Hendrick BMW Charleston S.C.

[Paydirtdog]

Last time I was in Charleston I took my E70 in to Hendricks BMW and I thought they treated me very well. Of course the car is still under warranty so no charges incured. I recommended that my son take his E53 in for some issues he was having but cautioned him to get an estimate first since his is 2001. Glad he asked for estimate first! For the tail light they wanted $300 to replace the whole assembly. For the sun roof that was not closed all the way they wanted $3100.00 (they said they could not get it closed manually when he asked if they could just close it instead of replacing it). For the windshield washer light on the dash they wanted over $200.00 to replace a pump because of a supposed leak. He declined the repairs except for resetting the service light which they said was a gas cap not put back on tight. When I got down to Charleston it took me about 5 minutes to close the sun roof with the little crank that comes with the car's tool kit and pull the fuse so it couldn't be accidently opened again (he can live without the sunroof opening). Another 5 or 10 minutes to lightly sand a slightly corroded bulb socket that made the tail light work intermittently and another minute or two to diagnose a tiny bit of windshield washer fluid leaking from a loose hose clamp.
I know the dealers always want to do a through job and fix things right the first time, but I can't help but think they were out for every cent they thought they could get out of this visit. Why replace these whole assemblies when a simple adjustment could extend their life for who knows how long?