Positive battery cable is burnt / burning on a normal load

[msund15]

Hi All,

I got a 2004 545i (E60) with about 102K miles on it. I noticed some battery issues and it even died on me. Battery was replaced 2 years ago to the AutoZone (not the OEM). I didn't really re-program the computer after the replacement. Not sure if these are related but my local mechanic noticed that the cables were burning near the positive battery terminal in the trunk. I also noticed and can feel that the cables were very hot even after 10 min ride. He said, the whole cable needs replacing that runs all the way from the trunk to the front. It'll be $350 for the parts and 2 hour labor. He didn't have the time now so, asked me to bring it in a week or so. Have anyone experienced similar issue?


Anyway, Since I needed the car for a long road trip, I decided to take it to the BMW service center after calling in. They were not too far off from trusted local mechanic in terms of labor and parts. They said the part will be around $400 to replace the positive terminal and 2 hour labor. I said OK to that. but this morning, the BMW service advisor sent a cryptic email (she didn't even care to call me) saying 'On the body ground it is burnt and we could not see it till we took everything apart ' (??)... she had to order additional part for $700+. I thought the initial quote of $400 for the cable included this part all the way to the front. So, from what I understand, now the part alone is $1100+ plus at least two hour of labor. Can anyone please advice if this is reasonable. I looked up on amazon and autohauosaz.com, the only positive cable listed there is ~$350. Is the BMW service center fleecing me? should I stay with the BMW service center or just order the part online and take it to my trusted mechanic? Not sure if the online part includes the cable to run all the way to the front.

This is 14+ year old car, I don't want to spend nearly $2000 on fixing the battery cable. Please advice if you can think of a better alternative.

Cheers!

[White94RX]

By the way, there is always a disconnect between the tech and advisor. Some advisors are tech savvy, and know exactly what their tech is talking about. Others are just dumb and do their best to relay what their tech is telling them. If the tech found something else wrong, he's not trying to take you for a ride. He's trying to fix your vehicle properly. Some problems we just aren't able to find until we start taking things apart.

[DaHose]

The IBC cable is $325 by itself, and the only option is the factory part. That said, $700 is crazy high for any single cable back there. Did she mean $700 total for positive AND negative cable? That would be about right. If it was me, I would save money on labor, and have my local shop fix it with parts from FCPEuro. All parts are sold with lifetime warranty, so you would never worry about the cable again.

Jose