Stealership pricing. We all know, but DANG!!

[Blade69]

I went in because my driver door wouldn't open. It would unlock, but not open when you pull on the handle. My first hope was that something was just bent and can be bent back. Not the case. He said the carrier was broken. I also told him I had a wobble in the front left wheel. Here's what he came back with:

Carrier - $448
Tie Rod assembly - $307
Thrust arm bushings - $554 (I don't even know what those are...lol)
CV boot....not boots - $425
4 tires - $2460 (No doubt the Diamaris)
Alignment - $180
TOTAL = $4374

I mean, I know they have to do some markup. They have employees to pay. But seriously???? A quick search found:

Carrier for $105 OE (less if aftermarket) DIY
Lemforder Tie Rod Assembly $68
Thrust arm bushings - $40
CV boots (plural) - $40
4 Tires - $838 (Toyo Proxes ST IIs) Add $120 for balancing
Alignment - $80
3 hrs labor - $240
TOTAL = 1491

A savings of $2883. I know to most of you, that's nothing, but with the ability to go research and get such a drastic savings, you would think they would try to price themselves a little more competitively.

Ok..my rant is over.

[epdarks]

I'm with you 100%. They pray on people with no car knowledge. The majority of owners don't know of Internet forums or getbmwparts.com. They are forced to go to the dealer and trust they are being treated fairly. Knowledge really is power in your case, it's easier to know when the prices are way out of line.

Did they say why you needed all of those parts and 4 tires? Of course not. Ask them to put the car in the air and show you what is wrong. Once you show you aren't a soccer mom with a blank check they will be more careful when they pull these "required" parts out of their ass.

Most importantly never go to a dealer unless you absolutely have to, always try a BMW Indy first.

[SlickGT1]

Damn, that's a serious price difference.

[motordavid]

That dlr was just trying to repair your door carrier, at a very good gross margin profit...they found 'other concerns' to bring to your attention.
GL, mD

[Blade69]

Originally Posted by epdarks

Did they say why you needed all of those parts and 4 tires? Of course not. Ask them to put the car in the air and show you what is wrong. Once you show you aren't a soccer mom with a blank check they will be more careful when they pull these "required" parts out of their ass.

Most importantly never go to a dealer unless you absolutely have to, always try a BMW Indy first.

Well, I told them I had a wobble in the front left wheel. I suspected the tie rod because I had gotten the passenger side fixed at a local Indy when I first got it. Now that I think about it, the Indy shop said I might need the boot done, but at that time it wasn't serious. The bushings weren't discussed. The tires were suspect...I bought some used ones because at the time, I didn't want to spend the money on new ones. So everything with the exception of the bushings were justifiable. It's the price that's ridiculous. I look at it like this, I spent $130 to find out everything that was wrong. Now I can spend 1/3 of what they wanted and get everything fixed.

Oh..I forgot to mention they wanted $130 just to change the brake sensor...lol. I know how to do my own brakes so I'm guessing the sensor shouldn't be too difficult. I found a pair (f/r) for $18.

[bastereo]

Really you bought tires at the dealer. Sorry. You need to learn to say no.
And you have to pay parts and hourly labor to install them. And the dealer will not use aftermarket parts, and BMW sets the parts prices not the dealer.
So, yes you overpaid, but you also chose to take it to the dealer. An Indy would have saved you cash and this place would have saved you more but cost you time if you could handle the repairs...

And the thrust arm bushings aren't suspect in my mind, they tear or leak(some are fluid filled) all the time. Not a very long lasting part.

Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express

[PersonaNonGrata]

That's one of the reasons xoutpost is so great. You can learn to DIY or at least know what is a good deal and what it not.

[Blade69]

Originally Posted by bastereo

Really you bought tires at the dealer.

No....I didn't buy anything at the dealer. I know better than that

[Ricky Bobby]

2469 for Diamaris, yuck. The tires better come with a hooker for 600 apiece

[Phr3d]

The only problem that I see with the math above is that labor isn't broken out for the dealership. We -know- that stealer labor is high, but we also know that stealer techs get BMW training that many Indy's do not. Whether that makes it a fair labor charge is obviously up to the customer. As ref'd the tires should be removed from the mix, I know Ford has run a couple specials on tires, but typically common knowledge, Not the place to buy tires, let alone Those tires, lol. So a comparison to a diff brand..

I'll trust that the parts list is actual parts charge and that there was a line specifying labor.. as written, it seems that the prices are listed 'installed'.