[Varjo]

Wanting to get a bit of a sanity check on a repair quote for my 2008 n54 335i. It's been running a little rough (particularly at idle and when cold) the last year or so, and has been throwing a CEL with fuel mixture control codes that keep coming back. I've also been starting to smell a burning oil and strongly suspect valve cover gasket (I've already previously done oil pan and oil filter housing gaskets and the turbos only have 45k or so on them).

Is this a reasonable quote for plugs, valve cover, and injectors?

Labor $1209
Fuel Injector $345*6 = $2070
Fuel Injector Clip $12*6 = $72
Spark Plug $25*6 = $150
Valve Cover with Gasket $600
Subtotal $4101

As a side note, thoughts on if it's worth it to put this kind of money into a 2008 car with 105k miles on it... I do have a worry that this sort of cost will just keep continuing (both fuel pumps are original still for instance). I have already done water pump+tstat, oil pan gasket, oil filter housing gasket, both front window regulators, and coils. Suspension is also still original with 105k miles on it...

I suppose I'm feeling a bit torn. I love this car but man... it's a money pit.

[Tunafish]

Yeah if you don't diy or have a money tree in the back. I would cut my losses. It still have ok value now but since bmw is taking away diy'er tools to work on these cars, that value is going to drop soon.

But for the qoute, I think the labor is excessive as is the valve cover cost, but that might save you 700 shopping around other shops and a set of injectors are no more than 1300... So reasonably you are still looking at 2500, a good chuck of change..

I see in the future that shops are going to charge more for repairs on these for the reason stated above, more demand.. So you have to take that into consideration also.

[Peter5498]

DIY

Labor: $0
Fuel Injectors: $1,300
Fuel Injector Clips: $10
Spark Plugs: $60
VC w/ Gasket: $425
Subtotal: $1795

Part prices pulled from FCP Euro.

[JonOhh]

$4000 is about what my friend paid to have all of that done on his

Five months later he's doing turbos at 80k, I think he's totalled 6 or 7k into the car by now, which is fine if you're committed to keeping it, but otherwise... you could buy a whole e90 for that.

[BSM n54iS]

Hell.
No.

Ya if you're not willing to diy, then you may want to look for something else to dd

[cshiznitzj]

They are charging a service/fee charge on materials cost, as others already pointed out the materials are cheaper than they have listed.

Ask for labor hours estimated in that quote. It looks to be about 9.5 hours based on $125 marked up hourly rate. I really don't see how this is more than 5 hours of work but I do not know the BMW book hours for the job and they likely charge according to book.

[Smgs1992]

How skilled are you with a set of tools? All that work is pretty much in the same area on top of the engine and aside from needing a couple tools you’d need to order it is a fairly easy diy on a weekend/day off

[tlow98]

Everyone charges by the book. That’s the way the world works.

Sell it to someone that can DIY with full disclosure and put the $5k you get towards a Lexus.

[Smgs1992]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Everyone charges by the book. That’s the way the world works.

Sell it to someone that can DIY with full disclosure and put the $5k you get towards a Lexus.

It’s a 6MT it’ll sell for more than 5k

[e90yyc]

I've never understood why people are so quick to base their maintenance decisions on the "value" of their car. I'm not saying that shouldn't be a factor, but it often seems like the first thing people jump to. Sure I understand that it doesn't always make sense to pour loads of money into a car that is worth very little, but at the same time, this is common stuff for N54/N55, is it not? It isn't like OP is talking about getting a full repaint or some other frivolous work where you might hope to recoup some of the cost when selling...

If I applied this logic to maintaining my 328xi with 200k miles, I would have let it go to shit two years ago.

So, OP sells the car but since he isn't 90 he says f*ck the Lexus and buys another 335. Then in x number of months or years he's on the hook for the same job, or will have do another job over again that he had already done on his previous car.

I'm totally onboard with DIY'ing this if possible. Makes no sense to pay somebody to do this when you can do it for less than half. But if you're not able to, the car is in good shape otherwise, and you plan to keep it, why not?

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Everyone charges by the book. That’s the way the world works.

Sell it to someone that can DIY with full disclosure and put the $5k you get towards a Lexus.

Or just find a shadetree mechanic who's happy to get $50-80 per ACTUAL hour of work and knows what he's doing. After the shop takes their cut the tech is making ~1/3-1/2 of what you're paying.

In my experience the hobbyists are just as knowledgeable and reliable as an average shop.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

I've never understood why people are so quick to base their maintenance decisions on the "value" of their car. I'm not saying that shouldn't be a factor, but it often seems like the first thing people jump to. Sure I understand that it doesn't always make sense to pour loads of money into a car that is worth very little, but at the same time, this is common stuff for N54/N55, is it not? It isn't like OP is talking about getting a full repaint or some other frivolous work where you might hope to recoup some of the cost when selling...

If I applied this logic to maintaining my 328xi with 200k miles, I would have let it go to shit two years ago.

So, OP sells the car but since he isn't 90 he says f*ck the Lexus and buys another 335. Then in x number of months or years he's on the hook for the same job, or will have do another job over again that he had already done on his previous car.

I'm totally onboard with DIY'ing this if possible. Makes no sense to pay somebody to do this when you can do it for less than half. But if you're not able to, the car is in good shape otherwise, and you plan to keep it, why not?

Lol you and me both. I'll never understand either. The car is that low because it's expected that you'll have to spend a good chunk to maintain it.

But I admit from a DIY perspective it goes down easier when you gotta do big fixes.

Now if you don't care about having that many HP and the car then okay sell it and get something else.

[Hayk90]

Have you ever had your spark plugs and coils replaced? It may be just that at this mileage. $250-300 DIY.

If you’re not interested in turning a wrench then best bet is sell it or trade it in.

[fastboatster]

Proposed solution - replace the plugs, coils and injectors yourself, these are right on top of the engine and can be done even in autoparts store parking lot. And you can def buy parts cheaper. As for the valve cover, try to get more quotes. Ideally, better to get it done yourself for even more savings but it is more difficult than spark plugs and confidence levels for diy repairs do vary. So yeah, just get more quotes for the valve cover.

[raptorman5174]

Originally Posted by Peter5498

DIY

Labor: $0
Fuel Injectors: $1,300
Fuel Injector Clips: $10
Spark Plugs: $60
VC w/ Gasket: $425
Subtotal: $1795

Part prices pulled from FCP Euro.

THIS

i also agree that you can buy a whole new car for that price, I only paid $3700 for mine

[SSe90S65]

that hurts

[zomski101]

Originally Posted by Varjo

I suppose I'm feeling a bit torn. I love this car but man... it's a money pit.

This is a sign you should sell it and get something more reliable and/or cheaper to maintain. Last thing you want is to drop 4k on a repair and get in an accident latter down the road.

[E92William]

Not trying to be that guy but buddy of mine has been running for 6 months on fbo tuned with eBay refurbished injectors for a minuscule fraction of what the fcp euro ones are and the car is doing great. I think it's amazing someone would pay 4K to get new injectors and a valve cover gasket lol. That's 500 short of what I paid for my e92

[Varjo]

Hmm, ok guys, thanks a ton for the advice!

On balance, I think I will probably end up parting with it. I got one dealer offer that said, given the repairs it needs, they would likely be willing to give me only ~$1,500 or so for it, which seems a bit crazy low (considering the wheels and tires on the thing should be worth 1k alone).

[Peter5498]

Please please please do yourself a big favor by just buying and installing plugs and injectors for $1200 or so and install them within an hour or two. As for the VCG, you could also do yourself but if you aren't comfortable with tools then get a reputable indy to do that for $1000 at most. I don't want to tell you how to live at all, but I think you'll be happier in the end by just avoiding the stealership.

[BSM n54iS]

Originally Posted by Varjo

Hmm, ok guys, thanks a ton for the advice!

On balance, I think I will probably end up parting with it. I got one dealer offer that said, given the repairs it needs, they would likely be willing to give me only ~$1,500 or so for it, which seems a bit crazy low (considering the wheels and tires on the thing should be worth 1k alone).

No way dude, you're getting ripped off on both ends.

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by Varjo

Hmm, ok guys, thanks a ton for the advice!

On balance, I think I will probably end up parting with it. I got one dealer offer that said, given the repairs it needs, they would likely be willing to give me only ~$1,500 or so for it, which seems a bit crazy low (considering the wheels and tires on the thing should be worth 1k alone).

If you're gonna get rid of it, sell it private party. Of course a dealer is gonna lowball the hell out of you on a trade in. That's how they make money. It doesn't mean that your car is worth that much, it means they're gonna turn around and sell it for 2x (or more) what they offered you/what it cost them in total after repairs.