[uucdigest] Friday, August 8 2003 Volume 03 : Number 6643
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Send 'em to [EMAIL PROTECTED] |__________________________________________________________________ In this BMW UUC Digest: [uuc] E30 Bumper conversion Re: [uuc] Recent dealer experience RE: [uuc] Recent dealer experience RE: [uuc] Recent dealer experience Re: [uuc] Recent dealer experience RE: [uuc] Recent dealer experience RE: [uuc] Recent dealer experience RE: [uuc] Re: Somewhat enthusiastic 318I owner ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 17:25:17 -0400 From: "Zidlicky, Peter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] E30 Bumper conversion >From: Stan Jackson Jr. > >It appears very easy to swap them? > >Stan Appearances can be deceiving. It's not rocket science but it's much easier to accomplish if you have an '87-'88 model than the earlier e30s, not sure how this translates for convertibles probably '89-'90. I did the swap in my '90 droptop. The problems I encountered were as follows: (1) Slight gap between the top of the rear bumper and the body of the car ... solution - I left it alone because the car is black and the gap does not look bad at all. This may be more of an issue with white cars or cars of light color in general. (2) Front bumper - the two bolts that attach the front bumber to the bumper shocks are difficult to attach because the tow hooks are in the way ... possibly only an issue with the convertible. I was able to get the bolts through after some maneuvering but they did not screw in correctly ... so the only thing holding everything together is the fact that the head of the bolts rest on the tow hooks themselves ... nothing is going to fall off but its not a pristine connection (still need to work this out) (3) Bumper carrier issues - the plastic bumpers slide into bumper carriers that are afixed to the sides of the front and rear valences. One needs to weld metal plates which in turn hold the carriers to do the job correctly. The bigger issue is the shape of the valences themselves is not indented on these cars ... as a result, if you just weld the metal plates and then slide the bumper on it will not be flush to the side of the car ... i.e. will look like [EMAIL PROTECTED] my pedestian solution for the rear was to affiz the bumper to the valence via the use of one sheetmetal screw per each side ... works perfectly ... and may do the same to the front, but the front still slides a bit back and forth a bit. (4) Front turn signal connectors - the two-pronged ones used on the diving board bumper models need to be replaced with 3-pronged connectors ($20-30 at your friendly stealer) ... this is the project for this weekend because the weather is supposed to be awful here. Below is a link from the web that shows pics of the process and different solutions to some of the problems I listed: http://216.97.77.38/HTMLFiles/Menu2/Menu2-5-2/PlasticBumpers.htm Good luck Petee This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you receive this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from all computers. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2003 00:30:19 +0300 From: Robert Phelan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] Recent dealer experience You didn't ask how much it would cost before you dropped the wheels off? I'd advise always asking for some estimate no matter what the work is. I can't imagine that the M wheels are any harder to balance than any of the large-sized aftermarket wheels, sounds like BS to me. Rob >Thought I might share a recent dealer experience with everyone and >hopefully get a response from some of you regarding the cost of work >performed. I went to my local dealer to have four tires mounted and >balanced for my 1995 M3. As I am new to this area and leery of >taking my car into any random tire shop I thought the dealer would >provide me with quality work and attention to detail. I wanted all >weights on the inside of the wheel. I was prepared to pay somewhat >of a premium for them to do the work, but what I paid seems >ridiculously high. So, I purchased four new Yokohamas from Tire >Rack and removed my wheels and existing tires from the car. With >the car sitting on jack stands in my garage for a coolant flush and >minor brake work I dropped of tires and wheels to be mounted and >balanced. Dealer calls, says they're ready. Cost was $231.85! 2.5 >hours labor - $187.50, 4 valve stems - $10.60, stick on weights - >$20.62, plus tax. Dealer says they charge a premium for M! > style wheels!? This sound ridiculous to anyone? Dealer says >normal size (non M) wheels are $69.95 for all four! Thoughts. > >Richard Bennett ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 14:31:30 -0700 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [uuc] Recent dealer experience Yep, you got taken for a ride. What a rip-off. >-- Original Message -- >Subject: [uuc] Recent dealer experience >Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 17:05:36 -0400 >From: "Richard Bennett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >Thought I might share a recent dealer experience with everyone and hopefully >get a response from some of you regarding the cost of work performed. I >went to my local dealer to have four tires mounted and balanced for my 1995 >M3. As I am new to this area and leery of taking my car into any random >tire shop I thought the dealer would provide me with quality work and attention >to detail. I wanted all weights on the inside of the wheel. I was prepared >to pay somewhat of a premium for them to do the work, but what I paid seems >ridiculously high. So, I purchased four new Yokohamas from Tire Rack and >removed my wheels and existing tires from the car. With the car sitting >on jack stands in my garage for a coolant flush and minor brake work I dropped >of tires and wheels to be mounted and balanced. Dealer calls, says they're >ready. Cost was $231.85! 2.5 hours labor - $187.50, 4 valve stems - $10.60, >stick on weights - $20.62, plus tax. Dealer says they charge a premium for >M! > style wheels!? This sound ridiculous to anyone? Dealer says normal size >(non M) wheels are $69.95 for all four! Thoughts. > >Richard Bennett > > > > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 17:34:47 -0400 From: "Friot, Chris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] Recent dealer experience Well let's add it up. 2.5 hrs = 150 minutes 150 minutes / 4 tires = 37.5 minutes per tire The real question is what was the tech doing for the remaining 32.5 minutes per tire! You got robbed! You should demand to speak with the owner of the dealership and ask him if this is the way he expects his dealership to be charging for work? If so you should find another serivce provider. Chris 94 740i 169,000 94 325ica 91,000 97 540ia 62,000 - -----Original Message----- From: Richard Bennett [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, August 08, 2003 5:06 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [uuc] Recent dealer experience Thought I might share a recent dealer experience with everyone and hopefully get a response from some of you regarding the cost of work performed. I went to my local dealer to have four tires mounted and balanced for my 1995 M3. As I am new to this area and leery of taking my car into any random tire shop I thought the dealer would provide me with quality work and attention to detail. I wanted all weights on the inside of the wheel. I was prepared to pay somewhat of a premium for them to do the work, but what I paid seems ridiculously high. So, I purchased four new Yokohamas from Tire Rack and removed my wheels and existing tires from the car. With the car sitting on jack stands in my garage for a coolant flush and minor brake work I dropped of tires and wheels to be mounted and balanced. Dealer calls, says they're ready. Cost was $231.85! 2.5 hours labor - $187.50, 4 valve stems - $10.60, stick on weights - $20.62, plus tax. Dealer says they charge a premium for M! style wheels!? This sound ridiculous to anyone? Dealer says normal size (non M) wheels are $69.95 for all four! Thoughts. Richard Bennett ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 14:40:19 -0700 (PDT) From: Jason Knight <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] Recent dealer experience Rediculous. I think I pay $10 / wheel for mounting and balancing at the local shop. 17" wheels are only 1" larger than the 16"s on the non-M 3 series. I can't see the difference. Wonder what they charge for the 7 series! Jason - --- Richard Bennett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Thought I might share a recent dealer experience > with everyone and hopefully get a response from some > of you regarding the cost of work performed. I went > to my local dealer to have four tires mounted and > balanced for my 1995 M3. As I am new to this area > and leery of taking my car into any random tire shop > I thought the dealer would provide me with quality > work and attention to detail. I wanted all weights > on the inside of the wheel. I was prepared to pay > somewhat of a premium for them to do the work, but > what I paid seems ridiculously high. So, I > purchased four new Yokohamas from Tire Rack and > removed my wheels and existing tires from the car. > With the car sitting on jack stands in my garage for > a coolant flush and minor brake work I dropped of > tires and wheels to be mounted and balanced. Dealer > calls, says they're ready. Cost was $231.85! 2.5 > hours labor - $187.50, 4 valve stems - $10.60, stick > on weights - $20.62, plus tax. Dealer says they > charge a premium for M! > style wheels!? This sound ridiculous to anyone? > Dealer says normal size (non M) wheels are $69.95 > for all four! Thoughts. > > Richard Bennett > > > > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 17:46:02 -0400 From: "KMS - Brett Anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] Recent dealer experience Chris, of course, has mounted E36 M3 tyres so often that he's able to do them in 5 minutes. Personally, even though I did them for 7 years, I never was able to do them by myself, they take two people about 10 minutes per tyre. Then center balancing, which absolutely sucks because it NEVER works out right first time. The only way to correctly balance the wheels is to place the weights as far to the outside as possible. Brett Anderson KMS > -----Original Message----- > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Friot, Chris > Well let's add it up. > > 2.5 hrs = 150 minutes > 150 minutes / 4 tires = 37.5 minutes per tire > > The real question is what was the tech doing for the remaining > 32.5 minutes per tire! > > You got robbed! You should demand to speak with the owner of the > dealership and ask him if this is the way he expects his > dealership to be charging for work? If so you should find another > serivce provider. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 17:52:03 -0400 From: "KMS - Brett Anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] Recent dealer experience The price is high, but not unfair. What happened was that you allowed them to charge what it was worth for them to do it, not what it was worth to you. Mounting and balancing, especially stock E36 M3 wheels and MRoadster wheels, will NEVER pay what it's worth. It's like wheel alignments, you lose money on every on you do, if you do it correctly. Shops can't charge what it takes, normally. Here, it appears they did, and then, perhaps, some more. Labour is 0.5 higher than what I would have charged, and I'd have lost money on the job. Valve stems at $2.65 each, a little high. Stick on weights, if they're the good quality coated ones, as opposed to the "break off" strips, then they cost the dealership over a buck fifty a piece on average. Even with a Hunter TC3500, these wheels are a two man job, and not even close to easy then, either. The problem is the retention hump on both sides of the wheel, to prevent high cornering forces from peeling the tyres off the beads. Those, combined with super low profile tyres makes for a huge amount of work. I'd say, overall, you paid a little more than you should have. Probably should have been closer to $200. I don't think you got ripped off though, not by a long shot. Brett Anderson KMS > -----Original Message----- > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Richard Bennett > they're ready. Cost was $231.85! 2.5 hours labor - $187.50, 4 > valve stems - $10.60, stick on weights - $20.62, plus tax. > Dealer says they charge a premium for M! > style wheels!? This sound ridiculous to anyone? Dealer says > normal size (non M) wheels are $69.95 for all four! Thoughts. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 14:56:07 -0700 (PDT) From: Mike Hsu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] Re: Somewhat enthusiastic 318I owner Hi Sam, I heard from others that the Monroe is a bit softer and doesn't last as long as original. Maybe you should consider original equipment shocks. I don't know how much they cost, but I guess they should be somewhere between bilstein and monroe prices. Oh yeah, there is also bilstein touring. I believe touring are considered equivalent to original. I think you should change your shock mounts if they have 170K+ miles on them. Might as well since you have everything apart and they don't cost too much. At least the rear shock mounts are less than $20 each. Mike __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! 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