Fleeced

SHIMBIMMER

SHIMBIMMER

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OK - maybe I deserve it. No. I don't. No one deserves what I just witnessed.

I moved my VERY solid coupe from NoCal to NYC last year. As we all know - parts fail and you fix one thing and something else might fail (asymmetrical strength) on our cars - especially given MOST of the parts on my car are original. A few months after getting it here and driving it in the heat last summer a few things happened.

When on the West Coast the car would run as cool as a cucumber (3:30/4:00 on the temp guage) even if sitting for ten hours running in the hottest of Bay Area parking lots. After a few months it started to heat up to 1:30/2:00 on the dial - but subsided when driving the open roads without traffic back to near "normal". I call it - air cooling.

The drivetrain was very much solid when I brought the car to NYC. Ultimately the center bearing and flex disc failed (even though we had just replaced the flex disc 1000 miles ago). Nevertheless - these things happen.

I found a "referred" shop who has apparently doing a LOT of work on NYC area coupes. "Tons of NOS parts, years of servicing CS and CSi, etc." kind of shop. So - as you might expect from a guy without a wrench background - I took it in for some work.

I'll spare the details - but when I picked up my car today I was told the center bearing was a $250 part and the flex disc another $140 part. They went ahead and replaced them. They also told me that they installed a different degree thermostat and that eventually I might need to swap the radiator (after talking to a very credible wrench who mastered my car in SF that it had a brand new, drilled and correct thermostat and it was likely a failing fan clutch causing the heat issue). No regard. They charged for reconnecting (what wasn't disconnected by my last attempt) the auxiliary fan that even I know has nothing to do with cooling the car.

Net net - what should have been easily diagnosed ended up costing me not only 10 days of not having my car - but an erroneous $300+ to replace parts that should have cost less than $100 and still the car doesn't run as cool as it should. And I'm pissed. And I'm pretty certain the problem is something they didn't even address.

MY QUESTION:

Is there ANYONE in the NYC area that, with my bought parts in hand (new radiator, fan clutch, proper/drilled thermostat) that will simply do the work (the right way) that any of you trust? My car runs like a top. It's not perfect - but it's extremely sound. I simply need someone to do the aforementioned work...without getting that uneasy feeling that I'm sponsored by Astroglide.

Help.
 
I would reserve the word fleeced for overpaid amount in the thousands. Overpaying a few hundred is just a token of appreciation to the shop as long as they did good work :).

Not sure what reconnecting the auxiliary fan means, just plugging in the connector should be free vs. diagnosing or replacing the temp switch in the radiator. Ten days sounds like a little long. Either get a better shop or publish their email address and we will bombard them into good practices like we did to that phanstom seller in Socal.
 
Could you mention the general vicinity of this shop?

There a place out on LI (Hauppauge) that's been fixing bimmers for thirty years, and you will always fine 2002s and e9 coupe there. I hope this isn't the place that fleeced you.

It's a long drive, but there's a 100%pure and honest BMW specialist in western central NJ that will likely let you bring parts. About one hour drive from the holland tunnel: Crotches Auto in Annandale.
 
I can recommend my mechanic without reservation. And he works on three other coupe owners' cars and one rhd Bavaria among many others. Experience, great diagnostic skills, works solo, picks my car up and delivers it when finished, fair pricing.

But he is outside of Stockton, NJ near the Delaware River. If you are interested contact me at: [email protected]

Steve
 
Is there ANYONE in the NYC area that, with my bought parts in hand (new radiator, fan clutch, proper/drilled thermostat) that will simply do the work (the right way) that any of you trust? My car runs like a top. It's not perfect - but it's extremely sound. I simply need someone to do the aforementioned work...without getting that uneasy feeling that I'm sponsored by Astroglide.

I noticed one part of your statement above. Most shops will want to buy the part. They make a little bit of money on the part and then the labor. Unless the parts are unobtanium...
 
I have worked with Ward Jennings in Westport CT in the past. He has owned an e9 himself and is a solid mechanic.
Scott
 
A bit off the wall, but have you considered trying BMW of Manhattan? When I lived in NYC (7 years ago now since I left - can't believe it's been that long) several friends and work colleagues took their vintage cars to the original dealers. I recall from discussing it with some folks that they had good service experiences and in every case where it came up there was some old dude that looked forward to working on their old cars when they came in. The cars I remember were Mercs and 1 Jag but it might be worth a call to see if they could help out. (Also although dealers certainly have sky-high hourly service costs I'm not sure they would feel the need to make money on parts, and in fact might be able to order some.)

I make this suggestion hesitantly since I never dealt with BMW of NYC but with BMW of SF all my experiences have been neutral or worse.
 
Stan said:
Most shops will want to buy the part. They make a little bit of money on the part and then the labor....
Click to expand...

I think the shops' motivation for sourcing parts themselves extends beyond making a mark-up. Shopowners have told me horror stories about customers bringing defective parts, and then blaming the shop when they get a bad result. Or of lifts getting tied up for days when the customer-sourced part is incorrect.

You know the old expression: "If you want it done right, do it yourself"
 
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Just as a general rule of thumb the closer you get to Manhattan the more expensive mechanic’s rates are just because real estate is so damned expensive. Another rule of thumb that applies to body shops is the closer you are to the city the poorer the quality of repair is, I can say that is true from what I’ve actually seen but don’t know if it also applies to mechanical repairs.

Another reason mechanics & body men freak about installing owner bought parts is because there’s so many “fake parts” out there today that take extra time to install and have ridiculously short service lives…. but yes, many look at it as money out of their pockets, I can’t deny that’s a factor. ~ John Buchtenkirch
 
Thanks

...for all of the responses here. Ultimately it feels like work on cars like ours is meant to be collaborative given there are fewer and fewer for hire shops who know how to work on them.

Then again - that's part of the fun, isn't it? :)

I initially thought about bashing the shop who did the work but realized no good comes with that and my car still needs to be fixed. If anyone is interested in more about the vendor and the details - feel free to PM me.

Cheers,
SHIMBO
 
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