B.M.W. Blue Ribbon Service

A small party of Pressmen met at Langley Motors, Thames Ditton, in April, to see how the B.M.W. Blue Ribbon Service, announced in January, works. Every owner of a B.M.W. car sold from last January is given free servicing, the cost of oils and filters excepted, for the first six months or 6,000 miles, whichever is first. This embraces servicing at 750, 2,000, 4,000 and 6,000 miles, during which the B.M.W. is washed if required and its tyre pressures, radiator, battery, washer-bottle and all oil levels checked, apart from chassis greasing. Seats and wings are covered while this work is done and the steering wheel is cleaned afterwards.

It might be argued that in 1966 a car should not need greasing; the counter argument is that oil-less bushes wear out quite quickly and while they may last the life of a mass-produced car, they will be unsuitable for a long-life vehicle. Be that as It may, this gesture by B.M.W. should inspire confidence by expectations of efficient servicing amongst B.M.W. owners in this country, which is not always the case with imported cars. To this end a Blue Ribbon check-sheet, listing all the items attended to, is signed by the Service Manager and given to the car’s owner.

Langley Motors, of a group of which Roy Salvadori is one of the Directors, had their mechanics busily greasing a B.M.W. 1800 TI at the time of our visit, and a sticking throttle on a road-test 1800 TI in which one of the journalists arrived was quickly rectified. The other cars in the small but very clean servicing bay, where Castrol oils are used, were Mercedes-Benz. The Service Manager is a German.

Afterwards a very good lunch was eaten at “The Mitre” at Hampton Court, at which David Blackburn, recently appointed Managing Director of B.M.W. Concessionaires (England) Ltd., was in fine form. He looks a much happier man these days. now that he is no longer touting two-strokes—presumably he still draws a salary but we cannot see why, for the B.M.W. 1800s and 1800 Tls sell themselves! And the new 2000 coupe looks like being in considerable demand, as it becomes more freely available. (Amongst enthusiastic 1800 owners are the Proprietor of Motor Sport and Talbot-collector Anthony Blight.)—W.B.