So that is how much that kind of stuff costs these days.....WOW,
i am sooo glad i do the majority of the work on my car. Prices like that would drive me to want to save the money and Do it myself if possible, you dont need a compressor to do brakes, but you will need a wrench, you dont need a compressor really.

go to store and get a set of metric wrenches and some sockets and get to searching on this site to find out how to do all of that stuff, save the cash for the go fast upgrades and sweet seats and wheels and paint, except the paint wont make you go any faster.
Wow
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Frank O
1971 2002 Sunroof, daily driver, Recaro SE, Turbines, 5 speed

I question a mechanic who suggestes a complete brake job as you describe. Unless the brakes have been abused quite a bit, needing new drums and e-brake cables seems a bit unusual, and pads/rotors/shoes are a realative breeze to do in a few hours and a good way to get started.
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Aaron
1972 2002

Yeah for sure. I am all for getting in there and fixing it myself. That's half the fun. I love the feeling of doing the work, then getting it on the road and enjoying the fruits.

I know i'll need wrenches, I meant I don't have a compressor and air gun/wrench. I don't expect it to be impossible, just wondering how doable it would be without a big shop. Essentially, I have one of those 51 piece sets of snap on tools an rachet and such.

And yes, read read and read some more. I just wanted to get an idea of the do-ability and pricing. My haynes manual is in the mail already.

To give him credit, the ebrake cables are rusted up and bind.

The weird thing is, I've done the full tune up before on 3 hondas and a nissan. I don't why I don't do it now. I guess I got used to not having the time to even consider it. Now I'm out of school and have free nights and weekends to do the tuneup. Sort of silly to pay someone hundreds in labor and markups to get generic parts and service that I can do myself. Probably just skiddishness around a car I am unfamiliar with, but that'll quickly be squashed when my haynes manual comes in.

Thanks all


Last edited by citizenchan on 6-2-08 10:35; edited 1 time in total

citizenchan wrote:

I know i'll need wrenches, I meant I don't have a compressor and air gun/wrench. I don't expect it to be impossible, just wondering how doable it would be without a big shop. Essentially, I have one of those 51 piece sets of snap on tools an rachet and such.

You absolutely do not need a compressor and an air wrench! But, if you really want one, take SOME of the $2800 savings and buy one!!!
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John Capoccia
Sierra Madre, CA
'70 Granada megasquirt, 5 spd, 3:91
'74 Golf tii stock

It's hard to say. Did they give you a complete breakdown for parts and labor? You could compare the parts at a variety of places (Pelican parts, Maximillian, Bavarian Autosport) to see if they are close. Also - it could be like a place here in Houston, where they will use your parts (but you get no warranty for the work if they do that). What is their labor rate? Here in H-town, for an indy BMW mechanic I think the rate is about $75/hour. The dealer charges slightly more (I think around $95/hr). So - if you can do the work yourself, or have the time, that's money to save. If you absolutely need your car in 2 days - ya's gots ta pay to play!

Most if not all of the stuff on your list can be done by a DIY mechanic. I'm not the greatest mechanic, but this year I've completely re-done my front brakes (calipers, pads, rotors, new bearings in the hubs, and new reservoir bottle w/ blue hoses), stainless brake lines, new exhaust header, front and rear swaybars, 80A alternator (internally regulated), set of VDO gauges, new carpet, new driver's side window regulator, new radiator, new A/C blower motor, re-furb'd the entire A/C console, both motor mounts, 3.91 LSD from a 320, and a very stubborn clutch slave cylinder. And, while I was taking stuff apart, I probably did stuff that a shop isn't going to do for you. For instance, when I took my front brakes apart, I took the time to remove the black "dust plate" that sits behind the rotors off. I cleaned the years of grunge off of them and re-painted them both. While everything was apart, I repainted the little brackets that the brake lines mount to on the struts. The little details so that I know those parts are perfect. That's why I bought this car. That's why I love this car..... If you have the time, anything is possible.

Later,

Ken

PS - the haynes book is not the greatest. Buy the "blue books" - the BMW shop manuals. They are the best paper resource you can get.
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'73 2002, Fjord - "Deuce"
'04 330i, Titanium - "Smith"

seems like a lot of loot but on the flip side.. typically if a shop is going to do a brake job they want to do everything so you arent on their doorstep next week whining about a part that should have been replaced in the first place.
running a shop and or small business is expensive with employees,insurance,benefits etc etc so prices are going to be high. it just doesnt make sense to me owning an old car like this and not doing the work yourself if youre at all able to. start out small and before you know it youll be doing everything yourself
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lowest pricing on new OE bmw parts
email me unkorama@gmail.com
VISA/MC

What is this shop's hourly labor rate ? You did get a breakdown of parts vs. labor on that estimate ?

Every time I hear one of these posts about how much this "shop" wants to charge for fixing a BMW 2002, it makes me want to run out of electronic repair biz & in to auto repair biz ! Last time I checked labor rate at a local shop, it had gone from $35 to $45 an hour here in oklahoma city, where 70's BMW's just don't show up on the street anymore.

$ 1200 for the brake job sounds a little pricey to me, as does the $450 tune up & fluids, but I've not been to a mechanic for a long time. I know the dealer ship gets folks for $300 to $400 just to clean there windows, but some of that seems steep to me.
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2002 owner since 1980

citizenchan wrote:

Valve adjustment and full tune up (wires, plugs, fluids, filters, etc) $450 Tranny flex disc, 2 mounts, diff mount - $420 Complete brakes, rotors, pads, e brake cables, rear drums & pads, etc $1200

The diff mount, center support bearing and flexdisk can be done in an afternoon.

The tuneup and valve adjustment can be done in an afternoon for a LOT less than $450.

For HALF of what he wants for the brake job, you can replace EVERYTHING yourself with upgraded vented disks up front and big 320i drums in the rear. See Dave Varco's site. Only $460 for the Vented Front Brake setup.




When mechanics aren't familiar with your car, the price goes up. Your friend's friend might not be trying to screw you, but he's damn sure not cutting you a deal.
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ClayW
1976 Fjord 2002 Sunroof

Project Blog

"Finish the thing, do it right the first time and drive the son of a bitch!"
-Gray Baskerville on hot rod advice

Thanks for all your help.

I already went ahead and had him do the items I thought I'd need more tools and time to do myself - Realizing I was agreeing to get kicked in the pants for it.

I am confident I can do brakes and bushings with the limited resources I have now. I just need to have a weekend to get it all done.

Thanks for all the input. I appreciate it.

$180.00 for Diagnosis

$120.00 for Labor hour

BMW Dealer labor rate here in South West Connecticut

cost of tools
cost of building
cost of insurance, taxes, medical, Workers Comp insurance
employee salaries , on , and on

your location-
your 'space' to work in-
your simple hand tools investment-
your technical literature-
your years of experience-
your TIME and AGRAVATION trying to figure out-
how something comes apart, and then how to put it back
together so it won't kill you-

what is (speaking in general) your business?
how much does it charge? is it a success? profit? losses??
what is the level of your customer satisfaction?

real world out there - your perception - your opinion -
it's a 'hobby', it's a luxury, it's old rusted machinery -
it's beyond the scope of normal hourly rate.
Repair shop or Dealer Hourly Rate is based on NEW condition
autos with no rusted, corroded, botched, missing hardware.
It's for straight forword disassembly, installation of new parts.

For 30 year old cars that are a mess - your going to pay for someones
added labor time to disassemble siezed, broken, bent, parts, find, order, new parts, and attempt to assemble those new parts onto a 30 year old
worn out motor or suspension so it might work.......

A business man giving a repair estimate (and this is not 'repair' but now RESTORATION ) must include the worst possible 'what if's' in calculating his labor, and parts needed.

best of luck
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1976 BMW 2002 #2743711(sorry I sold it 12/25/06)
1986 BMW R65 650cc twin 19k miles
1964 BMW R27 250cc single 15K miles
2002 BMW 325xiTouring 29k miles
1984 MERCEDES-BENZ W123 300D Turbodiesel-188k miles fein-DIESEL

I cant comment on the bushings or the tranny stuff, but the other items listed I have all done myself. As long as you have a socket set...some may recommend a breaker bar for those troubled bolts, or lots of PB Blaster (great stuff!) I could do all that stuff in a weekend and I'm just a shade tree DIY guy. My 2002 has taught me everything about cars...well that and this very helpful forum :) I'm amazed what you can learn from a 30+yr old car and apply it to some of todays cars. It has given me the confidence to tackle other projects for some friends, such brake jobs on mutilple BMW's from a 2004 325ci, 1997 328ci, and a 1998 Z3 to an engine swap in a Honda prelude. If you have time to do the work- I recommend doing it, but you may feel safer with someone else doing the work- and I can;t fault anyone for that either.
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While it'd be nice to have all that stuff done to have a brand new car..... do you really think its necessary?

I know that I'm not that picky, but who cares if the bushings aren't brand new? I ran a whole autocross with an inner control arm bushing completely non-existant.
Are the current drums and shoes really beyond spec? I still have the same drums and some of the same shoes that were on my car when I bought it. I measured them as within spec, adjust them properly, and they're fine.

adjusting valves is very easy and very necessary. re-torquing head bolts is damn easy. changing front brake pads takes about 5 minutes. rear shoes are a pain in the ass due to the notorious spring. driveshaft/guibo is a fairly big nasty job i think. changing all bushings is an extremely difficult job i think, and probably not necessary.
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1974 2002, 4224479, #74 EP/FSP, daily driver, track toy
1983 Yamaha RX50: 7hp/70+ MPG, in town run-about
1992 Miata: #43 CSP, winter beater