Cost of replacing coils in BMW

aqwert

For starters - I know very little about cars...

I've had trouble starting my bmw 320i recently so have jump started it quite a bit - battery seems to be fine etc., it's been serviced, NCT'd and nothing has shown up. When I started the car the other day, the engine was jumpy and there was problems accelerating so I got on to the garage and they collected the car. Turns out the coils were burnt out - they reckoned it was from the electrical surges caused by jump starting the car. The result was that 6 coils were replaced at a cost of €40 each plus €560 labour - seems like a lot of labour to me. They said I was lucky I didn't hose the ECU as it would have cost a few grand to fix. So I've 2 questions:

1. Does what they told me make sense?
2. Was I fleeced?

Owen

Does that 560 Euro include the towing of your vehicle?
Did you bring it to a main dealer, or an independent garage?

If you have jump started it quite a bit recently, it *may* have affected the length of time it took them to get their diagnosis computer to enter into discussions with your car (I'm speculating wildly here), and that could be the root of the additional labour time, but 560 purely for labour not including the towing charge does sound crazy - coil packs can be changed quite quickly.

ciarsd

aqwert wrote: »

For starters - I know very little about cars...

I've had trouble starting my bmw 320i recently so have jump started it quite a bit - battery seems to be fine etc., it's been serviced, NCT'd and nothing has shown up. When I started the car the other day, the engine was jumpy and there was problems accelerating so I got on to the garage and they collected the car. Turns out the coils were burnt out - they reckoned it was from the electrical surges caused by jump starting the car. The result was that 6 coils were replaced at a cost of €40 each plus €560 labour - seems like a lot of labour to me. They said I was lucky I didn't hose the ECU as it would have cost a few grand to fix. So I've 2 questions:

1. Does what they told me make sense?
2. Was I fleeced?

€560 labour is extortionate - was it an E46? If so they're a relatively quick fit!

€40 ea for the coils is close to the price for OEM parts, maybe a little cheap actually..

jayok

ciarsd wrote: »

€560 labour is extortionate - was it an E46? If so they're a relatively quick fit!

€40 ea for the coils is close to the price for OEM parts, maybe a little cheap actually..

If €560 just to fit it was too much. And actually I've six surplus coils here that you could have had - I would have even fitted them for you

rebel.ranter

The price of the coils seems a little cheap to me. The labour costs would seem high if it was solely for replacing the coils. As others have suggested there must have been other work involved.

kdevitt

rebel.ranter wrote: »

The price of the coils seems a little cheap to me. The labour costs would seem high if it was solely for replacing the coils. As others have suggested there must have been other work involved.

The price of the coils is bang on - I just replaced one on the M3 at Keanes. The labour is excessive - I'd imagine you got charged for a lot of diagnosis. Ring the service manager - not just anyone on the service desk, and ask for a breakdown telling them you think its excessive.

DublinDilbert

aqwert wrote: »

1. Does what they told me make sense?
2. Was I fleeced?

Based on the information above i guess the answer to your "was i fleeced?" question is yes! €560 + 6 * €40 = €800!!!

Also even without diagnostic equipment you can fit each one and see if it makes a difference, then decided to change / not change it...

Did you get a break down on your bill of how many hours it took them to do this??

Did you get your original set of 6 coils back?

Darragh29

ciarsd wrote: »

€560 labour is extortionate - was it an E46? If so they're a relatively quick fit!

€40 ea for the coils is close to the price for OEM parts, maybe a little cheap actually..

560 Euro labour??? You could easily do this job yourself in one hour, no matter what your level of skill. This is obviously an attempt at extortion, seriously.

aqwert

The breakdown was basically 7 hours labour plus the cost of the coils. I saw the old coils and they were fried. They did collect the car but this wasn't itemised in the bill. Any ideas as to what could have taken 7 hours?

VH

jayok wrote: »

I've six surplus coils here that you could have had - I would have even fitted them for you

why do you have 6 spare? did you change them and they werent bad?

Darragh29

aqwert wrote: »

The breakdown was basically 7 hours labour plus the cost of the coils. I saw the old coils and they were fried. They did collect the car but this wasn't itemised in the bill. Any ideas as to what could have taken 7 hours?

It looks like they spent 6 hours trying to work out how to charge you and one hour fitting your coils. This has to be the worst case I've heard of overcharging. Overcharging isn't the word for this to be honest.

jayok

VH wrote: »

why do you have 6 spare? did you change them and they werent bad?

Yep. Basically when cold the car would sometimes vibrate. A quick search of the web came back with the overwhelming evidence that it was the coils on the way out and that there was a recall, etc. So I ordered six new ones and replaced them - but the problem still persisted. I then went back though the service history (should have done this first) and found that they were already replaced as part of a BMW recall so the ones I had were fine. The vibration was the crank-shaft posititon sensor.

So I've six spare - didn't cost too much, I got the six OEM for €140 incl shipping from the USA. I learned loads

VH

jayok wrote: »

Yep. Basically when cold the car would sometimes vibrate. A quick search of the web came back with the overwhelming evidence that it was the coils on the way out and that there was a recall, etc. So I ordered six new ones and replaced them - but the problem still persisted. I then went back though the service history (should have done this first) and found that they were already replaced as part of a BMW recall so the ones I had were fine. The vibration was the crank-shaft posititon sensor.

So I've six spare - didn't cost too much, I got the six OEM for €140 incl shipping from the USA. I learned loads

did you change the CKP yourself?

jayok

VH wrote: »

did you change the CKP yourself?

I thought about it and done the research and found this:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=245059

You'll need a couple non-standard things to do the replacement:
32mm open-ended wrench to remove/replace the VANOS solenoid
5mm Allen head socket
Blue loctite - the factory put it on the bolt holding the sensor for a reason...

Here's how to do it:
* Remove the airbox (2 10mm bolts after the cover's removed)
* Disconnect the tube above the sensor and the VANOS solenoid by squeezing both sides of the connector and pulling straight out (I think this is the PCV recirculation but I'm not sure)
* Disconnect the VANOS solenoid electrical connector by squeezing the wire clip and pulling the connector off
* Remove the VANOS solenoid with the 32mm wrench. Oil will come out, have rags ready
* Remove the camshaft position sensor hold down bolt with the 5mm Allen socket. A standard Allen wrench will also do.
* Pull the CPS out - give it a twist to help it out. Make sure you clean out where the gasket goes as mine was pretty cruddy there. Get a new gasket with the new CPS, it's a buck and worth it to avoid a potential oil leak
* Trace the wire to the connector way underneath the intake, disconnect it and remove the CPS from the car
* Run the new sensor's wire the same way the old one ran
* Put the new gasket on the sensor, lube it with a couple drops of clean oil and install the sensor
* Reinstall the 5mm Allen bolt with a drop of blue Loctite
* Put everything else back where it came from

Although it looks straightforward enough, the potential for me to make a mess was huge. The car needed the coolant and brake fluid replaced according to the schedule anyway so this was just an extra thing for the Indy to do.

Seth Brundle

was this a main dealer or backstreet place?

(curious to know if it was duffys!)

VH

jayok wrote: »

I thought about it and done the research and found this:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=245059

You'll need a couple non-standard things to do the replacement:
32mm open-ended wrench to remove/replace the VANOS solenoid
5mm Allen head socket
Blue loctite - the factory put it on the bolt holding the sensor for a reason...

Here's how to do it:
* Remove the airbox (2 10mm bolts after the cover's removed)
* Disconnect the tube above the sensor and the VANOS solenoid by squeezing both sides of the connector and pulling straight out (I think this is the PCV recirculation but I'm not sure)
* Disconnect the VANOS solenoid electrical connector by squeezing the wire clip and pulling the connector off
* Remove the VANOS solenoid with the 32mm wrench. Oil will come out, have rags ready
* Remove the camshaft position sensor hold down bolt with the 5mm Allen socket. A standard Allen wrench will also do.
* Pull the CPS out - give it a twist to help it out. Make sure you clean out where the gasket goes as mine was pretty cruddy there. Get a new gasket with the new CPS, it's a buck and worth it to avoid a potential oil leak
* Trace the wire to the connector way underneath the intake, disconnect it and remove the CPS from the car
* Run the new sensor's wire the same way the old one ran
* Put the new gasket on the sensor, lube it with a couple drops of clean oil and install the sensor
* Reinstall the 5mm Allen bolt with a drop of blue Loctite
* Put everything else back where it came from

Although it looks straightforward enough, the potential for me to make a mess was huge. The car needed the coolant and brake fluid replaced according to the schedule anyway so this was just an extra thing for the Indy to do.

not meaning to make light of it but that actually sounds like a 10 minute job - only slighty odd thing is the 32mm wrench. also your original post you said about the crankshaft position sensor (CKP) - those are instructions for the camshaft position sensor (CPS)

did the garage diagnose the problem by replacing the bad one with a good one?

Lord Nikon

OEM coils are (when i was last quoted) €90+VAT from dealer...spurious I €42 cash, each.

kdevitt

neuromancer wrote: »

OEM coils are (when i was last quoted) €90+VAT from dealer...spurious I €42 cash, each.

You either got quoted for more than one, or they've chopped their prices, as I mentioned earlier - €40 is about right, mine cost €37 + VAT from the dealer.

Lord Nikon

Must be a difference between E46 and E39 ones...

kdevitt

neuromancer wrote: »

Must be a difference between E46 and E39 ones...

Must be that alright - checked on bmwfans.info and they're dearer.

Edit - although thinking about that it makes absolutely no sense with alot of the engines being shared. Looks like the M3 coils are cheaper than the likes of the 323ci/523i etc, makes a change!

aqwert

kbannon wrote: »

was this a main dealer or backstreet place?

(curious to know if it was duffys!)

No it wasn't a main dealer but a big enough 2nd hand dealer in D18.