Not long ago BMW offered four years or 50,000 miles of free maintenance when purchasing a new BMW, which included free oil changes. They did this in part due to the reputation their German engineering had earned over the years for being costly to maintain; with ownership came frequent trips to the local BMW dealership.

They eased this pain point and reinforced the idea that they stand behind their vehicles – reliable vehicles- so much so that four years of service was included. The most expensive BMW’s tend to be leased at a greater volume than they are purchased outright. In fact, more than half of all BMW’s sold are leases.

For high rolling BMW lessees, knowing the total monthly costs and keeping them at a fixed amount without enormous service bills popping up was a great draw. This was a strong marketing pitch for BMW to sell and lease new cars.

Sadly, BMW announced in 2016 (for 2017 model year cars) their maintenance plan was reduced to 3 years or 36,000 miles and would be named the “Ultimate Care” program. New car owners will still benefit from 3 years of free oil changes, but what about the rest of us?

You can now benefit from free replacement parts, filters, and yes even oil changes for life so long as you purchase the items for the first time from FCP Euro. This makes more sense for those of us who DIY our own BMW maintenance and repairs, but of course you could provide the parts purchased from FCP Euro to your local repair shop as well (if they accept that kind of thing).

Here’s how to get Free Oil Changes for Life:

1. Order your oil, filter, drain plug or any other maintenance parts from FCP Euro here. The first one will not be free. You have to pay for it.
2. The next oil change, order the same items and parts from FCP Euro again. Drain your old oil into the collection container, and fill up the new jugs with the old oil once your oil change is complete.
3. Return oil, filter and items to FCP Euro.
4. Receive a refund for your most recent order.
5. Rinse and repeat, forever, or until at least FCP Euro is inevitably acquired and the program is ended.

This is not just some sneaky way of abusing a warranty program either. FCP Euro actively promotes this warranty and I was first made aware of it by the guys at the parts desk inside their Milford, Connecticut location. Great guys down there, very friendly and helpful.

One caveat to this FREE oil change for life plan is that many of you reading will have to pay for return ground shipping. I live under 10 minutes from their warehouse, so it makes sense to just drop it off in person and avoid the costly return shipping. If you do need to ship, create an account or use your employer’s business account for heavily discounted shipping. We’re talking $9 to return oil vs. $25 or more charged to the retail facing consumer.

FCP Euro marketing department promoted this Lifetime warranty including oil and filters in a July 2018 video on YouTube here.

What do you guys think? Will you be switching to ordering BMW parts and accessories from FCP Euro? Let me know in the comments.