Front Lower Control Arms
 

I just brought my '03 4.4 in for service (about 60,000 miles). One of the reasons was creaking in the front suspension when turning at low speed. The diagnosis was that the lower control arms are getting pretty worn and will need replacement soon. I was quoted $850 for this, and I was told it wasn't covered under my extended/certified warranty that I bought a year or so ago (which is fine if that's really the case). Any thoughts on any of this? I just want to make sure I'm not missing something here...

By the way - yo to my X5 crew from the Roadfly days... ltns...

do it yourself!
http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/s...trol-arms.html

Good call! Looks like a fairly easy DIY and it will save over $700 according to the OP's quote. Parts are only about 15% of the total job!

get them form ebay cheap, like $100 for both if i recall.

I changed mine myself not hard got parts from ebay.

Hal88 and rcoffer,

did you guys get an OEM set from ebay? or an aftermarket one?
if you guys got aftermarket one such as (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-B...pagenameZWDVW),
how was the fitment and product quality?

I am curious about this also.

There is only a $20 difference or so in price between aftermarket and OEM. If it were me, I would play it safe and go OEM for such a small amount of money. Sometimes those parts look really nice, but the rubber boots don't hold up as well as OEM.

no more $20 difference btwn aftermarket and OEM after BMW increased part price.
at this moment, retail price for one of OEM control arm is $188.75
so for two as a set, it will be $377.50. :thumbdown
that's why I was considering aftermarket one, since you can get a set from ebay for around $100.

OT...
Hey, Labatt!
Good to read you again!
Has Spring come to the CapDist yet?! ;>)
BR,mD

Oh, Wow! That is a huge price increase from what they were quoted as in that 2006 DIY article. Why is it so much more expensive now?