BMW Servicing

[anarchy]

Hey guys,
I'm looking to find a place to bring my 2000 BMW 328 CI for servicing. I brought it into a shop today to get my brakes looked at, replace my thermostat and an oil change and was quoted $1,600. Call me crazy but that sounds really expensive to me.

Where do all you Beyonders bring your Bimmers?

[C4S]

$1600 for 4 brake? or just 2?

with oil service and other thing too?

You are not talking dealer, right??

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

We do all our work ourselves, its much cheaper. I recommend you just take a day and do it yourself, learn something, and it will cost less.

[anarchy]

$1000 for 4 brakes
$315 to replace the thermostat
$135 for the oil change


And no, not the dealership.
I'd do the work myself if I knew what the heck I was doing lol, but I don't know a damn thing about cars.

[colt22]

Motorwerkes

[bighead2267]

Originally posted by Twin_Cam_Turbo
We do all our work ourselves, its much cheaper. I recommend you just take a day and do it yourself, learn something, and it will cost less.

sorry to being a noob but is it same procedure for doing oil change and replace brake pad on a Japanese vehicle? i have been thinking to get a Bimmer/Audi for a long time but the repair/services cost is scaring me. If someone can refer me a link for DIY services on the Bimmer or Audi. That could help my goal come true faster.

[Senseiz]

Originally posted by anarchy
$1000 for 4 brakes
$315 to replace the thermostat
$135 for the oil change


And no, not the dealership.
I'd do the work myself if I knew what the heck I was doing lol, but I don't know a damn thing about cars.

$1000 sounds right for 4 brakes.
My front brakes, 330i for rotors and pads cost $400 in parts. Add labour here and there.

A new thermostat will cost $100 for retail. Look online, you might get it for less, maybe 70ish. Plus 1 hour labour and all the necessary coolant and shop fee.

All my oil changes has been in the 100+ range. It started at $115 2 years ago and now it is $127. Somewhere in that range. It should be full synthetic they are putting in. I do my own oil change and the engine oil itself cost $70. add $15 for the filter and labor and it is in the $135 range.

I hate to say it, but bmw are expensive to service no matter where you go. That is why most of us invest in the tools and do it ourselves.

On a side note, if I was replacing the thermostat, I would do an entire cooling system overhaul.
1. Expansion tank
2. Upper and lower radiator hose
3. bunch of sensors.
I did my cooling system overhaul for $500 myself.

Where did you bring it to for a quote?

[Senseiz]

Originally posted by bighead2267


sorry to being a noob but is it same procedure for doing oil change and replace brake pad on a Japanese vehicle? i have been thinking to get a Bimmer/Audi for a long time but the repair/services cost is scaring me. If someone can refer me a link for DIY services on the Bimmer or Audi. That could help my goal come true faster.

There are plenty of DIY links on e46fanatics and other forums. With plenty of pictures to guide you through.
http://forum.E46Fanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=27

Also, the access to realoem.com helps because you can get the exact part.

Brakes are brakes. They all are the same. Especially disc brakes. They just might look bigger but to change them or take them out, the concepts of the caliper, sliders and brake pads are all the same.

As for oil change, the oil filter is located on top of the engine. Easier to take out. The only thing you need to get under the car for is to locate the drain plug. Other than that, you do everything else in the hood.

The only painful part is you cant go to Canadian tire or part source get get parts. Most of the time, I order parts online. They really arent too expensive. I replaced my alternator for $300. How much does a typical alternator cost for a japanese car, $200+. It is pretty obvious if you go to the dealership to get parts, it will cost an arm and a leg. I find that when I do preventative maintenance and ordering parts online, it does not cost that much more than any other car.

[anarchy]

I'm okay with the oil change, I expect it to be in that range and yes they are using full synthetic.

I wasn't sure how much the thermostat cost but I was under the impression they were fairly affordable ($50-60). I called Motorwerkes and they quoted me $280 to replace the thermostat so it's a bit cheaper but still in that range.

The brakes sounded really expensive to me but I suppose the rotors would be the reason why. I'm not sure I need to replace those though. He told me I needed to change the front brakes but can hold off on the back for now, and the fronts would be $530.

I guess I'll just do the thermostat and oil change for now and get a second opinion on the brakes to see if I need to change the rotors.

I'd do the work myself but I don't know my way around cars too well and I'm sure I'd fuck it up lol.

I'd prefer not to name the shop that quoted me originally as it's a friend of a friend's and I don't mean to put them down in any way.

[Senseiz]

The oil change is a must, of course.

As I mentioned, if you are doing the thermostat, change the entire cooling system as well. Since they have it ripped apart, you might as well change it. It shouldnt cost any more labor to change the hose. Probably an extra half an hour for the expansion tank. And why would you change the thermostat? Sometimes, a CEL Will throw on if it is stuck open. Does it take a long time for your car to warm up?

As for brakes. Do you feel any vibrations from your car or your brake pedal when you brake? If not, the rotors are not warped. When you take the wheel off, check the rotor thickness. I cant remember the specs off my head. Also, just check the thickness of brake pads. It is a visual inspection for brakes.

And for the quote the shop gave you, I think it is a reasonable quote. So I am not dissing them or anything.

[scat19]

Good information Senseiz.

On your car, they'll change both the rotors and pads each time. They wear together evenly.

[anarchy]

Originally posted by Senseiz
The oil change is a must, of course.

As I mentioned, if you are doing the thermostat, change the entire cooling system as well. Since they have it ripped apart, you might as well change it. It shouldnt cost any more labor to change the hose. Probably an extra half an hour for the expansion tank. And why would you change the thermostat? Sometimes, a CEL Will throw on if it is stuck open. Does it take a long time for your car to warm up?

As for brakes. Do you feel any vibrations from your car or your brake pedal when you brake? If not, the rotors are not warped. When you take the wheel off, check the rotor thickness. I cant remember the specs off my head. Also, just check the thickness of brake pads. It is a visual inspection for brakes.

And for the quote the shop gave you, I think it is a reasonable quote. So I am not dissing them or anything.

I'll ask them about changing the entire cooling system. But now he's called me back and said he can't do it for me until the new year which is quite annoying since I went through a lot of trouble to drop off my car this morning as he requested. I'm definitely going to try somewhere else, maybe give motorwerkes a try.

As for my thermostat, when I'm sitting idle warming up my car the heat is fine, but when I start driving it blows cold air.

As for the brakes, it feels fine to me. But the last time I was in this shop he told me I should get my front brakes changed soon which is why I went in this time to do it everything all at once.


Any other suggestions other than motorwerkes?

[anarchy]

Originally posted by Senseiz
The oil change is a must, of course.

As I mentioned, if you are doing the thermostat, change the entire cooling system as well. Since they have it ripped apart, you might as well change it. It shouldnt cost any more labor to change the hose. Probably an extra half an hour for the expansion tank. And why would you change the thermostat? Sometimes, a CEL Will throw on if it is stuck open. Does it take a long time for your car to warm up?

As for brakes. Do you feel any vibrations from your car or your brake pedal when you brake? If not, the rotors are not warped. When you take the wheel off, check the rotor thickness. I cant remember the specs off my head. Also, just check the thickness of brake pads. It is a visual inspection for brakes.

And for the quote the shop gave you, I think it is a reasonable quote. So I am not dissing them or anything.

Bah...double post.

[Impreza]

To be honest, the price seems about right, maybe 10-15% expensive. A lot of the parts themselves, as mentioned, are pretty costly. My car was throwing CEL's and I brought it in, and I needed a new O2 sensor. BMW said it was like $450-$500 (can't remember exactly) installed, luckily, it was under warranty.

[Graham_A_M]

Sheni's auto trend.

I wont take my car any other place. Calgary BMW is a joke... fucking scam artists. :banghead: :banghead: :thumbsdow

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

$1000 for brakes isnt bad. I was pretty excited when I got 4 rotors and 8 pads for my 180SX for $240, but I get a SAIT discount which is pretty decent. I know front rotors for both my parents BMWs are about $300 USD a piece, cheapest you can find anywhere it seems.

[Graham_A_M]

^ I dont know how you guys justify those prices. I paid $250 for the pair for my aftermarket Brembro (OEM) replacements from Napa :dunno:

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Compound Iron Floating rotors are pretty expensive apparently...

[GT4rally]

Originally posted by bighead2267


sorry to being a noob but is it same procedure for doing oil change and replace brake pad on a Japanese vehicle? i have been thinking to get a Bimmer/Audi for a long time but the repair/services cost is scaring me. If someone can refer me a link for DIY services on the Bimmer or Audi. That could help my goal come true faster.

If the cost of repairs is an issue, and you can't do things like brakes, themostats and valve cover gaskets yourself, do yourself a huge favour and stick with the low-maintenance Japanese cars.

Doing most repairs myself:
My 320i cost me around $3000 in repairs over 2 and 1/2 years.
My 540i has cost me around $5000 in repairs in just over 2 years.
...Mind you, I'm pretty picky about little stuff being broken.

You can get most brake parts and things like themostats and struts from Napa and Part Source, but radiators, expansion, tanks, hoses, electrical parts, etc are dealer or online only. I usually get the dealer specific parts from PelicanParts.com.

As an example; an OEM 540i radiator from Calgary BMW costs approx. $800... I got an OEM BMW radiator from PelicanParts for $250 CDN, shipped. Took about 10 days.

The good think about BMW is the huge online support and aftermarket. Other Euro makes like Audi and Volvo are a lot tougher to find online resources for.

[CivicCoupe09]

hey guys im bringing an X5 up from the US in the summer, do BMW dealers charge more or deal differently with US bimmers?