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It may only have 88k on it, but it's almost 20 years old.
The E31 had electronically adjustable suspension. The cost is so high because factory BMW parts have become unobtainable. You can get a full coilover suspension, front and rear, for $1k.
Sounds like the car was never maintained.
He has actually been on top of everything with the car, he hasnt seen any sort of leaks, but they said the power steering hose had a lea, the radiator had a leak, and the rubber on the control arms were wearing, but I guess at 18yrs old rubber will wear out.
And you go on Rockauto and the Shocks are $250 each SMH
Funny you mention that. I did a quick search yesterday and found Billstein struts for $279 each! Does this mean that they're charging him almost 7 grand in labor? LOL.
Funny you mention that. I did a quick search yesterday and found Billstein struts for $279 each! Does this mean that they're charging him almost 7 grand in labor? LOL.
Another poster mentioned the car having electronically adjustable suspension...if that is true you could replace the struts with regular "cheap" struts and just disable that system. Maybe the price quote includes struts that are only available from BMW or some specific source that sells the OEM style struts for that car and that ability.
When you buy an old car like that, anything oddball and vehicle specific becomes a huge liability. Four wheel steering, air ride, adjustable dampers, active aero, etc...
BILSTEIN Brand @ $230 and the only option, but unless they were replacing almost every component around the Shock, the Quote was for the Shocks only @ $4000 each end and then separate quotes to replace control arms too.
I still couldn't believe it, as the most expensive shocks ive seen to date was my friends Benz CLS @ $1100 a piece
BILSTEIN Brand @ $230 and the only option, but unless they were replacing almost every component around the Shock, the Quote was for the Shocks only @ $4000 each end and then separate quotes to replace control arms too.
I still couldn't believe it, as the most expensive shocks ive seen to date was my friends Benz CLS @ $1100 a piece
If they are going to ********* at least offer some foreplay
BILSTEIN Brand @ $230 and the only option, but unless they were replacing almost every component around the Shock, the Quote was for the Shocks only @ $4000 each end and then separate quotes to replace control arms too.
I still couldn't believe it, as the most expensive shocks ive seen to date was my friends Benz CLS @ $1100 a piece
As mentioned by others, that 8 series must have the EDC option. The front struts are something like 1400 (each) msrp and the rear shocks are not much cheaper either. I think people just swap with non-EDC when the time comes.
Agreed, pretty biased, inflammatory article. That being said, BMW's do seem to be the worst German brand for reliability these days. Their older models were pretty reliable.
And as far as ALL German cars being unreliable, that is just false. My parents and I have owned multiple Porsche and Mercedes models over the years and they've all been fantastic cars.
You guys must not read Jalopnik very often - that is their writing style - inflammatory but underneath it the truth. As the owner of multiple BMWs with friends with Multiple BMWs I can say that almost everything they say is true. The problems include
Repeated failures of High Pressure Fuel Pumps
Turbo Failures
Fuel Injector failures
Transmission Faults
Active Steering Faults
The are multiple $,000 to repair and these failures on cars with < 50K miles. Of course many more small niggling problems after that - try key holder for $500+ to replace because the key falls out of the slot. The "Free" maintenance amounts to 1 oil change every ~17K miles - on a turbo motor no less !
- the Turbo straight 6 introduced in about 2007 was not reliable; the Turbo V8 introduced in 2011 was not reliable
- some warranties were extended without public announcements so that owners who complained to BMW NA about the problems could get them fixed beyond warranty for no or reduced cost - if your second owner or your dealer sucks than just too bad for you.
These problems May have been fixed but who knows ?
The used car market has spoken ! Try to value your 5 year old BMW out of warranty and you will see it out-valued by Lexus, Infinity, Acura and many others which means you must absorb massive depreciation. Sorry to say, but the pursuit of bigger market share has caused BMW to abandon their corporate engineering principles. It is simply not the same company it used to be.
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