Did I just Get Screwed?

4522 Views 24 Replies 20 Participants Last post by Sozo, Jun 14, 2015

svenben

Discussion Starter · Jun 12, 2015

Just bought a 2004 330 xi with 127k miles.. I knew it had issues but I had to have it and talked the guy down to $4,300.. Not bad but it wobbled upon breaking, had no ac and had not been driven in about a year...

I took it to the shop this am. I live in DC and through yelp found a guy with perfect ratings. All seemed find but the repair quotes seem VERY high to me. I'll break it down

Front Brakes Replace: Major steering wheel wobble when breaking. New rotors, pads, a sensor, and labor - $687

Air Valve: some engine air valve was clogged with carbon, stuck open not allowing the engine to run efficiently and triggering a "check engine soon" code. Sorry I'm pretty clueless here - $364

AC: Diagnostic check, evacuate, charge, monitor for leaks.. If it functions with no leaks - $292

Oil - "check engine soon" code triggered by faulty oil level sensor. Oil level is good but to fix the sensor he recommend a full oil service as the sensor is only accessible by draining the oil and oil probably has not been changed in a year. Cost for oil, filter, sensor and labor - $463

total $1,900 (with some other fee)... All costs sound pretty damn high to me but he waved all diagnostic charges (or just embedded in the repair cost).. The oil change cost blew me away but he said it was the oil level sensor that was $250 just for the part. I told him not to do the oil service. So Im still looking around $1,400..

Did I get screwed?

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Nicker

· #2 · Jun 12, 2015 (Edited)

lol.

welcome to the forums 'class of 2015' member.

If you are not mechanically inclined you will continue to get bentover at many and just about any mechanics opportunities, as you just have.

I'm sure the prices are not outrageous, on the bill you can check the prices of parts and see how much labor was charged. In the future you should attempt to do simple tasks yourself, such as brakes, simple sensor changes, oil changes, ect.

It will save you money and allow you to own and operate your car with a sense of knowhow and pride. Unless you have unlimited funds, then I recommend the same route you're on.

maxavier

· #3 · Jun 12, 2015

Welcome to the world of owning a car.

Brakes seems high imo; this is something you can do if you have a spare afternoon and the right tools. Search for DIY threads to reduce cost : )

peytonracer4

· #4 · Jun 12, 2015 (Edited)

i would probably charge someone $180 for brakes including parts using quality coated rotors and quality pads.

i would honestly feel like a criminal if i charged near $700 per axle for brakes. i don't work at a shop but still.

jcbaxter1975

· #5 · Jun 12, 2015

Any easy repair that you can save $400 on is the oil change. Purchase the oil service level 1 kit from ecstuning and a oil level sensor about $45. The sensor is attached by 3 bolts, a 5 minute job once the oil is drained. Front brakes isn't too bad a cost but I agree afternoon's work if you are a beginner.

dynamik

· #6 · Jun 12, 2015

:facepalm: Sorry to hear OP, use this forum to your advantage as much as you can. It's what I did and saved myself the trouble from getting ripped off. There are tons of DIY's on here and YouTube to do half of this work yourself. I am in no way mechanically inclined, but after reading through this forum and see how simple things can be done with a little bit of patience, I managed to do a lot of things on my own and save a ton of money. I found the OEM oil level sensor (Brand: Hella) on www.ecstuning.com and searched it on Amazon and bought it for $40. Yes, a full oil service change is needed for when you change the sensor. Also bought an Oil Service kit from ECS Tuning for my car, all OEM oil and filter, and only costs me $64.

http://www.amazon.com/ENGINE-SENSOR...pebp=1434139430543&perid=0CF12EC833D34537AACF

He sure did rip you off, better luck next time. :thumbup:

rsyed07

· #7 · Jun 12, 2015 (Edited)

You are getting screwed very hard.

-Front rotors and pads with OEM parts run you about $160 for (2) rotors and $40 in pads and $9 for a sensor. Its about an hour and a half tops to change them and bleed the brakes. Then again it could also be your control arm bushings.

-Air Valve? Do you mean DISA valve? Those are about $300 brand new or $50 for a rebuild kit. and just a few Torx screws for installation

-I got my A/C checked and freon topped for $125.

-Oil changes are $80 at the dealer or half an hour if you can wrench yourself. The oil level sensor is about $170 OEM and doesn't need additional labor since it can come out with an oil change.

You my friend are getting raped. Turn around and walk away from that shop. BMWs are not cheap to maintain if you can't wrench it yourself. This forum has a lot of DIY and offers help to avoid those costs.

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jcbaxter1975

· #8 · Jun 12, 2015

Get rid of that mechanic. The oem sensor is $172. As I said $45 for non oem. Start using realoem.com and save a lot of money

Dave1027

· #9 · Jun 12, 2015

It's 3 small easily accessible bolts to change the oil level sensor and a $20 part. That plus a $30 oil change. If you can't do simple stuff like that then you probably never should have bought this car.

jfoj

· #10 · Jun 12, 2015 (Edited)

Shops a rip off IMHO.

Front brake kit @ $202, forget about the crappy review. I have these on 5 of my cars to include my 330cic and X5, not any issues. The clown in the review probably has bad calipers.

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Stop-K9...:bmw:330xi&keywords=powerstop+front+brake+kit

Even if you need calipers, they are about $35-$70 each depending on what brand and where you get them.

As for the air valve, chances are this will not resolve the SES/CEL/MIL problem. There are MANY problem areas on these cars and most shops screw up on what really needs to be replaced. I have EVERYTHING covered that any DIY or PRO shop would need to cover documented on this forum.

As for the oil level sensor, this is just a nuisance. You only want a Hella brand sensor. $40 from Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/ENGINE-SENSOR...140223&sr=1-1&keywords=hella+oil+level+sensor

The oil level sensor on the xi is actually easy to replace, 3 bolts, one connector. Should be basically an oil change, around $110-$115 plus maybe 15 minutes of labor to replace the sensor.

The problem is most shops DOUBLE dip on these repairs. They are billing you separate labor time for the sensor replacement and an oil change. If it was my shop, I would replace the sensor as part of the oil change since there is no under panel to remove on the XI as I recall. So the sensor is readily visible and accessible.

The only thing that may be almost reasonable is the AC evacuate and recharge, but I am sure you can shop this around.

Run from this shop quickly.

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Saintluk2

· #11 · Jun 12, 2015

always shop around or take it to a shop listed on the website bimmershops.

tcphoto

· #12 · Jun 12, 2015

They didn't come by with an estimate for the work before doing it? A fool and his money will soon part.

zander271

· #13 · Jun 12, 2015

Nicker said:
lol.

welcome to the forums 'class of 2015' member.

If you are not mechanically inclined you will continue to get bentover at many and just about any mechanics opportunities, as you just have.

I'm sure the prices are not outrageous, on the bill you can check the prices of parts and see how much labor was charged. In the future you should attempt to do simple tasks yourself, such as brakes, simple sensor changes, oil changes, ect.

It will save you money and allow you to own and operate your car with a sense of knowhow and pride. Unless you have unlimited funds, then I recommend the same route you're on.

Nice sig :thumbsup:

jfoj

· #14 · Jun 12, 2015 (Edited)

Oil level sensor from BMW

12617508003 - OIL LEVEL SENSOR 3 Series

MSRP Core Save Online Price
$211.45 $0.00 $42.29 $169.16

So what is the shops warranty on their repairs.

ALL repairs done at a BMW dealership regardless of the cars age or mileage is for 24 Months/Unlimited Mileage.

I just had a similiar conversation with a friend today about an Indy he used, he felt they were charging more than the dealer. Their commented was "we get the job done right the first time". I asked him does his Indy provide a 24 Month/Unlimited Mileage Warranty on all of their repairs??

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XPGLD

· #15 · Jun 12, 2015

To buy a car that you know has issues, then take it to a shop and ask if you just got screwed seems sort of unecessary. You knew it wasn't a strong runner when you bought it, so having a shop quote of over a grand to fix things isn't at all uncommon, BMW or not.

Either way, buy some basic tools, spend some free time researching DIY's so that you can save yourself some change in the long run.. Or hope to god you have a very close mechanically inclined friend that is willing to help you.

Either way, best of luck, and welcome to the community. I hope you keep her because these are great cars when you treat them right.

glhx

· #16 · Jun 13, 2015 (Edited)

You guys are doing a great job......I'm leaving this one alone

Well....maybe not.

Op look at my sig for new members. There's some info you might find helpful that will explain some things.

Like why to not buy an xi.......lol.....kidding

Alex323Ci

· #17 · Jun 13, 2015

that sounds about right for a shop charging "book" time for labor and retail pricing on parts.

now can you buy your owns parts and do this cheaper?..certainly.

if not mechanically inclined and no tools then at the least you could supply your parts to a shop and have them do this. most don't like this if the part is crappy, so you'll need oem type parts. you can probably find another shop or see if you can get the labor down some.

this is just how shops make money and a business is run. mechanics cost money, shop lease, lifts, advertsing and insurance cost money and it's all part of the overhead. that's why things like oil changes and easy stuff should not be done at a shop that charges high labor rates. it's simple stuff. now when it comes to the harder tricky stuff is when the labor rates make more sense.

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adaseb

· #18 · Jun 13, 2015

I don't understand why someone buys a decade old BMW for $4K and doesn't perform his own work on the car.

Normally when people buy "fix-r-uppers" they do it because they get free labour. Buying something that needs work and then taking it to a shop to perform the repairs makes no sense.

jfoj

· #19 · Jun 13, 2015 (Edited)

There is a solution for all of this. Its called a Lease. You will never work on your Leased car or pay someone to work on it.

But also look at it this way, you can spend a lot of money on your E46 before you reach the $40k it cost new. If the body, paint and drivetrain is solid, go for it. The problem is when you get in an accident and the car is totaled, you can loose BIG TIME.

With cars 8+ years old, how MUST plan and manage the repairs, otherwise you will get screwed.

If the OP does not buy a fuel pump now for $130 an figure out it is no harder to replace than changing a tire, this repair will cost $600-$900 when he gets stranded.

hitbyastick

· #20 · Jun 13, 2015

That mechanic smells blood in the water obviously. As others have stated if you can't repair these yourself you are going to have a very bad time. The car will only get worse, you will find excuses to not repair it properly, and then the car will just die for good. On to the next one.

1 - 20 of 25 Posts

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