Rough idea of cost to fix an E46

Scuzi · 23 Aug 2007 at 00:24

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

Scuzi · 23 Aug 2007 at 11:03

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.

Scuzi · 23 Aug 2007 at 13:47

R124/LA420 said:
Just out of interest Scuzi, it that £460 including fitting etc?

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 · 23 Aug 2007 at 15:56

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?

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.