Dealer thinks blonde is dumb

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jk - 11 Jun 2006 07:50 GMT

She always wanted a BMW, so I got her a 528it last Christmas. It's a very
nice car.

So the rear wiper arm breaks at the car wash (quality of plastic and rubber
parts on this car is crummy). I send her to the dealer (South Bay BMW,
Torrance CA) to get the part. So the service guy tells her it will be $250
to replace it. In not so few words, she explained that she just wanted to
buy the part, which she did for $28. It took me 10 minutes to replace it, if
I had to do it again it could do it in 5.

The sad part is that there are probably many people, probably mostly women,
who have paid $250 to have a wiper arm replaced.

Fortunately, I have never in my life had to take a car to a dealer for a
non-warranty repair. Unfortunately, with this car, if some computer related
fault occurs, I will have to take it to a dealer.

-jk

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Voinin - 11 Jun 2006 14:49 GMT

> She always wanted a BMW, so I got her a 528it last Christmas. It's a very
> nice car.
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> non-warranty repair. Unfortunately, with this car, if some computer related
> fault occurs, I will have to take it to a dealer.

Since you're in Torrance you might want to check out Steve's We Service
BMW Automobiles in Redondo Beach. They do good work and the last time I
was there (about two years ago) they charged about $90/hour in labor.
No, I don't work for them, but they're a great independent shop. e-mail
me at vbalbert at gmail dot com for phone and address.

Signature

That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough. I'm going to
clown college!

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Jeff Strickland - 11 Jun 2006 18:15 GMT

> She always wanted a BMW, so I got her a 528it last Christmas. It's a very
> nice car.
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> -jk

Might I suggest you seek out an independent BMW mechanic for non-warranty
repairs. I gotta agree with you though, $250 for a wiper blade replacement
is a bit steep -- about $200 more than the job is worth, if you ask me.

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admin - 12 Jun 2006 19:24 GMT

> She always wanted a BMW, so I got her a 528it last Christmas. It's a very
> nice car.
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> buy the part, which she did for $28. It took me 10 minutes to replace it, if
> I had to do it again it could do it in 5.

So how do you replace the arm? The one on my wife's touring is starting
to crack where the wiper blade fastens into it..

It isn't immediately obvious how the switch assembly that is over the
arm comes off.

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