Left lower control arm??? Dealer quote...

Rado · #1 11-04-2011, 10:18 AM

I went to the dealer today for a simple headlight aiming adjustment because I put new depo headlights and thought it would be nice if they do it to their specs instead of me messing around. Anyway, they adjusted them fine but told me that my front left control arm is loose and needs a new one soon and quoted me $550... Is that normal?.. I have no idea how much it should be, I will most definitely check with indy shop but wanted to see your opinion.
I don't know why they would even check this kind of staff - I went there for completely different service.
Any help would be appreciated.
I have 2001 X5, 3.0L, sports/premium package

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chilliwilli · #2 11-04-2011, 10:48 AM

Price is about right, for dealer rates...and it's their responsibility to inspect the health of your vehicle when in their possession. Consider the inverse...if you drove off and perhaps got into an accident, possibly due to dealers negligence of something you didn't ask for, would you feel the same way?

TowX · #3 11-04-2011, 11:16 AM

Very common repair on the X5 (all BMWs for that matter), so I suspect the dealer checked as an opportunity to solicit other service while you were there. FWIW, I need to replace my thrust rod bushings every 20,000 miles or so, and at 88K miles they're bad again. On my 528 it's about every 35000-40000 miles.

Rado · #4 11-04-2011, 11:24 AM

Thank you guys! I appreciate the feedback. I forgot to mention that my X is at 80K miles.

740ilDuke · #5 11-04-2011, 11:45 AM

Check oembimmerparts.com for better pricing or getBMWparts.com. All OEM unless plainly mentioned. Then find your indy!

Rado · #6 11-04-2011, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 740ilDuke

Check oembimmerparts.com for better pricing or getBMWparts.com. All OEM unless plainly mentioned. Then find your indy!

Thanks a lot for the links. I checked them and the prices are pretty good. Just need to get quotes for labor now.

TriX5 · #7 11-04-2011, 11:02 PM

Your dealer probably noticed oil leaking from the bushings and notified you.

I just changed the tension strut bushings and ball joints on my 4.4i. I got the bushings and joints from Pelican for $140 IIRC. It would be about 1.5 hr per side max. So the quote seems a bit on the high side for only one side but in the ballpark for both.

HUGE DIFFERENCE, I don't know why I didn't do this before!

Rado · #8 11-23-2011, 04:13 PM

Ok, so I went to my local indy shop and they checked the lower arms, it turns out that the dealer gave me wrong info, they told me the left lower control arm and it is actually the right one that was bad. I ordered the right one online from oembimmerparts for around $100 and had it replaced today for $100. So, the moral of the story is ... dealership sucks big time for giving me the wrong info and wanted to charge more than twice for job. I'm very disappointed at them.

thunderX · #9 11-29-2011, 11:23 PM

of the tire? I have that problem w/ my tires and want to confirm that I need to replace that part to fix it. Thanks.

Rado · #10 11-29-2011, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thunderX

of the tire? I have that problem w/ my tires and want to confirm that I need to replace that part to fix it. Thanks.

I did not have any bad/unusual wear of the any of the tires. I think the lower arm became loose very recently and did not cause any damage to the wear of the tire itself.

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