Rough idea of cost to fix an E46

Scuzi

Scuzi

Scuzi

Man of Honour
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
20,517
Location
UK
My mum's car failed the MOT today. According to the report, the ball joints in both front wheels need replaced. The brake lines are corroded and pitted and also need replaced.

The car is a '99 BMW E46 318i SE. What can she expect to pay to get that lot replaced? I'm not looking for down to the penny figures, just a ballpark figure so that she has some idea of what to expect.

Thanks :)
 
Two ball joints for my e38 were under £150 fitted iirc,not sure about the brake pipes, certainly not a "big hit".
 
I find it hard to believe the brake lines are corroded on 1999 BMW - Unless the car has been standing in water half it's life.
 
Why do car manufacturers still insist on using ferrous material for brake lines? Copper all round please!

Replacement brake lines should be cheap, we had the ones on Kate's Mondeo replaced on the MOT (from master cylinder to rear wheels on both sides) which I let the garage do because my flaring tool is crap and I couldn't get access to drop the fuel tank fully (they run under the tank in many cars)

I think it cost £30 ish quid to have them done. Make sure the garage make the brake lines themselves from copper pipe - it's lots cheaper and won't rust again :)

As for the ball joint, it depends if they have separate balljoints or ones that are fused to the lower arms. If they are the fused job then it will cost a fair amount to have done at a garage because the track rods, anti roll bar and drive shaft may all need to be disconnected first along with the possibility of loosening the subframe (all depends on the car) - it's not a difficult job as such, just time consuming and easy to get wrong (track rod ends etc have a habit of refusing to do back up and there's lots of levering and shoving involved)

If the balljoint is seperate then it's case of undoint the balljoint, splitting the nut and lowering the wishbone so you can change the balljoint. Quite a simple job. Again, I wish more cars had this sort of design. Still, for those that don't, fitting complete new wishbones utterly transforms the feel of the car.

As for costs Scuzi I can't really estimate because I have no real clue what garages charge! I can see complete wishbones for £60 a side on Ebay(THESE look pretty good quality, better than some others listed) but I can't see the ball joint listed on it's own.

Can't see the ball joint listed on it's own on Euro Car Parts either, but looking at the arm design I think they possibly are available on their own.

Hope this helps.
 
Virdi said:
I find it hard to believe the brake lines are corroded on 1999 BMW - Unless the car has been standing in water half it's life.
Click to expand...


Don't be surprised mate!

I had corroded brake lines as an advisory on my MOT a month back. (1998 Model)

Bloody Germans! :p :D
 
Thanks for the advice :)

Bloody hell, just got a call from the mechanic. For the balljoints alone it'll cost £460 for BMW parts or £250 for a third party manufacturer. The mechanic said that they are "one big unit and the whole lot needs replaced" so I thuink you are right Lopez when you say they are fused to the lower arms. The brake pipes are going to cost another £50 on top of that.

All in with labour it's going to be about £400 for the cheaper balljoints. Ahh well, it has to be done :o


As has been said, I too don't understand why they make brake pipes with ferrous material. Surely common sense should prevail and something more suitable like copper should be used.
 
Yup, seems about right. BMW like all manufacturers make brake pipes out of ferrous material the reason being that the EU want a ban on copper and are almost near to having the ban upheld. Major car manufacturers have not been using copper brake lines for almost a decade due to this. Copper pipes in new houses will be replaced by plastic or alternative by the end of 2008 if the ban comes in too.

Unfortunately for BMW their layout seems prone to water spray which mixed with salt in winter months can proove a nightmare as you are finding out and the lines corrode.

Strangely enough, there is nothing to stop you replacing them with copper lines, although that will probably change soon too.
 
Scuzi said:
Thanks for the advice

Bloody hell, just got a call from the mechanic. For the balljoints alone it'll cost £460 for BMW parts or £250 for a third party manufacturer. The mechanic said that they are "one big unit and the whole lot needs replaced" so I thuink you are right Lopez when you say they are fused to the lower arms. The brake pipes are going to cost another £50 on top of that.

All in with labour it's going to be about £400 for the cheaper balljoints. Ahh well, it has to be done


As has been said, I too don't understand why they make brake pipes with ferrous material. Surely common sense should prevail and something more suitable like copper should be used.
Click to expand...

£460 - £250! Stone me! :eek:

There was me thinking after I'd posted my previous reply that the excessive cost of e38 parts was'nt relevant to this thread! :eek:

"One big unit" - more like one big way of gaining more money for what should be a simple DIY fix! :mad: (well, if your DIY is better than mine anyway :o )

Makes me wonder how long before a shock absorber, for example, comes as a whole unit along with springs, mountings etc etc etc and, obviously, they'd insist on replacement in pairs......

Makes you mad.

One thing Scuzi, given the £250 (which is still a lot!) cost of the 3rd party item, have you given FAB a call? I'm sure they will have suitable replacements (which will be "off the shelf") from a late breaker at a far more reasonable price - They've currently got 8 02 model e46 316i & 318i's at the mo, I'd give them a shout mate.

FAB RECYCLING LTD
Specialist BMW Car Breakers & Dismantlers
Broadmoor Road, Cinderford, Gloucestershire, GL14 2YL, England.
Tel: 01594-827333 (6 lines) - Fax: 01594-829455
International Tel: (UK: +44)-1594-827333 - Fax: (UK: +44)-1594-829455
Click to expand...
 
Used suspension components is false economy. IIRC the ball joints are attached to the same wishbone which has the control arms on it, so by replacing the whole lot it's good preventative maintanence.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Used suspension components is false economy. IIRC the ball joints are attached to the same wishbone which has the control arms on it, so by replacing the whole lot it's good preventative maintanence.
Click to expand...

Generally, I'd agree with that sentiment, that said, FAB don't sell crap, their parts are tested (which isn't the case in most scrappys) and the cost will be significantly lower.

Given the £460(!) cost of the BMW replacement parts, find a late low mileage breaker with rear damage and you've got OEM equipment that will be ok, for a fraction of the replacement cost of even the 3rd party item I'd imagine.

Its something worth picking the phone up for imo. - May not be feasable, it may save his mum a packet!

Just out of interest Scuzi, it that £460 including fitting etc?
 
R124/LA420 said:
Just out of interest Scuzi, it that £460 including fitting etc?
Click to expand...
I don't think so, the £460 was for the parts direct from BMW I believe. She has opted to go for the cheaper parts and is having them fitted today.

The laugh about it is that the MOT expired last week and the next available retest appointment is in 2 weeks time. What a joke :mad:
 
Scuzi said:
ball joints in both front wheels
Click to expand...

Lopéz said:
drive shaft may all need to be disconnected
Click to expand...

n0000000b. You need to learn a bit about cars before you come in here spouting rubbish about stuff you don't understand. :p

I'm just surprised fox didn't pick up on it first
 
kaiowas said:
n0000000b. You need to learn a bit about cars before you come in here spouting rubbish about stuff you don't understand. :p

I'm just surprised fox didn't pick up on it first
Click to expand...

Well spotted mate. :D :D :D

Shows who flicks over threads without taking in 90% of whats written! - Oh! thats me then! :o
 
Scuzi said:
I don't think so, the £460 was for the parts direct from BMW I believe. She has opted to go for the cheaper parts and is having them fitted today.

The laugh about it is that the MOT expired last week and the next available retest appointment is in 2 weeks time. What a joke :mad:
Click to expand...

No dedicated MOT test only centres around your parts? - Theres such a place near me.
You literally have a drive through MOT test, turn up wait 20 minutes car back - pass or fail and the best bit, not afilliated to any garages so no likelyhood of failure items cropping up if you see what I mean. :)

2 weeks is a bit long, but if the garage is fully booked, I wonder why they don't take the car elsewhere?
 
£460 is a bargain.

Mine are £350 each! :(

Weird how EU want to ban copper from cars though. What do they plan on making wires from? I'd guess it was more of an issue with cost, copper is very expensive now where as steel pipes will be much cheaper
 
R124/LA420 said:
No dedicated MOT test only centres around your parts? - Theres such a place near me.
You literally have a drive through MOT test, turn up wait 20 minutes car back - pass or fail and the best bit, not afilliated to any garages so no likelyhood of failure items cropping up if you see what I mean. :)

2 weeks is a bit long, but if the garage is fully booked, I wonder why they don't take the car elsewhere?
Click to expand...
It's Northern Ireland. All MOT testing is performed at dedicated DVLNI centres.

There's about 10 in the entire country and waiting lists are ridiculous :(

I had to get an exemption certificate for my last car at one stage as they went on strike and my car had it's MOT 6 months late.
 
Scuzi said:
It's Northern Ireland. All MOT testing is performed at dedicated DVLNI centres.

There's about 10 in the entire country and waiting lists are ridiculous :(

I had to get an exemption certificate for my last car at one stage as they went on strike and my car had it's MOT 6 months late.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean, my GF has been trying to get a cancellation for the past two weeks.

Newtownards outside Belfast is pretty good. Thats a little too far from Lurgan though :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom