wipers died : relay vs wiper motor ?

[Stilllearning6]

Is it better to investigate the eBox first or the wiper motor ?

I tried eBox , ran out of time, and put the pale blue disconnected harness plugs back together.
I never advanced to step of reaching the two wiper relays in my 1998 January build 740iL .
I believe some 1998 740iL models have two tan wiper relays, some have only one wiper relay depending upon build date.
I need confirmation of that statement , please.

Any idea of cost to give to INDY European repair shop?

My experience :
I gave vehicle to a repair shop at 9am.
At 3 pm , I stopped to check on progress and saw that they were just starting to disassemble the driver side cowling and rubber dams/ gaskets/ seals.
The mechanic said that I need a $500 wiper motor before he even checked eBox fuse #3 nor relays in eBox.
He was no where close to the wiper motor power supply wiring connector so how could he know if power was reaching wiper motor?

I became concerned and took vehicle w/o knowing that several cowl : bolts?/ hex screws ? / black plastic rivet clips were removed and scattered to the wind.

I am on the fence deciding to either do it myself vs. different repair shop.

I feel that I am blindly chasing the cause of no motor wiper.

Internet seems to indicate that wiper motors rarely fail , that corrosion of relay wiring is often the cause of no wiper motor.
Wipers were going very strong while cruising in extreme heavy rain ; the suddenly stopped in mid-screen.
I don't know anything about correctly installing a wiper motor while being sure that wiper blades are correctly positioned.
I may cause more expensive issues by tackling this job .
Guidance?
I located my Bentley, but I am disappointed in the lack of detail on the wiper motor topic.

[Timm]

These cars are all about experience, and that's why mechanics rarely have much luck with E38's (let alone E31's!). That is why these forums are invaluable, you will not find better info than you can get here....

[Mayorchuck]

You're '98 model will have two relays. The facelift models, starting with the '99 models, only have one. If the mechanic accessed the wiper motor, the diagnosis would be simple. Turn on the wipers and check for voltage at the connection. If there is no voltage, it's an electrical issue, i.e. wiper relays. If there is power and ground at the wiper motor, the motor is likely bad. I've been in this forum for a minute and if I've ever seen a wiper motor go bad, I sure don't remember it. Meaning it can happen but it's been infrequent enough that I don't recall seeing a member here having that issue.

[Stilllearning6]

No wiper issue was due to a snapped off weld that connected a wiper transmission arm to a post.
Photo below .
Wiper motor was OK .

[Mayorchuck]

Wow. Never seen that before.

[Ericjump]

My wipers were working fine, stopped them and they wouldn't park.
Checked fuses and relays - all good-!
when I put relays back in (key out) the wipers moved to the center of the windshield
Pulled relays and when I put them back in *second time" they returned to the stop position, but won't park!
Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks, Ericjump

[Mayorchuck]

The microswitch for the park position is in the wiper motor itself. I helped a guy years ago who had a similar issue and we found the linkage was loose. Tightened it up and it solved the issue. Might pull up the cowl and make sure everything is snug.