4.6is and me stuck in Houston, need a solid shop

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by panchosouth

RB
Look at first page re Uber Swine!
PS comfort seats now in Little Swine

OH GOSH!

So sorry about Uber swine but glad your Little swine is good and has nice seating upgrade

[panchosouth]

Yup.
Although my recollection is "oh shit!" then a loud bang.

[tmv]

Originally Posted by panchosouth

TAM- should have bought yours!!!

My wife would still drive the 3.0i and our saving would be $10k more. Totally worth it, however.
I'll let you know when I upgrade to the X5M so you can take it
Glad to know it's not as bad as the dealer's quote.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by panchosouth

Ok....
So first of all ABR- these guys (Alex and Gary) are Rock Stars. They worked on the X5 until......wait for it....9PM last night. I don't know of any other shop I have ever been in where two guys would work that late for a late morning walk-in for an out-of-town customer. And...oh yeah, come in 7800.00 under the BMW dealership estimate!
Dropped me off at a restaurant while I waited. Come in at the estimate, actually 60.00 under.
Professional. Considerate. And willing to discuss what is going on, a course of action that worked on the basis of diagnosis then repair, not a shotgun of stuff at what might be the problem and drain my wallet at the same time.
All makes and models by the way. I cannot recommend ABR enough. You guys know what I have been though as of late with the 4.8is and dealers/mechanics, so to make time to make sure these guys get the recognition they deserve.
If you live in Houston, you owe yourself a visit to the guys.

Am I correct that the $7,800 savings was from post 1 estimate?

[panchosouth]

BC
Correct.
Had some while you're in there stuff done, belts etc, plus oil service

TAM
consider me first when you go to sell it, I'm interested!

[panchosouth]

RB
Seats are the best! I had the shop pull them out of the 4.8is

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by panchosouth

BC- MAF and ignition switch, causing signal problems ECU etc. running like a top right now.

I had a MAF problems also. Replace the original MAF with a cheap ebay one that I kept as a spare, but that didn't fix all the problems, so I replace that one with a more expensive eBay MAF. I am happy to say that the MAF problem is fixed. When the weather is warm again I'll look into the coolant temp sensor and when the weather is hot I'll replace the thermostat.

[jsoto]

My Hard Bang with Trans Failsafe - turned out to be a failed tranny. O ring failure - all downhill from there. I noticed it day 1, after day 2, sent it to the shop...

[panchosouth]

Well-
Made it as far as San Luis Potosi when an idler bolt failed....I think. Haven't seen the photos of where he got the bolt from, but if my Spanish (extremely questionable) is right then this was the culprit. Left the Little Swine there and rented a car, drove to Guadalajara, then returned to SLP on Tuesday to p/u. Back in Guad. Ran like a champ, so all the stuff that Alex and Jerry did at the ABR shop took care of the problems. Doing 100mph most of the way down here, still pretty good kit! Reaffirmed my love for these things.

Now: brake light warning, which I hear is a common problem with the tail lights...So, can I upgrade to LED lights?

Sub frame needs to be refreshed, and I'm going to have some rust issues taken care of while I'm at work.

Going to refresh the front suspension too. And brakes. Sigh. Here I go again. MUST replace the steering wheel, as this one kills my hands on long trips...

Photos of the trip gratis!

Local cops helped me lighten my wallet, but gave me a local history (backdrop of my photo is where part of Zorro was shot) to help with the pain. Not bad guys, and I was on the road with no worries shortly. Love the Auto Pista!

[alecu]

That is one long trip. Did you go by yourself? I went to Guadalajara about 2 years ago in the fall with my girlfriend. She's from there.

Are you there on vacation there?