[DavyNM]

I've always purchased tires at my local Costco for my other cars. (but not my BMWs because both of them are not due for new tires just yet)

So I was standing around waiting for tire rotation/balance on my pick-up today. I saw a M340i just like the one I bought a few months ago. The owner and the Costco employee were having a heated argument.

Apparently the BMW owner was upset that Costco didn't use jackstand adapters when jacking up the M340i. I walked over and looked at it and the car was jacked up there with just plain flat blocks.

Is this bad for the factory jackpoints on the M340i? (or any other BMW?)

[BeEmVe]

I would probably be bothered too because the jackpoints on our X1 are just plastic. So the weight is on the outer edges not the solid part. When using a std jack I made an adaptor block that is made of oak. Works great and way cheaper than a commercial version.

[BlkGS]

Lol, no it's fine. The owner was just a dumbass. The adapters are for if you need additional clearance for side skirts and such.

[Tejas1836]

Not going to hurt but I take my pucks with me and ask them to use them

[POBEP]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

Lol, no it's fine. The owner was just a dumbass. The adapters are for if you need additional clearance for side skirts and such.

^ this ^
lift without pucks - absolutely nothing to worry about.
on occasion, I can not find mine and rest it on flat esco stands

Costco tire center employees know what they doing.

When it comes to tire mounting, they use proper tolls to keep rims protected
And they use torque wrench - not gun

I brought very nice rims to Costco - never had an issue.
Nearly always had my rims damaged at other places

I would worry more by having someone open a door at packed parking lot

[pbonsalb]

Depending on the jack or lift pads used, the rectangular plastic BMW pieces at the jacking points can chip or break. Takes a while to actually ruin them, and there is a risk of this if you use other than a dealer or careful and knowledgeable independent. Tire shops, oil change places, random repair shops, beginner DIYers or DIYers who work on other cars but know little about BMWs may damage your plastic pieces. But you can buy new ones easily enough.

[ShocknAwe]

I never use an adapter unless it's a metal Y top jack stand.

Flat tops and replace the plastic jack points every few years if they look worn.

What an A-hole.

[tracer bullet]

Half the adapters sold for our cars don't actually reach very far inside, nd still have the weight of the car on the outer edges of those plastic pieces.

[RockCrusher]

Originally Posted by DavyNM

I've always purchased tires at my local Costco for my other cars. (but not my BMWs because both of them are not due for new tires just yet)

So I was standing around waiting for tire rotation/balance on my pick-up today. I saw a M340i just like the one I bought a few months ago. The owner and the Costco employee were having a heated argument.

Apparently the BMW owner was upset that Costco didn't use jackstand adapters when jacking up the M340i. I walked over and looked at it and the car was jacked up there with just plain flat blocks.

Is this bad for the factory jackpoints on the M340i? (or any other BMW?)

I'd like to see Costco or any other tire store use the proper hardware to lift my BMW for tire service or any service.

But even if it did I would not use any of those businesses.

I don't know about my BMW having not been under it to do any self-maintenance nor having the opportunity to look at the car while on the lift at the dealer. But with my Porsche the lifting points were metal but covered with -- painted with -- a very durable rock chip resistant paint. Lifting the car without using the heavy rubber pads to prevent hoist lifting pad metal to vehicle car lifting point metal or rather lifting pad metal to car lifting point paint contact was to be avoided.

[whofelt]

They probably wouldn't use the puck adapter anyways because if they're not trained to use them or the adapter not provided by costco, then it could be a liability. I personally use them because constantly jacking up the car without the adapters will/can damage the plastic jack points.

[freakystyly]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

I never use an adapter unless it's a metal Y top jack stand.

I only use Y top stands and my jack pads are fine. Sure they aren't perfect if you look under the car but structurally sound is good enough. The composite plastic they use is ridiculously strong.

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by POBEP

I brought very nice rims to Costco - never had an issue.
Nearly always had my rims damaged at other places

Anecdotal, but lots of stories of damaged rims at Costco.

But their claims department some times pay for rim repair (https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=768692), other times replace rims (https://rennlist.com/forums/991/1335...new-tires.html)

I prefer having my tires mounted in my driveway by a mobile shop that uses a touch less tire machine. Expensive, but totally worth it for peace of mind.

[Roadcrew]

Originally Posted by jkoral

Anecdotal, but lots of stories of damaged rims at Costco.

But their claims department some times pay for rim repair (https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=768692), other times replace rims (https://rennlist.com/forums/991/1335...new-tires.html)

I prefer having my tires mounted in my driveway by a mobile shop that uses a touch less tire machine. Expensive, but totally worth it for peace of mind.

I took my Z4 in for new tires. Had to special order them. Took about 2½ hours to complete once they started. The first person worked on it for 1½ hours before he told his boss he couldn't do it. Boss took over and finished the job. All 4 rim had not just scratches but ¼ inch gouges in several spots. I was pretty ticked about it. Remain calm and civil. Talked to the bossman, he claimed their tire installing tool couldn't possibly do that. I filed a claim. Ended up my word against the bossman.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by Roadcrew

I took my Z4 in for new tires. Had to special order them. Took about 2½ hours to complete once they started. The first person worked on it for 1½ hours before he told his boss he couldn't do it. Boss took over and finished the job. All 4 rim had not just scratches but ¼ inch gouges in several spots. I was pretty ticked about it. Remain calm and civil. Talked to the bossman, he claimed their tire installing tool couldn't possibly do that. I filed a claim. Ended up my word against the bossman.

I'm at the point where I take the wheels in off the car and clean, take a photo of them with them watching and hand them over. Come back and pick up later. I do it by the axle.

Never had an issue doing it that way with damage.

Only downside is shops can feel they can get away being lazy and not completing your job as promised. Very easy for them to bump you when it's not a whole car taking up space on a lift/jack station. Picked a fight over it last time it happened, showed up at time previously arranged and they tried "oh we can't guarantee same day service".

It's tires. You can do two things, complete the job in a couple hours and complete the job without fucking my wheels up.

[tracer bullet]

Ugh. I've got a good shop by me, I'll keep using them. Orr Autosport for anyone in MSP area MN. I had a tire (the tire itself, not the wheel) somewhat out of round they had me come back and check it out and tell them if I wanted it on or to ship it back to be replaced (it was a "winter" set so I put it on). I've also noticed it seems they balance the tires with the weights behind the spokes, making them almost invisible. All that to say - if you find a good place, stick with it.

I also had good luck with a Tire Rack mobile installer for my X3 that I care a little less about. Took place in my driveway of all places. I BS'd with the guy some, and had the wheels off the car for him to save a little work. I can't say that's why it went well, but I'm sure it didn't hurt.

[No one]

None of the tyre services I used made use of those adapters. Nor do BMW official services. I bought my adapter from Burger Motorsports, but their "Jack up your car like the pros do." looks like a joke to me now. Pros jack it up next to the jack points. But concerns are valid if you don't trust in your BMW: I heard stories about Peugeot 607 failing to withstand this treatment (at least if the car wasn't young and strong, already tired ) and bending down.

[Efthreeoh]

People get so perplexed over BMW lift points.

See post #20...

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by POBEP

^ this ^
lift without pucks - absolutely nothing to worry about.
on occasion, I can not find mine and rest it on flat esco stands

Costco tire center employees know what they doing.

When it comes to tire mounting, they use proper tolls to keep rims protected
And they use torque wrench - not gun

I brought very nice rims to Costco - never had an issue.
Nearly always had my rims damaged at other places

I would worry more by having someone open a door at packed parking lot

Well, the Costco near me didn't. The guy was a total incompetent fool. I took my pristine style 261 wheels to them when I bought a set of Michelin Pilot Super Sports for them to mount. I still had the factory run craps on the wheels. I asked a couple of times whether they can handle removing the run craps. They assured me they can do the job. Well, when I went to pick up my wheels, the idiot tech gouged the crap out of all four wheels. It wasn't a case of the damage wasn't easy to spot. I could see the damage walking up to the where they had put the wheels. You'd think the fool would have stopped after damaging the first one. I raised a stink right there. The manager was called and a claim was filed against Costco's insurance. They paid over $700 to repair the wheels.

Flash forward a couple of years and I roll the dice thinking they couldn't do a repeat of this again since the run craps were off. Nope. They managed to damage one wheel. Granted it wasn't huge and you'd have to look for it. But that was enough for me. I now have an indie BMW repair shop do all my tire mounting. They haven't screwed up once yet.

[vt100]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

Lol, no it's fine. The owner was just a dumbass. The adapters are for if you need additional clearance for side skirts and such.

Those plastic sockets at jacking points are not super strong and can be destroyed (especially on older cars). Just recently had to replace them as a couple of them were completely gone and others half way out. Most likely the final touch was done by my local BMW dealership when they were doing a recall Really doubt they were using adapters

That been said, I always use adapters when lifting my cars up.
But would I be bothered by a tire shop not using them? Nah, I don't change tires that often

[Efthreeoh]

I'll try to explain the use of plastic lifting points on BMWs (and other German market cars) so we all can better understand. "Adapters" are a result of the internet and misunderstanding of how to lift a modern BMW. Being that I have a 2-post auto lift (and reading the operating instructions for it), I have a better understanding of why the plastic lifting points are designed as they are. I've left several of my BMWs on my lift for weeks at a time without and damage to the plastic lifting points. Professional auto shops don't use "adapters" because they use professional lifting tools to lift your BMW when they work on it, especially a BMW dealership since BMW engineers design BMWs to be serviced at BMW dealerships.

Pictured is the lifting pad for the G20 (the latest P/N for a 2025 BMW I could find), but it is typical of the design BMW uses for most of its models dating back 20 years. The E46 uses a similar "walled" design. If you want to find the lifting point for your BMW, use RealOEM.com and you'll find the P/N under "Vehicle Trim - Various Body Parts - Sealing cap/plug". All lifting points start with "5171".

The lifting point is designed for a professional car lift with foot pads that sit under the lifting point to raise the car level at all four points. Damage to the plastic occurs when DIY'ers improperly use the lifting point with either a floor jack or with the incorrect jackstand head type. ESCO stands are the best example of the proper "flat-top" jackstand to use for supporting a BMW. Most people don't understand how a floor jack is supposed to work. If they use a floor jack to lift from the side, the jack is supposed to roll under the chassis as the vehicle is lifted because the arm of the jack swings in an arc from its pivot point on the jack. Most shitty cheap floor jacks DIY'ers use don't roll well on concrete let alone rougher surfaces like asphalt or dirt/gravel. If the jack doesn't roll under the BMW, the cup of the jack pulls on the lifting point walls and tears the plastic up. The plastic gets damaged because the walls are not designed to take force (pressure) in a lateral direction. Similarly, the walls will get damaged if a DIY'er uses a typical "axle-type" jackstand designed to support a vehicle from a live axle (like pickup trucks use). The weight of the vehicle is placed on a very small section of the wall, which exceeds the design capacity of the wall and breaks it. The lifting point is designed to spread the weight along the entire perimeter of the wall, which is why a flat-top stand (or lifting foot pad of a professional car lift) are best suited to support the vehicle.



Comments on the typical BMW lifting point design: The lifting point has walls with a cavity so road debris or curbs that may hit the lifting point will break the wall or the lifting point entirely off the chassis rather than damage the rocker panel or frame member the lifting point where the lifting point attaches. In other words, the lifting points are consumable parts designed to prevent damage to the vehicle body in case they contact an object. So, when a DIY'er uses the improper lifting tools/technique to raise or support his BMW the plastic lifting point gets damaged because it is designed to get damaged; it's not a design flaw or weakness of the part, it is protecting the chassis from further damage. The little arch in the middle of the wall is required by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), because it shows the technician where to lift the chassis. All cars have these notches (called "chevrons") on the chassis/frame as a safety feature to prevent improper lifting of the vehicle by the mechanic.

The internet invented "adapters" because people use the wrong lifting tools or techniques to lift their BMW.