Front shock/strut rebuild cost

[griffin69]

Gents,

My 2001 530iA with 96.000 miles on the clock still has the original front shock/strut assemblies. This makes my everyday ride a "little bumpy" so......

My indy quoted me a little over $800 for new shock/strut assemblies (includes mounts, etc), labor and tax.

Seems like a "tall order" to me or is it a reasonable price to smooth out my ride?

Thoughts?
Griffin69
2001 530i

[Panos]

as well, while he's in there. Also check the tie rod ends.

Does this include an alignment?

[griffin69]

Tie rods were replaced last year, upper control arms 2 yrs ago, alignment not included.....

Just shock/strut assemblies, labor and tax.

He quote $500 in parts (shock/struts, mount, etc) and $240 for labor (both sides) + tax....

Have new tires on them which helped a LOT even though somehow I can't warm up to them (Conti Xtreme Contact DWS) but that's a different story.

2001 530i

[JKRIT]

For $500, he should be quoting actual BMW parts, not aftermarket. I just bought Sachs (OEM) struts from Bav Auto for $119 ea. To ensure a good ride, the "etc." should include new upper and lower rubber spring pads, bump stops and dust boots. Labor quote seems very good to me: I can't do struts in one hour per side, that's for sure.
'03 525i Sapphire Blu/Grey, SP, Nav
'02 325it Orient Blu./Grey, SP, Nav
'98 323is Arctic Sil./Blk, SP
'95 M3 Cosmos Blk./Blk

[Panos]

That is a bit pricey. I read struts/shocks and assumed thats what you meant. If it is for front struts (plus pads and strut bearing) then its a bit high. It should be 3 hours labor plus about $300 in parts for the front. Check autohausaz.com for parts prices. Add 15% for fair indie prices. If it was within $100 of that I'd say its fair.

Rear parts are cheaper but should be 2hrs per side.

If you cant get a better quote than its not horrible. I could be better than a dealer quote, but not by much if at all.

[Griffin69]

The parts he is sourcing are BMW OEM - Sachs..however I do have the standard suspension so my struts go for about $200/pc, plus mounts and etc. hardware

His labor rate is $60/hr so he is reserving 2hrs for each side...

[cn90]

I did the ENTIRE Front end suspension for $1200 in parts.
Labor was mine.

My advice is do the whole front end as shown in my DIY below. One year later my car still drives like a charm. Get all your parts from EACTuning.com as in my DIY:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1312326

[as usual, is superb. Eurodavid]

[Griffin69]

Nice write-up...I am not as handy as you are it seems so may do my upgrades in smaller increments...Thx for the valuable details

[Nelson.....]

I paid my mechanic (and he came to my house and worked on it under my watchful eye) $1200 for every strut, suspension and steering parts.

On top of this, he did 2 cv joints on a different car.

Plus $120 for the alignment.

2000 540i Sport in Houston, TX

[Craig in Canada]