[dbs600]

Hello everyone,

My Tie Rods are seized and dealer states they need to be replaced in order to perform an alignment, that they can't loosen them.

Dealer wants $1,500 for the job; $1,050 parts, $450 labor.

Anyone have any idea what a fair price should be elsewhere?

Or what I should get this down to with the dealer?

Thank you.

[rahdigga165]

Originally Posted by dbs600

Hello everyone,

My Tie Rods are seized and dealer states they need to be replaced in order to perform an alignment, that they can't loosen them.

Dealer wants $1,500 for the job; $1,050 parts, $450 labor.

Anyone have any idea what a fair price should be elsewhere?

Or what I should get this down to with the dealer?

Thank you.

If you go with OE parts, parts will run you around 70$ at FCP euro for each tie rod.
Any mechanic should be able to install them or even yourself if you have the right tools etc...perhaps a wheel alignment shop as well.

It should not cost you no more than $200 bucks to install at a mechanic shop plus or minus a few bucks.

Do not let them heat up the tie rods to loosen them up..it can cause small burn holes to the cv boots and then you going to start leaking CV grease.( take it from my experience).

Good luck.. let us know what route you took once its all done.

[OnlyGerman]

Sounds like robbery, tell the dealer to F off.

[n3985]

Standard dealer pricing which of course is high

Find a local BMW specialist and it will likely be $1,000 less

[beegeezy]

Why do people insist on going to dealerships for out a warranty work?

[lsturbointeg]

Originally Posted by dbs600

Hello everyone,

My Tie Rods are seized and dealer states they need to be replaced in order to perform an alignment, that they can't loosen them.

Dealer wants $1,500 for the job; $1,050 parts, $450 labor.

Anyone have any idea what a fair price should be elsewhere?

Or what I should get this down to with the dealer?

Thank you.

damn!!! are they at least gonna lube or just shove it straight in

[beegeezy]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

damn!!! are they at least gonna lube or just shove it straight in

Take the car to any tune up & alignment shop. Tie rods are so easy even those guys can’t mess it up.

[Surly73]

I find the tie rod issue interesting. I'm curious about root cause and what can be done to prevent them seizing.

I had a seized tie rod at 32,000km (19k miles). It was at the dealer and under warranty so it was replaced. I just had an alignment again at 82,000km (50k miles) and the shop (not the dealer) said it was dicey they thought the tie rod was going to be seized.

I've never had a tie rod be seized on older and much higher mile cars in the past. What's with the tie rods on the F10? Time to make sure to spray lube all over the threads once or twice a year?

[beegeezy]

Originally Posted by Surly73

I find the tie rod issue interesting. I'm curious about root cause and what can be done to prevent them seizing.

I had a seized tie rod at 32,000km (19k miles). It was at the dealer and under warranty so it was replaced. I just had an alignment again at 82,000km (50k miles) and the shop (not the dealer) said it was dicey they thought the tie rod was going to be seized.

I've never had a tie rod be seized on older and much higher mile cars in the past. What's with the tie rods on the F10? Time to make sure to spray lube all over the threads once or twice a year?

Good question. Are the outer tie rods aluminum? It could be a case of galvanic corrosion. It probably wouldn't hurt to brush on some quality anti-seize. I have some Permatex nickel anti-seize that I use for stuff like this.

[spielnicht]

Tie rods (and steering links) are without a doubt the easiest things you can change yourself on your front suspension because they they're not under any tension whatsoever.

If you're handy enough to change a door lock/handle in your house, honestly this is just about as easy. You can even rent the joint separator from Advance Auto (or Auto Zone) for free. Get the parts from FCP Euro or getbmwparts.com and give it a go. If you want a shop to do it, like the others said, any shop (even half competent) should be able to do it for 1/3 that dealer quote.

It kills me when dealers think that just because we drive luxury cars we also have suckers painted on our foreheads. I'm more than OK to support dealers if they charged fair prices for parts and labor, but when they sell you the same part during service for 2x or 3x more than what you can get it directly from their own parts department, I think that's just robbery. Just a year ago I took mine for state inspection only to be told rear pads need to be replaced to pass. They wanted to charge me $250 for the parts + $250 for labor. I sarcastically told them to fail it and bring it down. I ended up buying the pads from the same dealer for ~$120, installed them myself that evening, and was back next day for free re-inspection. I remember the service rep asking me if all of this was worth saving ~$300. I remember telling him (sarcastically again) that regardless of how much I make an hour and what I do for a living, I still had to work for that money.

[HotSpicyChicken90]

You can do it on your own; it's not that difficult actually

[dbs600]

Thank you very much everyone.

I truly appreciate the most prompt and throughout replies.

Such wonderful support and assistance on these boards.

Very helpful indeed!

[HotSpicyChicken90]

TRW or Febi Bilstein are very good OEM/Aftermarket brands

[M_Bimmer]

To the OP, just curious, the dealers are stealers, but even full retail of two tie rods don't add up to $1050 in parts.....what else are they replacing in parts (forget the labor for a minute)? Did you get a written quote or was this info conveyed over the phone?

I suspect they are changing out a lot more than you convey..not to call you out on it, but if this were my money, I'd want more details....

As for the labor, generically, purely from a math standpoint (I am not basing this on standard shop costs for the job), given the shop may have a $150/hr rate, that would equate to 3 hrs of labor....given that both tie rods would only require a hour, or even give then 1.5 hrs, what is the other $220 of your money being spent on? Even if the alignment of 1 hr was included, there is more to your bill than tie rods....

If you got an oral quote, you are well in your rights to ask for details on the proposed costs, in writing....I know I would...I don't have a money tree, so every dollar I earn and have to give someone else is challenged....

[dbs600]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

To the OP, just curious, the dealers are stealers, but even full retail of two tie rods don't add up to $1050 in parts.....what else are they replacing in parts (forget the labor for a minute)? Did you get a written quote or was this info conveyed over the phone?

I suspect they are changing out a lot more than you convey..not to call you out on it, but if this were my money, I'd want more details....

As for the labor, generically, purely from a math standpoint (I am not basing this on standard shop costs for the job), given the shop may have a $150/hr rate, that would equate to 3 hrs of labor....given that both tie rods would only require a hour, or even give then 1.5 hrs, what is the other $220 of your money being spent on? Even if the alignment of 1 hr was included, there is more to your bill than tie rods....

If you got an oral quote, you are well in your rights to ask for details on the proposed costs, in writing....I know I would...I don't have a money tree, so every dollar I earn and have to give someone else is challenged....

Thank you very much; I really appreciate your input.

I received that attached below.

Any further thoughts?

My best.

[dbs600]

Please also note I was quoted $160 per hour in labor. :|

Anything I may want to say in order to negotiate?

[M_Bimmer]

so I definitely would play dumb and call the dealer out on this....there is nothing fair-and-reasonable about this quote...

Retail for parts:
- each link is $150
- each boot is $56
- grease x2 is $10
- nut x2 is $5

so total at retail is $226 total.....

what makes this very bad, is they quoted you 4x retail in parts...a simple mistake (?), in which the SA should get fired, or on purpose (?), with the same outcome...

Typically everyone makes at least 20% selling you parts, whether over the counter or through their repair shop...which is why they can offer BMWCCA members 10%, and still make money...given wholesale is even less, and the dealer got the part for "jobber" price...they are making a killing....independent of your quote. so anything above retail, is "markup" = pure profit, and the SA gets a commission.

it is absolutely criminal that this is going on with the Internet pricing available to everyone.
(which is worse, not knowing or knowing you're getting ripped off?)....the 4x markup is appalling...

I'd give this dealer a chance to correct the quote, then ask for 20% off for trying to pull a fast one on you....then still let BMWNA know.....the dealership will be forced to address the matter with your SA....which is a good thing.

[dbs600]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

so I definitely would play dumb and call the dealer out on this....there is nothing fair-and-reasonable about this quote...

Retail for parts:
- each link is $150
- each boot is $56
- grease x2 is $10
- nut x2 is $5

so total at retail is $226 total.....

what makes this very bad, is they quoted you 4x retail in parts...a simple mistake (?), in which the SA should get fired, or on purpose (?), with the same outcome...

Typically everyone makes at least 20% selling you parts, whether over the counter or through their repair shop...which is why they can offer BMWCCA members 10%, and still make money...given wholesale is even less, and the dealer got the part for "jobber" price...they are making a killing....independent of your quote. so anything above retail, is "markup" = pure profit, and the SA gets a commission.

it is absolutely criminal that this is going on with the Internet pricing available to everyone.
(which is worse, not knowing or knowing you're getting ripped off?)....the 4x markup is appalling...

I'd give this dealer a chance to correct the quote, then ask for 20% off for trying to pull a fast one on you....then still let BMWNA know.....the dealership will be forced to address the matter with your SA....which is a good thing.

Thank you so very much.

Are you a CCA member? Do all dealers participate in discounting for CCA members? Do you find it worth it?

Otherwise, based upon the numbers provided, I'm getting $427 in parts, not $226, as mentioned.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding in some way?

Do you think 2 hours of labor is fair? I do know this is one of the simplest of jobs to take care of, but dealers do have 'book' times. Any idea if this may call for 2 hours, or more or less?

In all, for the dealer to take care of this, what would you say is a fair price to pay them?

$600, $750, or anything under $1k? I'd like to go to them with a number instead of any back and forth.

Thank you again!

[beegeezy]

Is there a reason why you’re having this done at the dealer vs an independent mechanic?

[dbs600]

Thanks for your question. Car is already at dealer for about $6k worth of other work that’s being covered by warranty. Would like dealer to take care of all at once if it makes sense money-wise.

Otherwise, I do have an Indy that quoted 2 hours of labor if I bring my own parts. Which based upon what I’m hearing sounds like a lot of labor hours in and of itself for the job. :/

[M_Bimmer]

Sorry....this is what happens when a response is done using a cell phone.....

BTW, I priced an LCI 2-wheel, w/ electric steering, 535i....all are BMW parts:

- $286.30 for 32-10-6-784-716 Steering Tie Rod Assembly, Left ($185.52)
- $286.30 for 32-10-6-784-719 Steering Tie Rod Assembly, Right ($185.52)
- $66.75 for 32-10-6-791-561 Tie Rod Boot ($48.86)
- $66.75 for 32-10-6-791-561 Tie Rod Boot ($48.86)
- $4.70 for 33-30-6-787-062 Combination Nut - M14x1,5-10ZNNIV ($3.61)
- $4.70 for 33-30-6-787-062 Combination Nut - M14x1,5-10ZNNIV ($3.61)
- $10.02 for 83-23-2-208-093 Lubricating Grease FB-1 ($6.85)

Parts Counter Price (Max): $725.52 (full MSRP)
BMW Dealership (Min): $482.83

The above is the range of "over-the-counter" BMW prices for BMW stamped parts, and the the lower prices could be lower if you shop around at BMW online dealership websites.....

If you paid the MAX price of $725.52, how does your dealer explain the increase of $324.48? That is an absolute criminal markup....considering the ANY BMW dealership could still sell you the parts @ $482.83 and still make a large profit....this is supportable with Google....

The labor rate is going to be chasing a unicorn and won't yield you much w.r.t. challenging their quote...but two hours is reasonable, so $300 - $350 would be fair, but you'd only be reducing the labor by $100.....still every little bit counts....

The new information you provided that you are doing other work is a little puzzling...if you are already doing work, and they probably are price gouging you on that effort (alignment, etc), then they should be a little forgiving on the "new" work found bill....they do want you to come back, right? Also, you could quickly force their hand if you called another BMW dealership and ask them what they'd charge for the same work...to force your current dealership to come down on the bill....

So to answer your question....$1075.52 should be the max you should pay period...and the dealer should be able to go down as low $832.83 for a fair price for the work...given that this would be under $400 at a independent shop (using Tie Rod Assemblies by Lemforder 32106784716 @ $71.17 each = $160 in parts)...

Why not just complete your current work, and forgo the front end alignment, and repair until later? The car is still drive-able, right? It does make this ordeal a pain, but you are getting ripped at least $300 and up to $1000...this is not a matter of a few dollars....

Good Luck...

[Note 1: Pricing above is based on my F10 and my locale...but should be within 10% if we have the same F10 configuration....]

[Note 2: I am a BMW CCA member and it is absolutely worth it...the $500 to $1500 off on a new BMW after you get your best price at a dealership is worth it, then there is the 10% - 15% off on parts and service, and the very nice monthly magazine....plus a lot more]

[beegeezy]

I would leave and go to your Indy. The Lemforder parts are the exact same as the parts in the BMW box. The dealer can’t compete since the labor, and especially the parts, are so much more expensive vs OEM parts. If you get the parts from FCPEuro they have a lifetime warranty as well.