Voss BMW what a racket

[Kibokojoe]

My sister in law took her 2000 E39 528i to a local Bimmerobber. VOSS BMW in Dayton Ohio. Her battery was dead, she need a new windshield wiper arm and a spare key. She called me and said they had told her that they wanted about $3000.00 USD to make all of the repairs she needed. They told her she had a major oil leak and needed a lot of seals and hoses replace. I found the major leak. It was the power steering oil return line. Clamp was loose and oil had leaked all over the front of the engine. She managed to get out of there only paying $465.59 but only got a few things done and had to have the car towed to her home so I could put a battery in.

First they wanted $285.00 for a battery. I found a OE 2 year free replacement 36 month prorated at Batteries Plus for $128.00
VOSS charged her a half hour labor $52.50 to tell her that the battery was dead.

$175.00 for a key, I thought that wasn't too bad
$199.23 to replace the broken wiper arm... Holy crap

Now for the things she didn't get done

Power steering suction and return lines Voss price $480.09 plus tax. Found out this was a loose clamp.

Valve cover gasket and crankcase vent valve. Voss price $985.50 plus tax. I found the gasket for $35.00 and the crankcase vent valve for $41.00

Oil filter housing and vanos oil line Voss price $515.00. Probably won't need this

When the brakes were last installed they failed to install the sensors. Voss price $160.00. If these sensors are like my 5 series there is one in the front and one in the back and they cost like $7 bucks for a whooping $14.00.

These people should be horsewhipped. There should be a law against people like this.

I iz done venting

[dennyg]

Ken, Your message box is full. Sent you paypal for the door braces. Just want to know if you got it and when the parts will ship.....thanks

[Kibokojoe]

I emptied my box. Plates were mailed two days ago. Let me know how you like them, they were a labor of love

[BigKriss]

yeah dealer = $tealer

[Mr._Graybeard]

I think there are some dealers out there that are pretty desperate. Cars aren't selling, especially high end models. So they look to parts and service for revenue. And of course their prices are outrageous, because they set their rates on the basis of warranty work (kind of like the way health insurance pumps up the medical industry, isn't it?)

Your experience reminds me a little of a local garage that did a some work for me from time to time. The first time I used them, it was one guy with two bays in an old filling station, just getting started. His rates were good, and he was careful.

By the next time I brought a car in, it was clear he had made a similar impression on some other people. He had built a second building and hired several mechanics. Business was booming, but his rates weren't so cheap anymore.

Finally, my mother-in-law's car needed some attention, and she came out of the shop with a long list of things that needed doing and a quote in four figures! This was on an 8-year-old Integra that was worth a couple grand at most. She went somewhere else.

A couple months later the shop was out of business, a victim of its own success.

I'm lucky enough to have some pretty good, consumer-friendly indies in the area. One of them, Jenny Morgan, writes for the Roundel. But even there, the bill can take your breath away sometimes.

I think I'm going to need some driveshaft service soon, and I've messed up my shoulder, so I don't want to embark on it myself. I can't wait to see how much they're going to want for that project.

[ScottyWM]

It's not just car dealers. I recently had to replace my water heater. Simple thing, electric not gas, located right in the garage. Thinking that it would take one of the big-box installers about an hour to install, I got a price on having 3 different places do the install (I bought the heater). Two wanted over $400, one would only do it if I bought the heater from them and wanted a total of over $1400!

It took me an hour and a half from start to finish to do it myself with no help. That includes picking it up at the store and driving it home.

If I had to pay for a dealer to maintain my car(s), I couldn't afford them.

[Kibokojoe]

That will cost a pretty penny. I put about 500 into mine and that was a rebuilt shaft and center bearing

[Kibokojoe]

Yeah for myself I only have two people I trust to work on my cars. Mark Hoeffler who is a great mechanic and myself

[Derek A.]

I have found most of the techs at the dealers tend to be module swappers. The keen eye and knack for diagnosis seems to be gone. My local independent had a customer come in , dealer told him he needed a new power seat. As it turn out - the connector under the seat was loose. BMW dealers charge over list price for customer work parts - there is no way to win.

[Ross]

It's precisely this type of incompetence and greed that makes so many mechanics and especially dealer's service departments loathed by so many people.
Props for naming the offenders.

Nothing like a staggering repair estimate to precipitate a cheap sale though, I've been on the beneficial side of that a few times.

This ought to be posted where the guys who buy NEW cars hang out.
Dealers have no use for us E34ers. Our cars just come in and drip oil on their nice terrazzo floor. Why these guys were dumb enough to even think someone would plunk that amount down is beyond me.
I doubt any of the current "techs"(finger down throat) have a clue about our cars anyway.