£370 inspection turns into a £1200 bill

K

k3ab

Member
Car in with the stealer today. Just got a call telling me the following things need doing:

Brake fluid change - £119
Wiper blades - £46
cracked fog lamp - £170
pully v belt - £85
air con belt - £51
cracked propshaft - £258
butterfly bushes - £252
cracker rear spring - £190

Not a happy bunny right now.

Apparently break fluid, broken spring are critical and all other items are advisory.

Edit: Now I know why they call it *Stealer*

Because they steal! :)
 
That looks about the same amount I used to pay per visit when I had my e34 (until I found a good indy) - unfortunately it was every 6,000 miles (or about 3 months at the time). It didn't seem to matter what it was in for, they'd always call up with a list of 'critical' items that needed replacing. The first few times I'd simply accept it, and then I started to see the same items coming up again & again (wipers, tyres, discs & pads, suspension bushes etc.). In some cases those same items lasted another 20,000 miles before they'd really need replacing :headbang:

In your situation I'd pay for the inspection as requested and book it in elsewhere for the rest.
 
I would err on the side of caution here... I recently had a similar experience with a dealer - it went in for something minor and was informed that there was £1500 worth of work that needed to be done... When I took the car to a local garage I was informed that 3 of the suggested repairs did not need to be done!!! It cost me £200 as opposed to £1500 quoted by the "stealer"!!! My advice is to check that all of these repairs actually need to be done before you get ripped off!!!

Ames x :driving:
 
I told them to change the spring, do the break fluid service and replace the two belts.

Together with service it will still come up to about 800 pounds.

Its experiences like this which make me think I should just chop it in (8 yrs old now) for a new one.
 
Brake fluid change - £119 - Surely you should have known it was due? (every 2 years)
Wiper blades - £46 - DIY job for half the price
cracked fog lamp - £170 - DIY job for a fraction of the price
pully v belt - £85 - How do they know it needs replacing?
air con belt - £51 - As above
cracked propshaft - £258 - I have never heard of propshafts cracking but certainly worth a 2nd opinion.
butterfly bushes - £252 - Common Z4 problem, an indy will do it for less.
cracker rear spring - £190 Common Z4 problem, advise replacing both rears as a pair (if not already), easy job for any garage.
 
tomTVR said:
Brake fluid change - £119 - Surely you should have known it was due? (every 2 years)
Wiper blades - £46 - DIY job for half the price
cracked fog lamp - £170 - DIY job for a fraction of the price
pully v belt - £85 - How do they know it needs replacing?
air con belt - £51 - As above
cracked propshaft - £258 - I have never heard of propshafts cracking but certainly worth a 2nd opinion.
butterfly bushes - £252 - Common Z4 problem, an indy will do it for less.
cracker rear spring - £190 Common Z4 problem, advise replacing both rears as a pair (if not already), easy job for any garage.
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I am confident I can do the wiper blade. Never tried replacing fog lamps - easy job?

Regarding two belts - they told me they were cracked.

I forgot about the break fluid change - assumed that the car would notify me on the dashboard.
 
i would have told them to do the service and sorted the other bits myself. i suppose its your choice whether you want your pants pulled down or not?
 
Which of these items could have been covered by BMW Insured Warranty?

I always take out BMW warranty because I don't have reliable BMW specialists here, and dealer is only 3 miles from home.
 
ksher said:
Which of these items could have been covered by BMW Insured Warranty?

I always take out BMW warranty because I don't have reliable BMW specialists here, and dealer is only 3 miles from home.
Click to expand...

NO - Brake fluid change - £119
NO - Wiper blades - £46
NO 0 cracked fog lamp - £170
UNSURE pully v belt - £85- wear and tear? But at this price, and thats a stealer, it must be a cheap DIY
UNSURE air con belt - £51 - wear and tear? But at this price, and thats a stealer, it must be a cheap DIY
YES cracked propshaft - £258
UNSURE butterfly bushes - £252 - wear and tear?
YES cracker rear spring - £190
 
k3ab said:
Any Indy's anyone can recommend in Reading (Berkshire) ? :)
Click to expand...

Oh dear... is the car at Cooper Reading? :!:

Just saw, you car's a 2003 - make sure Cooper (or whoever) are giving you the 4+ discount on anything that they are doing. If you can get them just to do the service and leave it at that, I would. Just get the bits that need doing done soon - the springs are easy enough (many of us have had springs snap completely and have driven around on them until the MOT) and the brake fluid is certainly overpriced, again it needs doing but if the car drove and stopped okay this morning a few more days shouldn't hurt, just don't go crazy!

Also, with the brake fluid change, if the dealer are doing it, check their site and see if it falls under their "fixed price" servicing options.

Worth giving Grosvenor a shout - they're on Richfield Avenue, the bridges are close at Cow Lane, so you'll need to head in from the Caversham end. Otherwise, a little further out, are Didcot Autos.
 
Get it out of cooper reading. Bunch of @&£". Grosvenor are good and reasonably priced.


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damn guys I already asked them to do some crucial bits like the srping and the break fluid. Wish I had asked you lot before telling them to go ahead.

They put pressure on you - springs and fluid are absolutely critical - the sort of things that your car would fail an MOT for etc.

Glad I didn't get them to do all the work!
 
Don't forget to ask them to keep all your old parts so that you can check them out - otherwise they'll just be dumped.

Also, ask them how they know the brake fluid hasn't been changed in the last 2 years, as you might have gotten it done elsewhere and just not reset the indicator (and an MOT will not be able to tell if your brake fluid service is overdue - they will only be able to say what your braking efficiency & balance is).
 
Give them a call now, ask them what they have done already and tell them not to start either of the others. I'd check that the price includes both of the springs as well. Don't let them give you any nonsense either - they can return the springs and will just be using some of the fluid in stock.

At least for what you have had done they aren't massively off the price, I don't think. Just check those discounts when you call them :wink:
 
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