Help Me, Opposite Lock, You're My Only Hope

"philipilihp" (philiphilip)
03/06/2014 at 16:03 • Filed to: Star wars, help!lopnik, BMW

Well, maybe not my only hope, but at least one of a short list of hopes.

Now that my E90 will be out of warranty in a few short weeks, I need to start fending for myself. The dealer just quoted me $590 for a new battery, which I laughed at loudly, though at my desk in my office that includes at least 10 other people, who subsequently gave me weird looks until I told them why I was laughing. And then the Prius owner laughed at me for having a BMW.

There is a small host of other stuff I also need to take care of, namely front thrust arm bushings ($750), a halo bulb ($295), some new tires, and a bluetooth module ($1200). They are at least replacing my front and rear brake pads/rotors, but I feel like that is a but of a pity repair at this point.

So. Does anyone know a good BMW shop in the Northern VA area that I can befriend and get my car babied at for reasonable money?

DISCUSSION (34)

Party-vi > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 16:05

You mentioned "BMW shop" and "reasonable money" in the same sentence.

Good luck.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 16:09

Kinja'd!!!

Here is your cheap shop my friend!

If that isn't your cup of tea, I have a shop that I use for all the whatever repairs that I don't feel like doing (Since I also live in Nova, Dale city to be exact) I use the pep boys on route 1, they are pretty cool, the techs there are very knowledgeable, and they have decent rates. Plus they have absolutely no qualms about bringing in your own parts, I bring my Honda there, my 300, and when it is up and running, and I don't feel like doing it myself, my Porsche 944. Plus one of the managers there is a 24 year Army veteran, who is pretty damn cool and I usually end up bullshitting with for like 3 hours

Roberto G. > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 16:12

The day I will pay $295 for a fucking halo bulb, will be the day I am reborn as George Clooney.

Lekker > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 16:13

After which said Prius' owner was punched in the face.

Sorry, I do not live near the area. Wish I could help, good luck with being out of warranty. My car literally turned over and died when that happened and it wasn't even a beemer.

ImmortalSix > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
03/06/2014 at 16:14

Yeah man, do it yourself - for fun and savings.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > ImmortalSix
03/06/2014 at 16:16

I started for the savings, then realized I just really like working with my hands. Because given enough time, and persistence, you can figure out ANYTHING with a car. I mean when you get your car fixed and get it back, it's like "Yeah, got my car." But when you fix it, you are like "Fuck yeah, bitch be runnin fine now!"

Stevo777 > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 16:16

I just recently purchased the extended warranty for my car totaling over 3500 smackaroos. Put a dent in my wallet but hopefully it will be worth it. I have a strange feeling about the reliability of my twin turbo V8.......

philipilihp > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
03/06/2014 at 16:19

I'll check them out! I would love to do stuff in my garage but I am both a little bit intimidated, lacking in the tools dept. and tight on space in my garage. I would LOVE to get into wrenching, which is why I want to befriend said shop so I can at first watch and learn and then start doing stuff myself.

ImmortalSix > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
03/06/2014 at 16:20

Same here - it's fun for me. I'll also add that I am one of those guys who never takes any car to a shop for anything, because in my past, every time I've taken a car to a shop, something is wrong with the car when I get it back.

I always looked at it this way: the 19 year old hesher who works at the shop is definitely not smarter than I am, and also definitely cares about the car less than I do. So there's little reason to go to a shop for anything. The two main reasons I could see for going to a shop / not doing it yourself are 1) equipment, and 2) time.

I understand not-everyone looks at a harmonic balancer failure as a joyous excuse to buy a puller, and not everyone has a second car for relief duty, so I won't belabor those points too much.

philipilihp > Roberto G.
03/06/2014 at 16:20

I kind of get why it's expensive, seeing as how you have to take off the wheel, the wheel arch lining, and then fiddle around back there, but $295 is a bit steep for a bulb. That one I will tackle myself. Just need to buy a jack first.

philipilihp > Stevo777
03/06/2014 at 16:22

Extended-extended warranty? I bought my 2008 CPO and added the extended maintenance plan. The original warranty ran out 2 years ago. The $3k was definitely worth it though, between turbos, oil/tranny leaks, injectors, fuel pumps, water pump and thermostat.

philipilihp > ImmortalSix
03/06/2014 at 16:24

It's mostly equipment for me. But that can slowly be remedied, and I plan on doing so.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 16:24

That Obi Juan image is now saved. Thank you.
As to your issues, buy the parts from the Internet and do the work yourself. BMW like most companies don't make most of their parts, so you can still buy OE parts and not pay the BMW price. Most jobs are easy enough to do, so you'll save a small fortune by not paying some asshole to do them.

Stevo777 > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 16:25

well, my car has 37k on the clock sooooo. lol and it's an 11.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 16:28

I started with my tools by getting a 250 piece craftsman mechanics tool set from sears.

After that you just need some bigger wrenches, screw drivers, and I recommend a set of craftsman mechanic gloves, they've saved me well over 10 stitches so far lol.

grab a jack stand/jack package deal for cheap at sears while your there. 300-350 and you're ready to wrench.

philipilihp > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
03/06/2014 at 16:29

I'm going to try to do just that, at least for future repairs. My idea was to start by befriending a BMW guy who could them teach me a few things that I could then do myself.

philipilihp > Stevo777
03/06/2014 at 16:30

550?

I just passed 60k miles on mine.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 16:31

Well you don't have to spend thousands on tools right away. I do it gradually, if I need the tool thats when I buy it. Always good to always have RTV and WD-40 around though. Start yourself off with a basic 200 piece tool set, get a craftsman or snap-on. Snap on will last, but craftsman has lifetime warranty, and it's fine to be intimidated, just start small, what I like to do is just take stuff apart when I get bored, for no reason. And some techs won't let you watch but some will, just ask the worst they will say is no. Oh and make sure you get yourself a repair manual, great place to start. Factory manual, or a haynes, they all do the job

philipilihp > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
03/06/2014 at 16:31

Awesome! I'll go check out sears.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 16:33

Go to pelicanparts.com they have parts and how to step by step directions. Be your own friend.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > ImmortalSix
03/06/2014 at 16:35

Yeah, the only car I usually always take to the shop (granted it's a shop I GREATLY trust) is my 300, is my wife's car, and the baby hauler, plus she can't drive a 5 speed, so I can't afford to have that thing down. Sucks because I haven't had the chance to dig into the sweet American V6 yet, been itching to do it.

The only job I refuse to do myself (and this is only because I've been wrenching for only about 2 years) is the timing belt on my 944, the first change I'm getting it done by an experienced 944 shop, mainly because I don't have the holy grail of Porsche tools (timing belt tool), and because if I screw the job up, I'm out an engine, if they screw it up they owe me an engine, but next time, I'll have 3 years to prepare for it, I plan on doing it myself.

philipilihp > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
03/06/2014 at 16:35

Youtube has always been helpful so far, but i'll try to find a factory manual as well. Thanks for the advice! I've always wanted to start wrenching stuff, and I watch Wheeler Dealers pretty much for the repairs, but so far the most I've done is a tranny drain and fill on my wife's pilot. But I hope to be doing spark plugs and front brake pads/rotors on it soon. I'll let you guys know how that goes...

Mattbob > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
03/06/2014 at 16:38

GLOVES!! YES!!! Gloves are some of the most neglected tools! A good set of gloves is a god send at the end of the day.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 16:39

Well a tranny drain is a few steps above a basic oil change, so kudos to that, I prefer Haynes manuals because it comes with plenty of pictures, plus usually points out potential pitfalls. Spark plugs are pretty easy, something to do, buy some dialectic tune up grease (it's used for connections that use electricity), and put it on the end of the spark plug, the one that comes out of the engine, helps keep moisture out and all that stuff, I put it on everything that uses an electrical connection in the engine bay, cause who knows when I'll be there again. And make sure you're careful about how much you tighten the plugs, the torque is usually around 10-20 ft pounds, so it's light. Rotors, easy peasy man, if you can do a tranny fill you can do the pads. If you ever have questions just post it here someone will answer.

ImmortalSix > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
03/06/2014 at 16:41

After I did the timing belt on my Toyota 3VZ-E, it had a ton more torque and would knock if I didn't run it on premium gas. Although by the numbers, it got more miles-per-dollar after that, so it was a fully welcome, although accidental change.

I'm guessing I got the cam gears 1 or 2 teeth off, but whatever it was, it made that wimpy V6 pull a lot harder.

Point: doing any job the first time invites..."learning moments," which are fine on a Toyota truck and probably less fine on a vintage Porsche (even if it is a 944). So, I guess I can understand why some people don't want to do more involved jobs themselves. (It's because they don't drive piles, like I do),

philipilihp > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
03/06/2014 at 16:44

I would love to be my own friend! Thanks!

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 16:46

it'll be helpful to get a nice big set. when I was younger I asked my parents for a set for my birthday, I said I just want tools. I don't care about anything else. TOOLS. I was a sophomore in college at the time, still using them almost 10 years later, never had a craftsman tool break on me. I almost want to challenge them so i can get a replacement.

ddavidn > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
03/06/2014 at 16:47

This is pretty much my exact experience as well.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Mattbob
03/06/2014 at 16:47

seriously!

I got 4 stitches in one knuckle and decided it was time for gloves.

multiple times I've said, damn if it weren't for those gloves....

philipilihp > Mattbob
03/06/2014 at 16:47

So no cheapo blue vinyl examining gloves...? lol They always break after 5 minutes and then you might as well not have been wearing anything.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > ImmortalSix
03/06/2014 at 16:48

Nice, I love finding that accidental screw ups end up working out better in the end.

And yeah, I've already had a few learning moments, allow me to share with you a story:

So, the reason I'm doing a clutch job is not because the clutch was pad (although was slipping at peak torque), it's because whoever did the job previously didn't change the pilot bearing. So as a result of it being older then fucking father time in car years, it got rusted up, had trouble putting it into gear, had the nasty grinding sound coming from the bell housing, so I immediately knew I would need to do a clutch job. Anywho I dropped everything and as I am trying to pull the torque tube, it's stuck, the drive shaft inside it was stuck on the pilot bearing. I had to manually move the crank shaft (shits heavy) and undo all the pressure plate bolts through the starter hole, and then I got some room to see where it was stuck. Had to get a crowbar and pry it off, finally got it off. But wait, we haven't finished! The drive shaft moves within the torque tube on bearings, and with enough force you can move the drive shaft through the TT, now, the TT was moving when I pulled it, the drive shaft was not, so I had to drop my rear suspension (torsion bar set up, took me 10 hours to get it back in, 30 minutes to drop), and bang it back into place, banging it back into place took me 30 seconds.

Moral of the story, maintain the pain in the ass cars properly

Mattbob > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 16:55

yeah, those are useless for everything except maybe for smearing some grease on a bushing or some such thing. These are what I use, and they work great. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00…

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philipilihp > Mattbob
03/06/2014 at 16:58

Added to my wishlist!

Stevo777 > philipilihp
03/06/2014 at 18:41

60k, you should still be able to add an additional 50k or two years I think... not sure though