BMW Svc Dept prices

#1

I had a local BMW service dept give me a quote for the following since I am a fairly newbie wrencher & wasn’t sure I wanted to tackle them 1st time out. (Hourly rate $85): Replace timing belt & water pump 4.5 hrs; replace rear subframe bushings 6 hrs.
Man, I hate to pay this, but does it sound about right?

Here are some other’s they quoted which I think I can do myself with Bentley’s in hand, but let me know if any are a trap for the unwary newbie: replace oil pan gasket 4 hrs; rear transmisssion seals 3 hrs; ft c/arms 2 hrs; ft c/arm bushings 2 hrs; ft tie rods 1.5 hrs; 3 p/s hoses 2 hrs.
Jeebus, 4 hrs on oil pan gasket? Is there something hard about this I’m missing? Their prices on parts are of course fairly high also.

I do have a buddy with (some) experience who will help.
Any comments appreciated.
Tom

#2

Hours sound about ok to me with exception of timing belt and water pump (maybe a bit less). Timing belt and H2o pump are not that hard to do though (email me and I’ll send you a write up ; my email addy should be in my profle). Removing oil pan is a PITA job because in order to remove it you have to clear oil pump and oil pressure sender. There are various combinations how to accomplish this including jacking up the engine and/or repositioning steering rack…If you makes you feel better where I live (SF Bay Area) labor rate is $100/h or a bit more.
Regards,
Igor

#3

I think the labor is fairly accurate.
I’d also concur that the timing belt and water pump are something you can do yourself, and probably sould learn to do, since it’s a regular maintenance item. Did you remove the clutch fan yet? That makes it worlds easier, and would reduce the total amount of time for the job as well.
Where are you located? Maybe someone near you can lend a hand.

#4

I’m doing a lot more on this car than I’ve ever done before because I want to learn. Good sources are
Bentley e30 repair manual
Wayne Dempsey’s 101 Performance Projects for Your BMW 3 series (pelicanparts.com) and the tech articles at that site http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/tech_main.htm

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1577

and this new link is for an online version of the e30 dealer repair manual
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173644

there are lots of other diy writeups out there that can usually be found with google.
cheers,
bruce

#5

the hours seem about right, oilpan is a PITA. I see they are jacking you to duplicate labor…2 hours to do CA’s then another 2 hours to do the bushings??WTF. run away from that place.
where do you live? There is bound to be a local mechanic that has a soft spot for Bimmers that may be a good guy to get to know. T belt and H2o aren’t really that hard, just time consuming the first time you do it. Buy the Bentley and read it. It is well worth the price.

#6

I was a novice mechanic and did the timing belt and water pump myself. It probably took me about 7 hours, but I enjoyed it and learned a lot. At the track my motor mounts broke, and the knowledge I gained from fussing with the timing belt gave me the confidence to swap out the mounts in the paddoc in a little more than one hour because I knew my way around the engine bay a bit.

Good luck,
Sasha

#7

Ex36 wrote:

[quote]I was a novice mechanic and did the timing belt and water pump myself. It probably took me about 7 hours, but I enjoyed it and learned a lot. At the track my motor mounts broke, and the knowledge I gained from fussing with the timing belt gave me the confidence to swap out the mounts in the paddoc in a little more than one hour because I knew my way around the engine bay a bit.

Good luck,
Sasha[/quote]

I’m with Sasha on this one… the more you work on your own car, the more you’re going to know about it.

Plus think of it like this:
5 hours of work done by your service dept. = Sway bars
6 hours of work done by your service dept. = Set of shaved RA1’s
8 hours of you under the hood = A few more things in your bag of tricks :wink:

#8

I started working on cars when I bought my first one 24 years ago. As it’s been pointed out you can save lots by doing it yourself. I’m sure building a race car is 100-200 hours, depending on what needs to be done. Sean’s advice about the bentley book is correct, it’s very valuable. Also web sites devoted to BMW’s some have step by step with pictures How To’s. If your filthy rich and don’t want to turn a wrench that’s OK. Most of the time I enjoy the work and get a big satisfaction from doing it myself. It helps to have a friend you knows more about e30’s than I do.

#9

I’ll add that nobody is going to take the same care as you will when working on your car.

There are some great shops out there (DP Motorworks, and Dan Martin’s shop come to mind) that do an outstanding job, especially on race cars. But there’s a only a handful of guys that I will trust with the car.

I would NEVER let the local BMW dealership, or a mom-and-pop shop do any work on my car (forget some of the chains, like Jiffy Lube, or NTB). They mess up more than they fix.

Plus, when (not if) something breaks at the track, it’s good to be able to dive in and fix it yourself.

For the money of yoru first major repair, you can buy a set of tools and a bentley/chilton/haynes manual and a case of beer to get you started. Plus you’ve always got this board as a resource!

Good luck!
-Vic

#10

Where are you located?

Forget the dealer, they are in the business of doing warrenty work and fixing late model BMW’s, your car will be an unwanted distraction that they will put their worst tech on.

The satisfaction of learning how to do these things yourself will be great. You will screw some things up, but that is part of the process. I still screw plenty of things up, and I have been wrenching my own stuff since my Austin Healey days in college.

Remember:

Lefty Loosey
Righty Tighty

Applies to most nuts and bolts on your BMW except the fan clutch nut, and one of our local mechanics could not figure that out so he cut it off with a torch, melted the timing belt and ruined the engine…

Al

#11

One more data point to add to this discussion. Last May, I needed some work done on my Miata and decided that I should get a "pro" to do the work. So I brought the car down to a "race car preparation shop" here in California and got back a car that needed to have all the work redone. The lack of attention to detail and poor worksmanship was disturbing, especially considering that the work involved safety equipment. From that point on, I decided to do most of the maintenance work myself and only sent the car out to shops that have a good, proven reputation for special work. Like someone else said, "No one cares more about your car than you do."

#12

Just a note of thanx to all you guys responding with great advice & encouragement. Special thnax to Igor who sent me a greatly-detailed walk-thru on timing belt/water pump replacement (with photos). I just got these items by mail today along with fan clutch & Sunday the fun begins. I’m psyched. Also found limited slip diff on ebay for cheap & it’s on the way too. After that she goes to the pro for roll cage & I will finish suspension etc when she gets back. It’s gonna happen!
Tom:lol:

#13

Just a note of thanx to all you guys responding with great advice & encouragement. Special thnax to Igor who sent me a greatly-detailed walk-thru on timing belt/water pump replacement (with photos). I just got these items by mail today along with fan clutch & Sunday the fun begins. I’m psyched. Also found limited slip diff on ebay for cheap & it’s on the way too. After that she goes to the pro for roll cage & I will finish suspension etc when she gets back. It’s gonna happen!
Tom:lol: