MyNewHooker

The dealer wants 1200 dollars to replace two bushings, is this normal? No, they are not replacing the arm and ball joint. just the bushings

Please talk my buddy out of this, lol!

StarvingArtist

Ha ha I guess someone needs to feed the dealer.

ItalianJoe1

Considering most dealers have labor rates around $200/hr, and 3-4 hours of labor, plus parts cost, I could see it there.

If he wants to overpay, let him.

MyNewHooker

Yes, indeed. He loves his E55, thankfully they made the shop ***** buff the car out and make it all nice and pretty, aligned it as well very sweetly..I gotta admit..He is a happy man so I'm gonna back off lol.

ItalianJoe1

People don't like to hear it, but you do get what you pay for. I agree that dealer prices are insane, but just because it will cost you less somewhere else, doesn't mean you're getting the same service. Most dealer techs are actually pretty good compared to the retail world and private shops. Obviously it's a case by case basis, but I've worked with some very poor techs in many places.

If you took your car to firestone and expected someone to take the time to properly replace the bushings, torque the bolts with the car sitting level on it's wheels, then align the car correctly to factory specs, I'd say unless it was me doing the work, good luck. At the dealership, the factory procedures are almost always enforced and only people who know what they are doing align cars, so the end result is a car that, by and large, works like it's designed to.

atoms

As a general rule (but by no means absolute) I agree with "you get what you pay for" in terms of service. But it's the cost of parts at a dealer that boggles my mind.

Example: I was after the front right side sill plate (and various other items). Direct from parts supplier ~50 bucks. Dealer? $200+

Curious how much the dealer is charging for the bushings.

Anyway, this is old hat I suppose.

ItalianJoe1

I happened to see a price quote for some brake parts the other day, I don't even know what car it was, but the difference from cost to list price was over 150%. Sale price was something like $200, and cost was $80 for a set of pads or a rotor. It's insane.