Automobile Speak: Get yet another estimate – Information – telegram.com
Pricey Automobile Converse: Need to I mend or change my 2004 BMW 325xi with fewer than 24,000 miles on it? The entire body and exterior are in excellent problem. But the following repairs have been prompt:
• Replace the electricity steering reservoir, which is leaking, and flush the technique.
• Deal with leak in rear differential protect.
• Swap rear brakes (3mm, rotors, sensors).
• Substitute initial tires.
• Four-wheel alignment.
The approximated cost is $7,000. Need to I sell it or do the repairs? I’m 75, and I did not get a different estimate. – PD
RAY: The very first point you should really do is shed the tackle of this fix store, PD. That seems, to me, like an outrageous amount of money of cash for that function. I’ll give you an plan of what it would charge in our store.
Changing the electricity steering reservoir and flushing it out need to price a handful of hundred bucks. Replacing the differential seal must price no far more than $150. For a four-wheel alignment, let’s say one more $150. The rear brakes, staying generous, let’s say $700.
And for tires, even if you invested $250 per tire, which is what you’d spend for top rated-of-the-line tires, which is $1,000. So let us see. I get $2,300. Even if you went to the dealer, exactly where they demand a premium, that mend purchase should not price a lot more than about $3,500.
So unless you remaining something out of your letter, the men you went to are charging you at minimum double. That places them in Nigerian Electronic mail Scam terrain. So the respond to is, if you like the vehicle, PD, and it nonetheless serves your requires, you should retain the automobile, and trade in your mechanic.
If you need support discovering a greater mechanic, go to www.MechanicsFiles.com. That is where by our audience and listeners have shared the names of mechanics they like and belief. You can search by ZIP code and read the opinions. And then go get a further estimate or two. I imagine that’ll make you come to feel a good deal far better, whichever you decide.
Received a query about vehicles? Create to Ray in treatment of King Features, 628 Virginia Push, Orlando, FL 32803, or e mail by browsing the Automobile Converse web page at www.cartalk.com.