Control Arms + Bushing - E46

2001 BMW 325i

Just got a call from 'alternate' BMW Service (Strictly BMW - Bellevue,
WA). I went in for replacing rear brakes, but he ALSO has found that
front control arm is wobbly(?) and needs to be replaced (additional
cost $775)

I have no clue, so came here for advice. How critical is it, and is the
price right? ($775)

Should I take it to the real BMW dealer for a second opionion?

He is asking me to sign a waiver that he told me about it, and i chose
not to act on it. - SCARY!

BTW - my car is out of warranty (43K miles 4+ years) - I read in the
other thread that if you complain to BMW, I might get a partial refund
(as its low miles) as the part might be defective?

I have two problems here, 1.) is that you need bushings already. This is
possible, but my gut feeling is that the bushings are not worn out already.
I have a '94 E36 that I put 120k miles on in 4 years, and I had no trouble
with the control arm pushings. These bushings doo need to be replaced, but I
have to wonder if they need to be replaced at 43k miles, and 2.) $775 is
very steep. You can buy the bushings for about $25, give or take, and lots
of people put them in at home. One does need a press to make the job easy,
but lots of guys take the lower control arm off and carry it down to a
repair shop and pay the guys there $10 to press the old one off and the new
one on. Some of us use a large hammer and a punch to extract the old part
and set the new one. I don't think this job is 1.) necessary, and 2.) worth
the cost.

Having said that, I would recommend staying at an independent BMW shop.
Maybe you need an different shop ...




> wrote in message
oups.com...
> 2001 BMW 325i
>
> Just got a call from 'alternate' BMW Service (Strictly BMW - Bellevue,
> WA). I went in for replacing rear brakes, but he ALSO has found that
> front control arm is wobbly(?) and needs to be replaced (additional
> cost $775)
>
> I have no clue, so came here for advice. How critical is it, and is the
> price right? ($775)
>
> Should I take it to the real BMW dealer for a second opionion?
>
> He is asking me to sign a waiver that he told me about it, and i chose
> not to act on it. - SCARY!
>

"Jeff Strickland" > wrote
> Having said that, I would recommend staying at an independent BMW shop.
> Maybe you need an different shop ...

Well, Ron and his crew are pretty responsible and do good work.
Given that, I'm also surprised that an '01 with relatively low miles in
the mild Seattle climate would need replacing.

It's certainly not a problem you should be worried about if you
continue driving it.

FloydR

Floyd,
What sort of price tag should this job carry?



"Floyd Rogers" > wrote in message
...
> "Jeff Strickland" > wrote
>> Having said that, I would recommend staying at an independent BMW shop.
>> Maybe you need an different shop ...
>
> Well, Ron and his crew are pretty responsible and do good work.
> Given that, I'm also surprised that an '01 with relatively low miles in
> the mild Seattle climate would need replacing.
>
> It's certainly not a problem you should be worried about if you
> continue driving it.
>
> FloydR

He gave a pretty grave warning and that scared me...
"I wouldnt let anyone drive out with it, if u do, you need to sign this
waiver - but this can cause a nasty accident"

anyway - i called bellevue BMW, and set up an appointment in 4 days -
they quoted almost the same price ($780), so i figured they better take
a look at it again.

> wrote
> He gave a pretty grave warning and that scared me...
> "I wouldnt let anyone drive out with it, if u do, you need to sign this
> waiver - but this can cause a nasty accident"
>
> anyway - i called bellevue BMW, and set up an appointment in 4 days -
> they quoted almost the same price ($780), so i figured they better take
> a look at it again.

Hmmm. Doesn't sound like Derek or Ron or the office manager...
The price is probably *about* right, but can be done much more cheaply
by buying the parts and doing them yourself or having a cheaper shop
do the work.

I've shifted to Eastside Bavarian in Issaquah (because they're much closer -
they opened a couple of years ago.) A couple of former Strictly BMW techs
own/run the place, so I don't know if that's a good recommendation in
this case. Auburn Foreign also has a good rep, but they're just as
expensive (as my brother found out with his '94 325is.)

I don't know anything about the place behind the Factoria Mall. I've
actually heard better things about BMW Seattle's service dept than
Bellevue, YMMV. Although all my warranty work was done at Bellevue
and I never had problems.

FloydR

It's probably a good idea to shop around. I agree with Jeff that there's no
way that these part can be worn out at 43k unless you commute to work every
day on a logging road. I drove a 318i to 340k miles and only replaced the
control arms once at 160,000. The parts numbers are different on your car
but they still have the same configuration. As far as the danger goes, I
would think that your car would start to show some symptoms like a shimmy or
vibration long before these parts came close to actually failing. If there
is any significant wear in these joints the first symptom your car should
develop is the tendancy to wander around in the lane whenever you encounter
those "skiers ruts" on the freeway caused by the studded snow tires. Just
my 2 cents.


> wrote in message
oups.com...
> He gave a pretty grave warning and that scared me...
> "I wouldnt let anyone drive out with it, if u do, you need to sign this
> waiver - but this can cause a nasty accident"
>
> anyway - i called bellevue BMW, and set up an appointment in 4 days -
> they quoted almost the same price ($780), so i figured they better take
> a look at it again.
>

Jeff Strickland wrote:
> I have two problems here, 1.) is that you need bushings already. This is
> possible, but my gut feeling is that the bushings are not worn out
> already. I have a '94 E36 that I put 120k miles on in 4 years, and I had
> no trouble with the control arm pushings. These bushings doo need to be
> replaced, but I have to wonder if they need to be replaced at 43k miles,
> and 2.) $775 is very steep. You can buy the bushings for about $25, give
> or take, and lots of people put them in at home. One does need a press
> to make the job easy, but lots of guys take the lower control arm off
> and carry it down to a repair shop and pay the guys there $10 to press
> the old one off and the new one on. Some of us use a large hammer and a
> punch to extract the old part and set the new one. I don't think this
> job is 1.) necessary, and 2.) worth the cost.
>
> Having said that, I would recommend staying at an independent BMW shop.
> Maybe you need an different shop ...
>


The point that you missed is that they said the car needs control arms
and bushings. Not just bushings. I'm guessing that is because the ball
joints are shot. E46 cars cannot have the balljoints pressed in like
(the much maligned) E36s. If I were springing for new control arms I
would also replace the bushings. Just makes good sense.

Now as to being premature... I have seen balljoints last 100k miles.
And I have seen them worn out in 15k miles. Especially if the car was
operated with mis balanced or out of round wheels.

So, is it possible they are shot in 40k miles? Sure.

--
-Fred W
Toys for sale, Hey get your toys he
<http://users.adelphia.net/~fredwills/>

Jack wrote:
> It's probably a good idea to shop around. I agree with Jeff that there's no
> way that these part can be worn out at 43k unless you commute to work every
> day on a logging road. I drove a 318i to 340k miles and only replaced the
> control arms once at 160,000. The parts numbers are different on your car
> but they still have the same configuration. As far as the danger goes, I
> would think that your car would start to show some symptoms like a shimmy or
> vibration long before these parts came close to actually failing. If there
> is any significant wear in these joints the first symptom your car should
> develop is the tendancy to wander around in the lane whenever you encounter
> those "skiers ruts" on the freeway caused by the studded snow tires. Just
> my 2 cents.
>

And that is all your opinion is worth... 2 cents.

It is extremely easy to determine if balljoints are worn or not. There
is no subjectivity. If they are, and it is an E46 then the control arms
need to be replaced. End of story.

--
-Fred W
Toys for sale, Hey get your toys he
<http://users.adelphia.net/~fredwills/>