Ok I am beyond enraged right now. My sister is in Winston-Salem, NC @ Wake Forest and she called upset late last week saying her car (which she has down there) makes a thunking noise that she can feel in the shifter and steering wheel (?). Shes very difficult to talk to - she doesn't know where it's coming from, the circumstances that cause it - nothing. She just said it makes a bad noise and shakes. Then she popped the hood and said the motor is shaking. It's a 1995 530i - the V8 always sort of moves a little bit. So, I have no idea what to do. The car is a LONG WAY from here (PA). So my mom has her drive it to the dealer (Flow BMW of Winston-Salem) which is only 4 miles from her school.

I get an e-mail today from my mother saying that they diagnosed the car as needing an oxygen sensor. What-the-hell. I did oxygen sensors on the car < 2 years ago (both). How the hell could they diagnose a thunking/noise to an oxygen sensor. I am extremely irritated right now because I am not near the car and they're pulling strings. My mother followed that e-mail up with a price estimate of $775 for an oxygen sensor. First, NO, this mechanical issue is not an oxygen sensor - I am thinking guibo (which I replaced 2 years ago) or a CSB (which I did not). Second, who the hell in their right mind keeps a straight face when they tell someone over the phone that a car needs an oxygen sensor for a V8 that can be accessed without lifting the car, for $775.

I feel that they are jeopardizing my sisters safety - if this car is making thunking noises and shes 19 in NC by herself at school and I cannot look at it, she's going to drive it based on their diagnosis of a failed oxygen sensor?!

At first I was frustrated that they said O2 sensor - then I almost punched my desk when I saw how badly they are trying to rip my mother and sister. Its a 530, it has TWO oxygen sensors. Even at two, nearly $1000? I am making a phone call, and it may not be pretty.