Yep, not a cheap town. I called around a bit and searched this site. For Bosch OEM it seems like I could have saved maybe $50-$75 but at that point the car was at the shop and I was probably already into them for a diagnostic fee.

I plan to DIY once I head back west but for now I'm at the mercy of the indy. The car only has 80k miles so I'm hoping repairs are minimal.

Not knowing who you use for an Indy, I would recommend Gary Martin at Martin Motorsports in Alex near the Van Dorn Metro stop.

That's very kind of you. As I mentioned elsewhere I don't plan to stay in the DMV too much longer but plans can change. Thank you for the offer.

Interesting. The shop I've used 2-3 times now, which I don't want to shame publicly by name, is in that same area. They seem to do good work but their labor has been high every time and I had to haggle on some of their parts pricing.

I know of one more repair I'll need while out here so maybe I'll check with Gary and compare. Having the metro stop right there makes the area fairly convenient

After my Interstate wet the bed this week from 3 weeks of screwing around with the radio install, I just picked up a new battery. Stereo geeks suggest that it's good for clean power and better (in their opinion) than the Optima brand- which does not show a direct replacement for the E53. I believe that many others have used an Optima in an E53, but I liked that this brand had a direct replacement.

It's expensive @ $350 delivered, but I'll replace it myself.

Cray Cray ? The battery clamp - is it stainless ? The last time I changed it, the negative was a bit iffy - cold welded/seized. Ended up scouring the net to find a replacement T bolt.

From Capt Obvious: Wash with baking soda water mix to neutralize the acid from the battery. White crap on the post too!