Why I'm glad I know how to work on cars

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bavbob

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Friend owns a 2022 M4 Competition. He broke a fin on the rear diff cover, one fin! One Boston BMW dealer insisted he replace the entire diff until he spoke to me and I recc either a new diff cover or do nothing (he does not track this car, one fin, who cares). Initially quoted over 10k, that became a few hundred after requesting a new cover only. Different Boston BMW dealership, due for a coolant flush. How about $1,300! He's now on a steep learning curve.

Yes, ownership is costly for such cars but I just cannot believe the dishonesty and attempt to bamboozle the consumer. What kind of stuff did you not know you needed when you brought your newer BMW in for the airbag recall?
 
Agreed. I also think that knowing how to do stuff yourself, or at least not being afraid to try, applies to so many things in our daily lives. Relying on yourself first can give anyone a better chance in life. Or, have a great paying job i guess.

Dan
 
10+ years ago I learned that the hard way too on my e92. After multiple 1k, 2k, 3k dollar tickets from the dealer and "honest" indy shop I said enough was enough and learned how to diagnose and wrench myself by watching YouTube videos. Never looked back. Best choice ever made. Can pretty much tackle any job in the garage...yes it takes me 2x or 3x as long as paying shop to do it but you learn a whole heap in the process and a heck of a lot about yourself.
 
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You are a good friend. It's hard to fathom why a non-car guy would own one of those cars out of warranty. I did my nextdoor neighbor's e90 oil pan gasket for him. The parts alone were $400. For a gasket kit.
 
For me it's all about having a shop that I trust. After multiple discusions at brand dealers i got fed up. Got incorrect diagnoses (Toyota), brakes fixed that weren't fixed (audi) and things repleced that i didn't ask for (Ford.

I now have shop in my own small village that does amazing work. A misfire on my 2018 ford was quoted at 1,5K by ford to replace all 4 coil packs. Turned to my Local shop hoping for cheaper qoute: They called me up, laughing. They found that 1 of the brand new supplied spark plugs that i gave them had an incorrect electrode gap! They charged me 25 euro's. They are all car nuts and have classics, so electrode gap checking was on their mind to check. This was the first modern car where they had to set the gap, ever!
What made it even more astounding
Is that i bought the spark plugs at the Ford dealership to make sure i got the parts with exact matching specifications for my car and OEM quality.
Bummer for Ford!
 
yep, i have one of these stories. we noticed a slight engine stumbling on the porsche macan s. since the car was going in for its annual service, we asked them to figure it out. so their comment was - 'we think its the cam followers that are creating a timing issue. to replace them is approx. $15k'. the operative word was 'think'. i told them no, we weren't going to spend 15k on a car valued at 20k with 50k miles ... that was ridiculous as it wasn't that noticeable. a friend recommended a small independent shop that the owner used to work for the porsche and audi dealers that i go to. he checked it out and said there was a solenoid that had a small leak and he fixed it and it has run perfectly for the last year - cost, $550. i have a new mechanic ... and when my audi TTS is out of warranty in february, he will take care of the car.
 
vraned said:
You are a good friend. It's hard to fathom why a non-car guy would own one of those cars out of warranty. I did my nextdoor neighbor's e90 oil pan gasket for him. The parts alone were $400. For a gasket kit.
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And the e90 valve cover is plastic with one use bolts so total cost with my great mechanic was $900! You can’t just replace the rubber seal.
 
Don't get me started with valve covers, the E92 twin Turbo was a dog and pony show. I still have the E90 and X3 to do. Tempted to get an aftermarket alum one but the trust is not there yet.

Be interested in the stories concerning bringing you car in for the airbag recall and what you got as an estimate to repair all the other stuff they allegedly found.

They also wanted to replace his skid plate for $1000 because well, it had a skid mark on it!
 
bavbob said:
Don't get me started with valve covers, the E92 twin Turbo was a dog and pony show. I still have the E90 and X3 to do. Tempted to get an aftermarket alum one but the trust is not there yet. Way to go BMW, plastic cover to leaking warped cover which runs right down the exhaust and near enough to the cabin filter to suck it into the car............
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Agreed, stick to the plastic BMW valve covers for the n54 and n55. I have had success just replacing the rubber gaskets on both engines Should be available from FCP for next to no $

For the n55 x3, make sure to order yourself a spare PCV hose. They are made of plastic and the retaining clips always snap off when removing from the valve cover.
 
Oh, the stories we could all write.

I am not a mechanic - far from it- yet I love working on my cars in my limited capacity. Can't diagnose much beyond the obvious, but can sure undo nuts and bolts, remove something, and put it back on.

I agree about newer cars and main dealers; it's actually frightening how little they know beyond remove and replace. They are just not incentivized to fix anything; in fact, the opposite: they are all about identifying as many faults as they can and then tell you "it should be done,".

Main dealers are not built for us; take an E9 into a main dealer and you will end up with a list of "needs" it does not need, and they would struggle to find somebody to deal with the simplest carb or injection system.
 
Home ownership was the same. When my oldest was about 3, he trashed the microswitch in the door of the dishwasher (he stuck something in the hole and broke off the little arm). Repair guy charged 200 bucks and this was 1998, this included 50 bucks for a new microswitch. I bought 3 switches at a local electronics shop for about 5 bucks. My family calls me "the man". Even gave me a Gomer Pyle jump suit that says "The Man" on the name plate.
 
My 2018 Audi Q7 used to be my daily driver, now it is my "shop truck" and tow rig. I used to put about 22k miles on it every year and most of the maintenance was done at our in-house shop. Now that I am retired I am the service department.

I did take it to the dealer for an oil consumption issue this last year. They thought that the engine was shot...at 88k miles. That doesn't say much for their product. After they tried to sell me on an engine replacement and assuring me they would contact Audi USA to se about getting a partial credit, they offered to attempt a piston soak for $1,900. No way.

I purchased the materials for a piston soak, decided I would gamble on replacing the oil separator (underneath the supercharger). By the time I was done (a month later all in) I had done the piston soak, replaced the oil separator, had all the injectors out and cleaned or replaced, replaced the thermostat and water pump (future-proofing), cleaned the intake valves and cleaned and serviced the supercharger and intercoolers for about $3k in parts and my own labor. That beats the hell out of a $20k engine replacement that I didn't need.

I have now gone about 4k miles and have not used a quart of oil when I was using a quart in 300 miles.
 
There is a recall on my wife's 2016 328Xi Wagon that just turned 48,000 miles. I have been putting off the "free" recall that inspects the water pump connector and adds a shield. This is to prevent shorting if the PCV valve drips. I just bought the shield for less than $10 with shipping. Next oil change I will prevent an all day trip to the dealer.
 
I've got my share of horror stories on dealings with dealers and independents, but here's the opposite...

I bought a new Tesla Model 3 rear wheel drive in September 2021 (Pre Madness Edition ;) ). I have only driven it 30,000 miles, but it has never had a need for service or maintenance since new. I have replaced wiper blades, cabin air filters, and topped off the washer fluid. That's it. If (maybe when?) something does go wrong, Tesla can generally diagnose the problem over the air. No need to go to a service center. If the problem can't be corrected over the air, Tesla comes to the car in most cases, and fixes the problem at your house or workplace. EVs are not for everyone, but this model sure works for me much better than the ICE dealers and indi's that have had me by the short hairs.
 
One downside to knowing how to work on cars is knowing what you can casually avoid. I did a road trip from Seattle to Bend over the summer. My wife’s van had a CEL on related to emissions. She was frantic about getting it fixed. My solution was to reset the code from my phone, as I have a bluetooth unit plugged into the ECU.

I “try” not to work on the van. However, the dealer wanted $800 to replace a purge valve that sits right on top of the motor. I replaced it when we got home for $20.
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This timely topic hits close to home for me. I recently took my 2014 Yukon XL Denali (AWD) to the stealership for an oil/filter change, transmission service, and one other small repair. Rig has 90k miles and has been well-maintained. Differentials were serviced some time ago as per recommended interval. Dealer came back with "You have a front diff with bad pinion bearings, collapsed motor mount, and leaking oil pan/oil cooler....$5,900 of additional cost for all of the above. I said, "Thanks, let me consider this." I took it to an independent shop that has experience with this vehicle who just today declared, "Your Yukon XL looks great and needs NONE of those things, but could use a brake fluid flush."

As I approach retirement I will certainly be trying to expand/improve my wrenching chops, as it is difficult (and expensive) to find shops that will consistently be solid and fair. The mechanical abilities that exist on this forum certainly provide inspiration for someone like me.
 
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