Questions you thought were too dumb to ask E53 edition

[luvmy03E53]

If a dealer quotes you 3-4 hours labor, they should be taken out back and shot. I've done the job. I took my time since it was my first, and admittedly didn't finish in less time than that, but if I had to do it again, I could do it in under 2. I'd certainly expect your dealer tech to be able to do it quicker than I could.
But then, they don't call them "stealers" for nothing...

[tmv]

^Yup, $tealer. They charge you book time, not actual time.

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by tmv

^Yup, $tealer. They charge you book time, not actual time.

That's what I'm saying guys, book time is probably 3-4 hours on the job. A dealer tech probably gets it done in half the time, they get paid full book time on a job so their incentive is to get it done as quick as they can.

Obviously it works the other way as well, if something breaks or strips in the middle of a job or something unexpected they don't get the extra time working on it paid, only book time for the service performed.

[racingbmwm3]

It works both ways, but typically on the better end for the tech. Usually all at one end of the spectrum at a time is when its really noticeable. So a good 45-50 hours worked could result in 60 hours of paid time. But then there's the week where 50 hours only results in 20-30 hours paid. And during slow seasons, there is alot of time spent standing around or cleaning your tools and bench waiting for work and maybe only getting 30 hours/week. No salary, so you only get paid for the jobs you do. Slow season for BMW seems to coincide with the holidays and tax season, so from November through April you are lucky to get 40 hours paid while working 45-50 hours.

Indy's also work off book time, which can be a good thing on older vehicles, but a bad thing on not so old vehicles. One of my friends was ridiculously overcharged for a bunch of book time jobs that had significant amounts of overlap. I estimated he paid for an extra 7 hours of work that was probably already charged for via other jobs that were done at the same time.

[THE VEIN]

Originally Posted by racingbmwm3

Indy's also work off book time, which can be a good thing on older vehicles, but a bad thing on not so old vehicles. One of my friends was ridiculously overcharged for a bunch of book time jobs that had significant amounts of overlap. I estimated he paid for an extra 7 hours of work that was probably already charged for via other jobs that were done at the same time.

this happened to me before. my brothers friend recommended me a shop close to my house and I changed front thrust arm bushings with both ball joints t stat water pump all belts and pulleys valve cover gasket and oil filter housing gasket and they charged me separate for every job. I ended up paying like 1500 for 5 hours of labor

[ProfessorX5]

Fiends!

If it wasn't so cold I'd try the CCV myself :P

[ProfessorX5]

Anyone know a good place for parts in Canada? I've been pricing CCV parts, and the stores here are charging absurd markups. For ex: $168 for the valve alone, which I can get from autopartsway.ca for about $60. The real trick is finding the hoses. None of the Canadian sites stock the insulated ones, and I'd like to avoid the customs fees I'd have to pay if I order from ECS.

[puddinboo]

I`ve order a ton off stuff from the states and only got charged custom fees once. whether its on ebay or from internet sites like ecs.

[ProfessorX5]

Neat, though it looks like I found a place in Mississauga that has the complete CCV kit for $200, which is about what ecs would charge with shipping. Their number: (905) 820-4651

[racingbmwm3]

Originally Posted by THE VEIN

this happened to me before. my brothers friend recommended me a shop close to my house and I changed front thrust arm bushings with both ball joints t stat water pump all belts and pulleys valve cover gasket and oil filter housing gasket and they charged me separate for every job. I ended up paying like 1500 for 5 hours of labor

This can depend on who is doing the quote also. Some shops the service advisor could be writing the labor quote and may not know what exactly overlaps what and how much they overlap. Or if the tech is writing the labor quote they could go for broke (you not them) and write it all individual. A good shop should do a price breakdown for you on the quote: these jobs require these parts and this much time individually, but if you choose to do this AND this at the same time it will only be this much labor. FYI, the software at the BMW dealer gives flat rates for individual jobs AND combinations. Unfortunately, there's quite a few dishonest SA's and techs out there who only look at the individual rates when quoting non-warranty work. I don't know if the indy shops' software will do the same thing or not.