Screwed by the dealer

[saluki540i]

In my ongoing 540 renovation I had the displeasure of dealing with a st. louis area bmw dealer. These jokers charged me $740.00 to remove and replace the wheel bearings in the trailing arms. Keep in mind I brought them to the dealer - just the arms, and figured no more than a couple of hours each tops. Wrong - they billed 6 hours total - I'm guessing the billable hours to do it on the car after removing everything and reinstalling after finished. I was so pissed. On top of that I was sitting in traffic with in sight of the dealer for ever so called them to let them know I would be there right at 6:00 - closing time. I walked in at 6 on the nose and the ****ers were all gone. I got the manager and made them go get them - I live 2 hours south in Carbondale & couldn't get back any time soon. Bottom line, watch out for Suntrup West county BMW in MO. They sucked like it was their job. If I didn't need the car back on all 4's to get it on a car hauler to KS, I'd have told them to shove it up their ass. But I'm not bitter......

[Ross]

My local dealer says 4hrs. on the car @$125 BMW's published rate
Some of these guys just get pissed when a customer brings in their own parts or asks for just a partial job.
They ****ed you good. I'd take it up with management, if no satisfaction then beef it with the credit card if that's how you paid.

[DanDombrowski]

I've had the same thing happen with an indy shop for RTABs in the rear control arms. Claimed "they had a hard time getting the bushings out" and charged for 6 hours of labor. Ridiculous.

[Robin-535im]

I've had the same thing happen with an indy shop for RTABs in the rear control arms. Claimed "they had a hard time getting the bushings out" and charged for 6 hours of labor. Ridiculous.

Those things ARE hard to get out... not much to push against and wicked tight. 6 hours is way too high though - hard to imagine it taking more than 2-3 start to finish (true hours, not "book" hours).

[whiskychaser]

6 hours at BMW UK is £720 not $720. Would have thought what you needed was an engineering shop with a nice big press-and a crate of beer for the lads. Sorry to hear you got stung

[mamilapon]

6 hours at BMW UK is £720 not $720. Would have thought what you needed was an engineering shop with a nice big press-and a crate of beer for the lads. Sorry to hear you got stung

Thats what I would have done too...Beers AND all the meat pies they can eat! Those guys at most engineering shops take more pride in their work than the primadonna's at the dealerships!

[saluki540i]

I'd actually done one side myself, but was having difficulty with the stub axles. No one around here would touch them and the only machine shop in town is a pantywaste. Shame on me for not having them quote me first but when you walk in with 2 pristine, freshly powdercoated STA's one would think it wouldn't be bad. I'd already done all the legwork for them. The other thing that irked me was the "tone" of the service writer when he called me on separate occasions - you'd think I was inconveniencing him. The service manager hasn't called me back either. I called him Wed. and was told he was unavailable, so the receptionist took a very detailed mess. & reassured me he'd be in touch. I'm guessing he'd rather be in touch with himself. Again, I'm not bitter...
BTW, Jeff B., I'd like to talk cars with you some time.

[632 Regal]

Tell us how you really feel... LoL
wheel bearings in the trailing arms? The rear wheel bearings? Those are a pain and if you didnt want to try to do it yourself then you got a decent deal. The dealers (stealers) are there to seperate us from out money and rightously so. An indy could have been cheaper but ****ed the job up so youd have had to pay twice. Luck of the draw.

In my ongoing 540 renovation I had the displeasure of dealing with a st. louis area bmw dealer. These jokers charged me $740.00 to remove and replace the wheel bearings in the trailing arms. Keep in mind I brought them to the dealer - just the arms, and figured no more than a couple of hours each tops. Wrong - they billed 6 hours total - I'm guessing the billable hours to do it on the car after removing everything and reinstalling after finished. I was so pissed. On top of that I was sitting in traffic with in sight of the dealer for ever so called them to let them know I would be there right at 6:00 - closing time. I walked in at 6 on the nose and the ****ers were all gone. I got the manager and made them go get them - I live 2 hours south in Carbondale & couldn't get back any time soon. Bottom line, watch out for Suntrup West county BMW in MO. They sucked like it was their job. If I didn't need the car back on all 4's to get it on a car hauler to KS, I'd have told them to shove it up their ass. But I'm not bitter......

[mikell]

Dealer service is for warranty work only.
Find an indy near to home and establish a friendly relationship - be respectful, be fair, refer your friends, etc. You may need to shop around for a good place, but it's worth it if you don't want to do it yourself, don't have the time, etc.