Quoted Rm800 labour for shocks replacement

[Terri]

help but RM800 labour charges seems very highi went to the BMWorld workshop in Desa Pandan and asked for a quote just for the labour on suspension overhaulWhat is the price i should be paying approximately? Can someone please tell me?E36 318i 1995 i need to change1)front suspensionmountings ,spring pads upper and lower, shock, aux damper and damper cover/tube*also the ball joints lower arm at tyre only2)rear suspensionmountings, shock, aux damper, damper cover/tube*also the short shaft covers near the damper3)Leakagesoil filter sump gasket, oil filter housing gasket, oil filter housing bushplastic rear connector for cylinder head that leaks water under the cari have managed to get all the parts myself and just need to find a reasonably priced workshop to carry out the workis RM800/- labour charges reasonable for the work listed? it seems high(i read the parts and maintenance section and seems like the average cost of replacing all the shocks is around RM300 .... and the other work not listed .....i want to try and get the work to be done next saturday as these repairs really overdue ...)Sachseelan gave a workshop and number and ill try mr.check but can someone guide me as to approximate costing please?PRICE OF ALL PARTS RM1287 before discount including the 4 shocks ( i get a cash discount when i pick them up, what is totalled here is the over the counter priceNote : Everything is new and from bavarian auto except for the front shocks which i'm buying second hand from a chop shop at RM120 each)

 

[loafer]

RM800 is definitely over priced. They're probably charging you more cause you got the parts yourself.

I used to go there last time but stopped cause I felt their technical know-how isn't that good with E36.

I recently did some major preventive maintenance to my car and was only charged RM500 for labour by my regular mechanic. This included changing all 4 wheel bearings, replacing most of my engine cooling parts, servicing my steering rack and also opened up the valve cover to check on some stuff.

The last item took almost half a day cause it involved removing quite a fair bit of items and some cleaning.

 

[Hellraiser]

terri, PM me if you're looking for a good option in sg. kayu ara area. cheers!

 

[infinityKL]

Hi terri...

ask them go fly kites, 800 is just a rip off, could be, coz ur not buying the parts from him??... i did item 1. and 2. changing all the parts like shocks, dampers, tube cover, mountings etc front and rear... all in labour was 300... but then again im a regular at his shop for 5 years now... building a relationship with ur prefered mechanic is surely a good thing to ur pockets in the long run.. as for item 3. its not a big job.. i've done those long time ago, and i think labour for that was only about rm30-40...tats all.

in my case, i usually dont buy the things my self.. unless that particular item is highly quoted by my mech, i will tell him off.. but so far price for parts are reasonable wt an acceptable mark up.. bavaria at maluri is just 5 minutes away from my home... and so is my workshop.. :wink:

 

[Russie]

RM800 is definitely over priced. They're probably charging you more cause you got the parts yourself.

I used to go there last time but stopped cause I felt their technical know-how isn't that good with E36.

I recently did some major preventive maintenance to my car and was only charged RM500 for labour by my regular mechanic. This included changing all 4 wheel bearings, replacing most of my engine cooling parts, servicing my steering rack and also opened up the valve cover to check on some stuff.

The last item took almost half a day cause it involved removing quite a fair bit of items and some cleaning.

Loafer, where's your mechanic?
Sach, where's your mechanic? Lol, any contact number and direction? Thanks

 

[infinityKL]

Bavian Benz Auto
Jln Chan Sow Lin
Opposite the Honda SC
Mr. Check
012-3818675

 

[Russie]

Bavian Benz Auto
Jln Chan Sow Lin
Opposite the Honda SC
Mr. Check
012-3818675

Thanks bro.

 

[bmw7833]

RM240 is normal labor for suspension. If you lucky than u may get cheaper labor only rm120

 

[Terri]

Thanks alot everyone! i'll try sachs mechanic first and then my own old one ....both of them at the same location anyway if that doesn't work out, ill try hell's

i'm not looking for dirt cheap ...i just want something reasonable and willing to pay a decent price for decent labour .... everyone has to make a living ..... but abit sick and fed up of getting fleeced... and at the moment my finances don't have room for fleecing .... (need to have some cash left over after the suspension work to redo the seats and door panels ......)

if really worse comes to worse will have to go back to my old mechanic and sit there the entire day watching the work..... and see how much he will charge for labour alone if he isn't fleecing me on the parts....sigh

the car was serviced by him in december last year and yet the oil sump/filter etc all leaking .... maybe he will feel guilty enough to do my suspension etc at a decent price .... luckily i haven't called him up yet and screamed about the leaks .......

really glad i found this forum .... so many helpful and friendly people here .... kudos to you all!

 

[Russie]

Terri, we are here to help each other. Plenty of sifus here to give advice. If you are not sure of anything, it would best if you browse thru this forum especially under the E36 maintenance thread. That will give u some ideas on how much and what to expect.

Go for the basic wear and tear parts first, get your ride into good working condition. Then when your have extra budget, u may go for other stuff to beautify your ride.

cheers

 

[Terri]

Noted but the interior is original from Nov 1995 when i first got the car new from Auto Bavaria PJ .... sigh... quite faded now.... and some stitching is coming apart .... the car is in fairly good condition tho' ..... (single owner/driver)

Maintenance from 1995-2004 was done almost exclusively at Auto Bavaria, due to some financial constraints, had to go to my current mnechanic intermittenly during 2001till 2005 and more or less exclusively from 2005 till present date ..... unfortunately for me his business has expanded and is huge now..... and he doesn't have time to attend to my car personally anymore ..... he is really good but his staff isn't .....

i have known my current mechanic since 1994 (he is my partner's mehcanic and has been doing her classic car since 1990)

 

[wc9922]

Some workshops don't like customers who buy all the parts themself and ask them to fix only. I can see their point.

Not only the sense they don't make the $$$ on parts but also if the parts brought by the owner is the wrong item, it takes longer to get the replacement by the owner and total time to finish up the job. Also the issue of who to blame when things go wrong, the parts or the installation? If I was the foreman, I will also say your parts are faulty lor. Kasi ajar sikit.

Maybe they quote you RM800 is to drive you away from their place. See if you are tempted to the bait. Probably the do not want to do your business on that basis and rather than say no, they give you a price outside your budget and you go off by yourself. Ever thought about that?

In the case, the items are rare parts (i.e performance parts, special order etc) fair enough that the owner sources it as it saves the hassle of dealing with the order with the stockist.

 

[Lionel_Koh]

far me is very simple .......

if d job can be done in a day time .........800 is where to high .......the most i going to pay is 300 ( take in d consideration of staft labour, shop rented , water & electric expenses etc ).......

if ur car need more attention > 1 day .......of cause the labour charges will be higher ......

but 800 for me is expensive if u ask my opinion ....

 

[Terri]

The shop quoted me RM2130 for the parts (Quotation No. 0150)..... even after removing the RM840 they quoted me for the front shocks and me removing the RM240 i'm paying for my recon front shocks

Their parts bill alone is RM1290 and mine RM1047 before discount thats about RM250+ difference only

I'd be willing to pay up to RM500 labour for the job but RM800 is just way too high!

One of the reasons i'm getting my own parts is because i'm afarid they won't use the original parts or BMW grade parts as my other mehanic was going to use Toyota parts on my car if i couldn't afford BM parts ....shudders ......

He told me RM4000-5000++ for BM parts and RM2000-3000 for Toyota parts ......( breaks out into a cold sweat)

Honestly, i had this experience last year when i replaced the entire aircon system in the car to new .... the new parts although stamped BMW looked nothing like the old parts and after the installation the aircon made an intermittent extremely loud howling noise which took months before it was finally gone .... the noise didnt affect the aircon's performanace tho, but honestly was extremely unsettling to say the least ......

i'm not sure if there are fake BMW parts out in the market but i'd just want to be sure this time that i'm getting what i paid for .....

 

[infinityKL]

some parts have been re-designed wt improvement over the years, thus the diff look or slightly diff shape, but should function better or last longer...

my front 2 absorber mountings also looks diff from the ori and ride height increased. bought from Bavarian auto in Maluri...via my mech!!

best is to get some info on any suspicious product before purchase or order... i usually get my doubts cleared right here in BMW forums.. or online...

toyota parts??? for a bimmer...?? not too sure about this statement..??

i also suggest you get a few quotes from diff workshops around KL including AB or IA... will give you a clearer picture... as prices quoted here could vary depending customer mech relationship...

good luck
cheers

 

[Russie]

some parts have been re-designed wt improvement over the years, thus the diff look or slightly diff shape, but should function better or last longer...

my front 2 absorber mountings also looks diff from the ori and ride height increased. bought from Bavarian auto in Maluri...via my mech!!

best is to get some info on any suspicious product before purchase or order... i usually get my doubts cleared right here in BMW forums.. or online...

toyota parts??? for a bimmer...?? not too sure about this statement..??

i also suggest you get a few quotes from diff workshops around KL including AB or IA... will give you a clearer picture... as prices quoted here could vary depending customer mech relationship...

good luck
cheers

Toyota parts for our BMW cars? Mechanical parts I believe it is not possible but if one is referring to items like engine oil, coolant, brake oil, etc... then perhaps that's okay. A lot of other cars are using Toyota coolant I am using Toyota coolant in my sagaburuk also

 

[Terri]

my mechanic sort of indicated that toyota suspension parts could be used.......shudders ......

anyway, am calling some mechanics today to get quotes on the labour .... hopefully will be able to find a reasonable one who will be free on saturday .....

(unfortunately don't have time to run around looking for a mechanic and this saturday will be the only day i can fix an appointment to get the work done. had to work last saturday so didn't have time to go check out workshops .... and just impossible to get any leave ..... normally that's the reason why i get fleeced ..... no time to source for parts/get quotes or to watch the work being done ...... this time my partner has volunteered to sit at the workshop and watch the work just to make sure that they do it properly)

 

[azam318]

RM800 for labour ONLY??? This is crazy huge pay... :stupid:
I did for my ride from head to toe and the labour only for rm450. Better spend your time
a bit to find others workshop to get the better quote. The money is yours, you're the one
who will made the decision. Good luck, Bro... :wink:

Toyota parts for BMW car??? This is the first time and I never heard before...
or I'm a outdated person... :42:

If you've free time, pls click my thread as below on page #28, may be you can get
some infos that you can refers to.

http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23964&page=3

 

[Terri]

Thanks alot azam, that problem you had looks exactly like my current leaks!

Tried to call mr.check today... sigh he wants to see the car before giving me an esrimate .......

meaning that if i cannot find someone to do the job this saturday..... i'll have to put it off for yet another 2 weeks till i have another saturday off ......

these repairs have already been put off for so long, i'm not sure it's a good idea to keep delaying them ... the tyres are all new and probably wearing out from the faulty suspension ......

i'm almost getting desperate enough to ask the siang hin tyre shop near my house to try and do the work .....arrrrrgggghhhhh!

 

[Hellraiser]

bro, the $800 bucks to change your shock abs is for the shock you will get when you see the bill...!