[RyanS]

My wife's 2011 535 xDrive will hit the 4 yr mark in June 2015. It only has 26,700 miles on it right now. Since I got a new 4Runner earlier this year we hardly drive her car when going places with our young daughter. We also moved this year (military) so her drive to work is shorter, about 7 miles round-trip (not good for the car, I know). So she is averaging about 300 miles a month now. We won't hit the 30,000 mile mark before the 4yr/50,000 free service expires. We plan to keep it another 3-4 years.

It looks like we will be paying for the 30,000 mile service. What typically gets done at the 30,000 mile service?

Due to her not putting many miles on it we are not going to buy the extended maintenance plan, but will get an extended warranty. Right now I'm looking at the comprehensive warranty offered through USAA, by Assurant, for $1,826 for 48 months from purchase of the policy or 60,000 total miles on the vehicle. I'll see what the dealership is offering for something similar.

Is it worth it to get all routine maintenance work done at the dealership so that come trade-in time it can be traded-in as a CPO vehicle? For example, I can change the spark plugs, brakes, and cabin air filters myself and save a lot of money.

Any advice from someone who has gone through something similar?