Main dealer repair cost, have a guess

[jonathan_dyane]

My wife's E39 saw the inside of a BMW main dealer workshop today for I assume the first time in about 17 years or so as part of the Takata airbag recall.

They later reported it didn't have one of the bad airbags (although the cynical part of me wonders if they say that regardless to avoid the 'you bastards I've been driving round in a death trap' conversation) and as well as a nice wash (for the car not me) they also did a free car 'health check'. This was actually very helpful as they identified both front shocks were leaking which was good to know because it will give me time to replace them before we go to France next year.

They helpfully gave me a price to replace both front shocks, dust covers and associated fixings which might also mean top mounts although this wasn't entirely clear.

Would anyone like a guess at how much?

[loserone]

£450

?

[stuboy]

1200...

[N Dentressangle]

Pushing nicely above £1k I would think.

Shocks must be £150+ a piece from BMW + sundries and vat, plus silly priced dust covers & fixings

Labour at £120 ph ish plus vat probably 1 - 2hrs per side?

[riek]

I've got one here from when my e46 went in. So I'm going to go with £howfuckingmuch

[Macscrooge]

Start with £1,200…

[Agila]

£1550

[Stinkwheel]

I’d guess £749ish

[lesapandre]

I'm going to go over £1500...what's Labour now.. £150ph?

[GeordieInExile]

£2,250.

[jonathan_dyane]

Many of you were much closer than I was; I guessed it would be about £600 but it was £1100. Ouch!

[jonathan_dyane]

Oh and it probably makes more sense if I corrected myself; we're going to France next month not next year. .

[Bren]

VW wanted £750 to replace two xenon headlight bulbs on my mates 2014 passat.

No, that's not a mistake. Seven hundred and fifty quid.

[N Dentressangle]

2 hours ago, jonathan_dyane said:

Many of you were much closer than I was; I guessed it would be about £600 but it was £1100. Ouch!

Yep, that's about what I would have guessed.

Got to pay for the shiny building, pretty girls, coffee and biscuits somehow.

[Matty]

3 minutes ago, N Dentressangle said:

Yep, that's about what I would have guessed.

Got to pay for the shiny building, pretty girls, coffee and biscuits somehow.

In fairness that's how it is. A lad I know a bit recently got quoted 500 quid approx to do some work on his rs6 by an audi dealership. He bought the parts at £ 259 and did the work himself and was scathing about what Audi wanted. The extra 250 quid has to pay for the building, the wages, the utilities etc etc. Sometimes I think people think other folk should work for nowt.

[Wack]

My 2006 l322 range rover went into sytner at knutsford for a brake pipe recall 

I waited with the dolly birds front of house

( definitely there because rich people don't like bad news and they're less likely to kick off to a 23 year old page 3 girl) 

Couldn't fix it because the caliper bleed nipples were rusty and they didn't want to snap them off so I'd need to book it in again 

How much will that be then, £210 + vat per hour and they say 2 hours 

Right, bye then 

I can see that turning into 2 new calipers and £3000 

 

[2flags]

I can see how this could escalate. "Oh sir, while it was up on the ramp, we noticed that the dust boot on a ball joint was damaged, and the drive shaft gaiter was split. That will be £35+vat for the parts and 3 hours labour." So that will be HFM????

[Vimesy]

If it's £210 +vat per hour in Manchester, how much are London main dealers charging per hour these days?

[loserone]

2 hours ago, Wack said:

less likely to kick off to a 23 year old page 3 girl

I imagine they get a tonne of abuse to be fair

[sierraman]

A 2006 Range Rover under the scrutiny of a JLR condition report… change the toner and load the printer up! 😂

[Tenmil Socket]

On 12/04/2024 at 23:33, Matty said:

In fairness that's how it is. A lad I know a bit recently got quoted 500 quid approx to do some work on his rs6 by an audi dealership. He bought the parts at £ 259 and did the work himself and was scathing about what Audi wanted. The extra 250 quid has to pay for the building, the wages, the utilities etc etc. Sometimes I think people think other folk should work for nowt.

That seems pretty cheap to be fair considering how much the parts cost.

[sierraman]

On 12/04/2024 at 23:33, Matty said:

In fairness that's how it is. A lad I know a bit recently got quoted 500 quid approx to do some work on his rs6 by an audi dealership. He bought the parts at £ 259 and did the work himself and was scathing about what Audi wanted. The extra 250 quid has to pay for the building, the wages, the utilities etc etc. Sometimes I think people think other folk should work for nowt.

I’d be wondering if he was financially in a position to run such a vehicle if it meant a £250 Labour charge would cause a problem. 

[MikeR]

I got reamed out for 600 notes to have the 240 rear upper tie bar bushes replaced at a Volvo stealer many years ago , it was the first and last time , even the rad was over quoted when a 35 note rebuild could be fitted at the time , both dealers are shut now ..... 

[artdjones]

Far be it from me to defend main dealers, but the ones to blame for all this are the manufacturers.

Margins on new cars are low. The manufacturers insist on the franchise having a huge glass showroom, they also change signage and point of sale graphics at their discretion, but the dealer has to pay for it.  Likewise with a complete set of special tools and diagnostic equipment, where the manufacturer sets the exorbitant price. If the car maker decides to can you, that's it, they can do it on a whim, with a very short notice period, leaving the dealership in hock to the eyeballs with no way to pay the loans off. They will remove the signage etc. that the dealer paid for very quickly. So you get £210+VAT labour rates, because it's only through parts and service that the company can make enough money to ensure that loss of the franchise won't result in immediate bankruptcy.

It seems to be a particularly UK/Ireland system of doing business. French, German, Spanish, and Italian dealers are much more modest in size. In France there's an unpretentious Citroen, Peugeot, or Renault dealer in every small town, sometimes more than one.

[leakingstrut]

5 hours ago, Wack said:

My 2006 l322 range rover went into sytner at knutsford for a brake pipe recall 

I waited with the dolly birds front of house

( definitely there because rich people don't like bad news and they're less likely to kick off to a 23 year old page 3 girl) 

Couldn't fix it because the caliper bleed nipples were rusty and they didn't want to snap them off so I'd need to book it in again 

How much will that be then, £210 + vat per hour and they say 2 hours 

Right, bye then 

I can see that turning into 2 new calipers and £3000 

 

Surely if it’s their responsibility to do the recall, it’s their responsibility to fix anything they break while doing it? They are the ones who made the bloody car wrong in the first place! 

[Cavcraft]

Reminds me I forgot to add what Mercedes said about my 23 year old ML back in August:

 

Inspection notes: 

Difficult to start, requires investigation: £

Rear  brake pipes corroding: £ 

Play in both front bottom ball joints  inc. nuts £

Play in both rear bottom ball joints inc nuts and cable sleeves £

Play in offside front inner and outer track rod ends

Two tyres £

'Spare missing'  (assuming they mean the wheel, it isn't) £

 

Anyone want to guess the total?

 

[grogee]

4 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

Reminds me I forgot to add what Mercedes said about my 23 year old ML back in August:

 

Inspection notes: 

Difficult to start, requires investigation: £

Rear  brake pipes corroding: £ 

Play in both front bottom ball joints  inc. nuts £

Play in both rear bottom ball joints inc nuts and cable sleeves £

Play in offside front inner and outer track rod ends

Two tyres £

'Spare missing'  (assuming they mean the wheel, it isn't) £

 

Anyone want to guess the total?

 

£1798+VAT

[808 Estate]

6 hours ago, Wack said:

people don't like bad news and they're less likely to kick off to a 23 year old page 3 girl

 

"I'm sorry Sir. Please feel free to stare at my tits until you feel better"

[Rust Collector]

11 minutes ago, 808 Estate said:

"I'm sorry Sir. Please feel free to stare at my tits until you feel better"

'But I was already doing that before you told me my car was fucked!'

[Schaefft]

55 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

Reminds me I forgot to add what Mercedes said about my 23 year old ML back in August:

 

Inspection notes: 

Difficult to start, requires investigation: £

Rear  brake pipes corroding: £ 

Play in both front bottom ball joints  inc. nuts £

Play in both rear bottom ball joints inc nuts and cable sleeves £

Play in offside front inner and outer track rod ends

Two tyres £

'Spare missing'  (assuming they mean the wheel, it isn't) £

 

Anyone want to guess the total?

 

3.5k plus vat