Front air suspension failure

[zachthefcr]

Several days ago, I noticed that the right front fender was sitting right over the tire instead of having the usual 8-9 inch clearance. The car is a 2005 X5 4.4 with sport suspension and an adjustable height feature having about 50,000 miles (I have put about 13000 miles on the car in a year and a half). The car being just out of CPO, I took it to a real great BMW specialist, who showed me that the air sack device on top of the strut was leaking air (he sprayed a light oil on it, and I could see the bubbles forming). He suggested that I take it back to the dealer, thinking that they may cover the repair, being so close to being out of CPO. However, the dealer told me that suspension is not covered by the CPO, and quoted a price of $1500 for the repair (ouch - I just became unemployed), including about $975 for the strut. I'll likely take it to the BMW specialist, but thought I'd ask the community if this is an expected occurrence at this mileage, and if there is a suggestion for getting the part at a much better price. Thanks for any help you can provide. Zach