Need advice on selecting an independent certified BMW technician...

[pipkint101]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to the forum and wish I had joined before my last BMW dealer servicing, based on what I've been reading. I've always had my car serviced at the dealer since it was under warranty but now the warranty is up. So, what was going to be a simple check-up and oil change quickly turned into a $2,500 bill. Yikes!! All repairs that were needed seem legit but with the markup on parts and labor costs, I'm not sure I'll be going back to the dealer. Don't get me wrong, I like my dealer associate and I trust him, but he doesn't control the pricing. So my big question is: What should I be looking for in an independently owned shop that states they have certified BMW technicians. Is there more to it than that? I don't want to just go anywhere and I don't have the time or resources to be a DIY'r.

I won't be offended if I'm told to 'suck it up buttercup', I may be asking for too much. If it helps, this is what was done:

Standard Scope: $101.50
Oil & Filter: $99.95
Spark Plug Replacement: $483.38
Vehicle Check: $174.00
Tire Rotation: $99.95
Lighter Fuse Replacement: $42.77
Oil Leak/Replaced Oil Filter Housing & Oil Cooler T-Stat Gaskets: $859.83
Tire Replacement/ Sidewall Bubble: $347.30 (Bridgestone Driveguard RFT X:369041)
Coolant System Service: $225.80 (Didn't know they were doing this one)

Total Labor: $1,677.00
Parts: $756.59
Gas, Oil, Lube + Sublet + Misc: $49.30
Sales Tax: $48.09

Can't turn back time, but can fix it going forward. Any thoughts, feedback and/or direction would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Thomas

[shadowpuck]

hi thomas!

well, you should at least be commended - if you intend to keep this car you are at least doing the things you should be doing.

my first suggestion is to look into joining the BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA - www.bmwcca.org). Membership is cheap ($48 a year) and most dealers offer discounts on parts and service. If you've found a shop you like (the dealer), maybe the discount will help.

you can also check out www.bimrs.org which shows a list of independent bmw shops around the country - this may help narrow down your choices.
you can also check yelp and other sources - naturally, i advise you take anything from sources such as those with a grain of salt, but, they can be useful.

i actually "interviewed" the first shop i ever went to for repair work on my BMW. i stopped by and talked to the folks in the shop - saw how busy they were, etc. like a restaurant, good shops are often very busy!

along with the BMW CCA, you can also check with your local chapter and see where they take their cars - club members will often know the good shops in a given area.

[pipkint101]

Thanks Shadowpuck -- this is the direction I needed. Very appreciative!

[pbonsalb]

I agree. Find an independent. I don’t think anyone certifies independents but you may find some that have a former BMW dealer tech as a mechanic. I’d ask around locally. Maybe BMWCCA has a Baltimore chapter or the mid Atlantic forum here has active members from the area.

[pipkint101]

The closest chapter is in VA -- didn't see one local to me listed. However, I found a shop just around the corner I never knew about through www.bimrs.org -- I'll be reaching out to them. Thanks again for the support -- this is exactly what I needed!

[shadowpuck]

that's national capital chapter - i know some folks in that chapter and its easily one of the best in CCA.

[bmwdirtracer]

Always keep in mind that "certified BMW technician" is different than "BMW certified technician". When I worked at the dealership, many years ago, I was a "BMW certified technician". As soon as I left the dealership's employ, I was no longer "BMW certified". Now, I'm a 3 times re-certified ASE Master Tech, and I work mostly on BMWs....which, I guess, makes me a "certified BMW technician".

If I don't take the ASE tests, that won't make me any less of a BMW specialist tech....but if I don't regularly study, and TRY to keep up with yearly advancements, I will lose touch. In fact, I HUGELY appreciate the wisdom which dealer tech friends on this forum share with me, regularly. I TRY to keep up, but it's extremely difficult, with the rate at which automotive technology advances.

My point is that, if and when you decide that the dealership is no longer the best resource for servicing your car, you need to find a good BMW specialist shop which you trust. Around Baltimore, I can't advise you who this might be...but as Shadowpuck indicates, National Capital Chapter members certainly can. Join the club ! Maybe even pay the extra few bucks for a dual-chapter membership, as many NCC members do, and add Tarheel Chapter to your list, so that you'll be invited to the great Virginia International Raceway events ! Maybe I'll see you there. You can even request me as your instructor, if you like.

[ross1]

Did they kiss you first?
$100 to rotate the tires! After they already clipped you $174 for inspection which would ostensibly involve removing all the wheels anyway? AND replacing a tire which certainly involved removing one of them.
It seems clear that your "dealer associate"(please)knows that you trust him. Oh, he damn well does control the pricing as it is he who write the ticket and no doubt gets a piece of the action.

[White94RX]

They should be ashamed of themselves. I work at a dealer, and wouldn't have charged you that much. Standard scope? That's free money for them. That's literally nothing, unless they're charging you to reset the oil change light. And if so, that's a ripoff. We used to charge $40 for it, now we don't charge anything. We charge $60 for a balance and rotate. Coolant system service? LOL.

[chrisefird]

Haha fuse replacement $42. Spark plug replacement at almost $500 wow and the $100 tire rotation where they probably just impacted the bolts back in 5 min.

[jamin325i]

outrageous... do out that stealership to help others in your area.

[bmwdirtracer]

Well.... Book time on chamging spark plugs on this car is 2.1 hours. Let's figure a dealership in Baltimore probably gets $150 an hour. List price on those sparkplugs is $27 each. Sounds like the correct price.

Coolant service - well, I don't know. When I do it, I open every possible port / hose I can reach, make a damned mess all over the place, and drain the block, if I can see the drain. Then I vacuum fill the system with BMW coolant, then I hook up a battery charger while the car purges air using the electric water pump. It usually takes me well over an hour, not including mopping the shop afterwards. My shop charges 1.25 hours labor, plus a gallon of BMW antifreeze. Yes, our labor's a bit cheaper than a dealership in Baltimore, but at least you don't live in D.C or N.Y.C., where labor's even higher.

Yes, the "lighter fuse replacement" is pretty insulting.

As for rotating the tires, I get paid 0.3 hours, and you can be sure that I bitch every time I have to do this for 18 minutes of pay. After all, I have to find the damned wheel lock key, under all the crap in the trunk, then use a rotary wire brush to clean the hubs and wheel centers, then apply anti-seize, and put it all back together. I don't know, maybe I'm just slow, but I always lose my shirt on tire rotations. I might add that I ALWAYS hand torque the wheels, with a regularly recalibrated SnapOn split beam torque wrench.

[shadowpuck]

ahh, i knew sooner or later someone would wander over here and use their favorite little term.....despite the fact we ask them not to do so - but, hey, it's the internet!!!

[ross1]

yeah but it's these egregious violations of trust that perpetuate it.

[MarcoZandrini]

A beam torque wrench, Chris?!?! Why not a nice digital torquer?

[shadowpuck]

yeah but it's these egregious violations of trust that perpetuate it.

ross - i thought about that. i think we may just have to agree to disagree on this one perhaps. granted, none of us know the whole story - but, as a local chapter CCA board member i've taken more than one call about how the dealer charged me all this money and that's not fair. i'd always ask - did they do the work they said they would do - if the answer is yes, then there's not much to say from a trust or violation perspective. i totally understand and am on board with not being ripped off. heck, i sued a dealership and won - so, been there, done that, and printed the t-shirt!

- - - Updated - - -

A beam torque wrench, Chris?!?! Why not a nice digital torquer?

now that i own a split beam and a digital - i much prefer the split beam. i like the digital for when i'm doing angles and such - but, the split beam just rocks......