best thing to do, yeah, will be to put the right stuff in there.”
He says that this method will at least tide drivers over until they can get their vehicle to a shop. And if that’s not possible, he says just get the car towed to an auto service center. At the end of the clip, Sherwood steps back and assesses the vehicle, commending its aesthetic condition. The other Royalty employees state that it’s a 2019 BMW with “less than 100k” miles.
@royaltyautoservice “Machine that fixes machines” 😅 #mechanic #mechaniclife #bmw #automotive #diy #foryou #fyp #viral #tips ♬ original sound – Royaltyautoservice
Folks who responded to the video didn’t seem to have sympathy for the owner.
One viewer seemed stunned she ignored the vehicle’s notifications. “Oh no if only the car tried to warn her 4 times to turn the car off and stop driving.”
Someone else commented there was no reason for her car to end up in this condition. “She could have stopped at almost any auto parts store and they’d have showed her what she needed and even filled it for her.”
Due to the motor replacement Sherwood mentions at the end of the video, another speculated as to the repair costs. “But now the cost is upwards $12,000.”
Meanwhile, someone else thinks that driver’s license tests should be revamped. As part of this updated study curriculum, basic maintenance should be incorporated. “They need to make people take a basic maintenance class before they get their license. Who drives with no coolant and oil pressure.”
Others say BMWs are more delicate because they’re expected to be well-maintained
“These are the kind of people that’ll say BMW is unreliable too,” one person remarked.
Another viewer said that this video delineates the fundamental difference between European carmakers and other brands. “People don’t get that European cars were designed to be reliable when they’re properly maintained. A BMW owned by someone who doesn’t believe in doing preventive maintenance is a recipe for disaster.”
This was a sentiment echoed by someone else who penned a similar comment. “BMWs are made for people that are always up-to-date on their maintenance. Toyota assumes people don’t keep their stuff up-to-date on maintenance.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to BMW and Royalty Auto Service via email for further comment.
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