Costs to replace a power steering pump on an E46 330i, £590?

[Mr_Sukebe]

£590 (after discount for the car being four years old) is the price I've just been quoted by BMW Wimbledon.
Does that seem reasonable and can anyone recommend an independent in the area?

For ref, I've just checked EurocarParts, who are quoting £350 for the pump alone.
If you take into account the labour rate and discount, that infers that we're looking at around 4 hours labour. Is that excessive?

[sniff diesel]

Sounds fair enough, bit of a ball ache of a job even with a lift.

[pstruck]

Chap at work had the power steering fail on his Z3 yesterday. The garage has diagnosed pump failure and having told him the price (similar) of a new one they then suggested refurbishment of the existing unit - quoted at less than half that.

This may be an option worth investigating.

[welwynnick]

Mr_Sukebe said:

For ref, I've just checked EurocarParts, who are quoting £350 for the pump alone.

Is that a quote for an OEM part or a pattern part? I wouldn't rule out using the dealer, but I think I would get a quote from an indie first.

Nick

[Mr_Sukebe]

I did get a quote from an independant, problem was that it was £480 and I'm not sure that it included the use of a genuine part.
In the end, the dealer actually charged £505, which seemed pretty good under the circumstances. Makes me wonder how the Independants will compete.

[welwynnick]

I have a local BMW specialist who have proven to be good. They were cheap - a fraction of main dealer price, but word has spread round and they are always booked-out. Their prices went up accordingly, and are now only slightly cheaper than the dealer, to the extent that I would chose the dealer instead. It sounds like you have found a similar situation.

Speaking for myself, I think nothing of replacing routine things like cooling, electrical or brake parts, and only use dealers for tyres, and to keep the history up-to-date. Because of the way they work, dealer overheads are so high they can't give reasonable value for service and repairs.

Sadly, they seem to need an expensive location to sell the new cars.

Nick

[acquiescence]

welwynnick said:

and only use dealers for tyres,

Nick

Hi Nick, what you say is generally true but what is n't clear to me is why you use dealer's for tyres ?

[welwynnick]

acquiescence said:

welwynnick said:

and only use dealers for tyres,

Nick

Hi Nick, what you say is generally true but what is n't clear to me is why you use dealer's for tyres ?

OK, sloppy language on my part. I usually go to a low-rent back-street depot like Saxongate in Biggleswade.

[croyde]

BMW Wimbledon wanted £590 for an Inspection 2 on my 10 year old E36. I only rang them to see what I have been saving by taking mine to Specialist AMC in nearby Earlsfield. The same service was £290 and the staff there are highly knowledgeable and very helpful.

I gave up on Wimbledon as soon as my car was out of warranty and AMC have looked after it eversince.

[Mr_Sukebe]

As it happens, Coopers of Wimbledon did the oil service on my E46 for all of £120 (after discount). Seemed pretty reasonable to me.