[Hvyarms]

The more I look at this estimate, the less sense it makes. I would really appreciate it if you guys could take a look at this, and tell me I'm not for no reason.

[Efthreeoh]

I see a typo regarding the angel eye "belt", should be bulb. Everything seems fair priced from an Indy who will offer a parts and labor warranty.

Now if he tries to sell you "blinker fluid" service, then I'd be a little suspect.

[Diox]

Try spark plugs yourself maybe? It isn't difficult.

For comparison I got my waterpump and thermo for 500 from FCPeuro, lifetime warranty

And I'm getting it installed along with my turbo for about 800-9

[Antetokounmpo]

$500 for WP/Tstat install on xdrive actually isn't bad. He kinda got you on the parts though.

[robthewrench]

So I would guess that your are irritated at the cost and not the quality of the work or technical knowledge. Looks like they correctly diagnosed a faulty water pump, and then gave you a quote to replace it along with the thermostat. They also must have suggested replacing the spark plugs as routine maintenance.

Are the parts and labor prices a little high? Yes it appears they are. But probably not higher than the dealer.

Here's my advice for getting repairs from either an Indy or the dealer: your best opportunity to avoid any nasty price surprise is during the quotation of the work. You SHOULD ask the dealer/indy to give you the expected full cost quote before authorizing any work. After they quote the work, but before you give the ok, you are free to research prices, etc... Tell them you are doing this and want to make sure you are getting a fair deal.

I hate it when the mechanic suggests work and does not immediately give me the estimated cost. It only creates problems later when the work is complete and bill is presented.

One related question, how was the rest of process? Did they do the work quickly? Does this mechanic usually get issues resolved on the first try and has good, quality workmanship? Sometimes you can't have both super low price and great quality/service.

[Wolf 335]

$224 for spark plugs labor, ouch!

That's an hour job at your home on a Sunday morning.

[6ixSpd]

Indy doesn't have to explain a thing. It's all right there.

[Memaxndapickel]

OP...just for peace of mind thats around what my dealer would charge for all that work. I have gotten some of that done recently, that's how I know.

I would go with what others have said. If the Indy is top notch and warranties what they do, I would not be mad. Prices seem a little high compared to my dealer. Maybe you are in an $$$$ city? Only way to know is shop around.

[John 070]

Dag after I cut my thumb wide open and got blood all over, replacing my right side H8 for the angel eyes, that price of $0.00 looks mighty nice.

What's the consensus on the water pump, get OEM remanuf? I saw a thread saying the aftermarket has a questionable crack in the mfg process or something and some dude said he put 3 in?....

Mine is not to reason why but when you can't DIY, it's nice to have indies who will install customer parts. Even better when they let you talk to the tech directly--in these scenarios I feel they do a better job than the dealer.

edit the more I look at that estimate, the more it's too tiny to read, do you fellas have 38" monitors or something?

[Fierce335i]

My CARMAX warranty just paid Checkered Flag BMW $1436.00 to do the water pump job. Plugs are way easy DIY.

[Hvyarms]

So I see the water pump is $572.36, and the thermostat is $156.64. Doing my own research, I havent seen prices that high for either part. Right now ECS has a WP kit, which includes liquids and bolts and the T-Stat for only $492.13
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-assemble...NdtxoC6GTw_wcB

[Hvyarms]

Originally Posted by Diox

Try spark plugs yourself maybe? It isn't difficult.

For comparison I got my waterpump and thermo for 500 from FCPeuro, lifetime warranty

And I'm getting it installed along with my turbo for about 800-9

Yeah I just told him to cancel the plugs, at $160 an hour I'll do it myself.

[Hvyarms]

Originally Posted by Harambe

$500 for WP/Tstat install on xdrive actually isn't bad. He kinda got you on the parts though.

IDK $572 + 156 seems a little steep. I agree that $500 isn't bad, but it's the labor thats killer.

[Hvyarms]

Originally Posted by robthewrench

So I would guess that your are irritated at the cost and not the quality of the work or technical knowledge. Looks like they correctly diagnosed a faulty water pump, and then gave you a quote to replace it along with the thermostat. They also must have suggested replacing the spark plugs as routine maintenance.

Are the parts and labor prices a little high? Yes it appears they are. But probably not higher than the dealer.

Here's my advice for getting repairs from either an Indy or the dealer: your best opportunity to avoid any nasty price surprise is during the quotation of the work. You SHOULD ask the dealer/indy to give you the expected full cost quote before authorizing any work. After they quote the work, but before you give the ok, you are free to research prices, etc... Tell them you are doing this and want to make sure you are getting a fair deal.

I hate it when the mechanic suggests work and does not immediately give me the estimated cost. It only creates problems later when the work is complete and bill is presented.

One related question, how was the rest of process? Did they do the work quickly? Does this mechanic usually get issues resolved on the first try and has good, quality workmanship? Sometimes you can't have both super low price and great quality/service.

All good points. So my car has been there since Friday morning. I've been asking for the estimate since then, so they were slow with that. I just got it monday evening at 6pm. Parts were already ordered. The price I was getting this whole time was $1300 which I was fine with, but I was under the impression that it included labor considering that I asked for the price of "the entire job".

To answer your question, yes they usually do good work. Very clean garage, great customer service, comfortable waiting area, etc. I think the thing is (and this is where I went wrong) is they specialize in Audi and Porsche so whenever I bring my car in it's kinda like a pet project for them. But again, they're professional and always treat me with respect. Still hella steep though.

[Hvyarms]

Originally Posted by John 070

Dag after I cut my thumb wide open and got blood all over, replacing my right side H8 for the angel eyes, that price of $0.00 looks mighty nice.

What's the consensus on the water pump, get OEM remanuf? I saw a thread saying the aftermarket has a questionable crack in the mfg process or something and some dude said he put 3 in?....

Mine is not to reason why but when you can't DIY, it's nice to have indies who will install customer parts. Even better when they let you talk to the tech directly--in these scenarios I feel they do a better job than the dealer.

edit the more I look at that estimate, the more it's too tiny to read, do you fellas have 38" monitors or something?

overall, this just doesnt seem like a 7 hour job. 7 hours??

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

They don't need to do the thermostat. You can ask them to skip it. It's not a common source of leaks, but it's a good idea to replace it because you've got good access.

$16/plug seems pretty expensive, too. OEM plugs should run them $10/plug. That's a 60% markup if they're OEM, but they're a little cheaper than OE.

The water pump isn't completely unreasonable. OE runs close to $500, but OEM is $379. If it's OEM, that's a 47% markup.

[Hvyarms]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

They don't need to do the thermostat. You can ask them to skip it. It's not a common source of leaks, but it's a good idea to replace it because you've got good access.

skip the thermostat when replacing the pump? I've never heard that before

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by Hvyarms

skip the thermostat when replacing the pump? I've never heard that before

They didn't replace mine when my pump was replaced under warranty. I don't think it's necessary to do as long as you don't break anything, but it's a really good idea if you can afford it.

If they did, replace it, they didn't put it on the work order...but shops are really good at keeping track of everything they use, so i have high confidence that they did not replace it.

[Hvyarms]

is it okay to skip the belts? considering the belt doesnt touch the water pump?

Im asking because I was initially gonna include belts, but it was suggested that I skip it for now.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by Hvyarms

is it okay to skip the belts? considering the belt doesnt touch the water pump?

Im asking because I was initially gonna include belts, but it was suggested that I skip it for now.

Check for three things under the hood:

1. Any squeaking sounds
2. Any wobbling pulleys
3. Any small cracks on the rib of the belt

If you don't have any of those symptoms, you don't need to do any belts or pulleys. If you haven't done it by 100,000 miles, it's a good idea to do it in the near future.

[Hvyarms]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

Check for three things under the hood:

1. Any squeaking sounds
2. Any wobbling pulleys
3. Any small cracks on the rib of the belt

If you don't have any of those symptoms, you don't need to do any belts or pulleys. If you haven't done it by 100,000 miles, it's a good idea to do it in the near future.

Nah, Im only at 70k with none of those symptoms

[John 070]

Originally Posted by Hvyarms

Yeah I just told him to cancel the plugs, at $160 an hour I'll do it myself.

another can of worms but imho, DO NOT USE ANTI SEIZE (there was a huge long a** thread/debate--mfg says do not use)....and imho DO get a torque wrench (some say why bother, use your common sense and hand tighten, but why not be accurate--wrench should not have an upper end higher than 75 ft. lbs, i.e. you want a 5-75 ft. lb wrench to be able to do 17 ft. lbs accurately)...I recommend the Bosch not BMW, save a couple bucks each and identical part...