BMW G30 both rear shock absorbers leaking

[JoelTLOU]

Hey,

I have a 2017 530i with 49k miles on it.

It failed it's MOT recently because both rear shock absorbers have serious oil leaks, and my front nearside shockaborber is misting... great.

BMW quoted me 1.3k to replace both the rear shock absorbers.
My local BMW specialist quoted me 1.18k

I may as well just get it done at BMW at this point... I just found it a bit odd that a part like that would go with only 49k miles? Just wondering what people's opinions are on that?

Also I don't think there's any manufactuer warranty on something like this either as the parts have gone on relatively low milage?

[E-bmw]

I would be assuming "wear & tear item" so after the age of the car you have just been unlucky.

[rosejem]

Pot holed roads, runflat tyres m sport suspension .

[JoelTLOU]

rosejem said:

Pot holed roads, runflat tyres m sport suspension .

How did you know that was my setup lol

[CrgT16]

I don’t think it’s that unreasonable some cars go through shocks quicker than others.

[rottenegg]

OEM is usually SACHS, so that mileage is about right for them in this country. It's the same situation with non DCC VAGs.

If your suspension is not adaptive or air, then a quick google will reveal just how cheap the dampers are, and what an utter rip off £1.3K is to replace them. It's an easy job anyone can do with basic tools.

You might want to switch the Bilstein B4 if you want a bit more lifespan. SACHS are notorious for blowing sooner than expected.

[I-am-the-reverend]

I've never had to replace a leaking Boge or Sachs damper, or a Bilstein. My own record is a 2007 Saab 93 that did 200,000 before it broke a front coil. Upon replacing both front springs, the rusty original struts were still as strong as a horse.

The last late model BMW I saw with a leaking strut was a 2016 F30 3 Series and they were made by TRW who supply BMW as OE. 100,000 miles, rusty leaking crap. I've had similar issues with TRW stuff myself as well as KYB, absolute junk.

[steve_n]

And yet I've just replaced a Sachs front damper that had blown oil everywhere on a 2011 5 Series that was 18 months old and under 20k miles.

[I-am-the-reverend]

That's pretty st.

Does it say 'made in Germany' on it? Maybe even they are outsourcing stuff now.

[Pepperpots]

how come two shock absorbers cost over a grand, are they gold plated?



Sorry, didn't scroll down, the rears are £162 each.
So they must be charging er, £1300-£324=£976 for labour

£976.

Edited by Pepperpots on Friday 24th February 18:32

[Funk]

My 2017 G30 530i SE's MOT history shows an advisory back in June '22 for light misting of the rear shocks so it's not just yours OP...

However when it was re-MOT'd by BMW in Sept '22 just prior to my purchase (presumably as part of their AUC process) all advisories were gone so either they replaced the shocks or just gave them a quick wipe with a rag! The car was on 57k when I bought it.

I'll be replacing the tyres at some stage over the next few months so will take the chance to have a gander at the shocks while it's in the air with its wheels off...

Edited by Funk on Friday 24th February 18:38

[steve_n]

I-am-the-reverend said:

That's pretty st.

Does it say 'made in Germany' on it? Maybe even they are outsourcing stuff now.

It was genuine. The guy I bought the car from lived down a pot holed track so it probably got battered. Replaced it with Sachs but if these don't last I'll switch to Bilstein.

[JoelTLOU]

rottenegg said:

OEM is usually SACHS, so that mileage is about right for them in this country. It's the same situation with non DCC VAGs.

If your suspension is not adaptive or air, then a quick google will reveal just how cheap the dampers are, and what an utter rip off £1.3K is to replace them. It's an easy job anyone can do with basic tools.

You might want to switch the Bilstein B4 if you want a bit more lifespan. SACHS are notorious for blowing sooner than expected.

So they charged £675 for the parts. I got my local garage to price up the parts too and they got around the same price. It's the labour time I think they are more trying to rip me off with.



What's funny is when I was sat in the dealer, the young man said £1300 is what you need to pay to get this work done and he can get the card reader. I said I need to go away and think about it, please could I get the part list and prices.
I called them back up a few days later, different person said £1180 on the phone as the all in price. I said ok thanks, I just need to check a few things before committing.

I then called my local garage and told them how much BMW quoted me (£1180((I probably shouldn't have gave them the price to play off... anyway))) and asked them to quote for the same work. They took a look, also said £1180... 5 hours labour. So at this point I thought I may as well do it at BMW. Called BMW yesterday, spoke to someone different, they produced a payment link for me, this time for £1050. I paid it at this point in case the dart they're throwing at the dart board to produce these quotes lands on a higher number. It looks like they charge £125 per hour for labour. So my original quote they gave me for £1300 was for 5 hours labour (matches what my local garage said). When I called this time and got £1050, that works out at 3 hours labour. The quote for £1180 was 4 hours labour.

This BMW dealer has proven to me they are not honest in the past. April 2022 they did a service on my car and said my front break discs and pads urgently need replacing. They quoted me £1000 for the front discs and pads for my car. Took it to my local BMW specialist and they said I had at least 5000 miles left on these discs and pads... ok.

About 6 months later, thought I should get my discs and pads replaced. Checked BMW's website and the all in price is actually £600. Called to verify the price and they said yep it's definitely £550/ 600 altogether. They did my back break pads and discs in 2021 for £350, so a jump to £1000 for the front seems ridiculous.

Then when I took it for this MOT on the 11th of this month, the break discs and pads came back as a bit worn but fine. Seems like them saying they need "urgent replacing" via multiple emails/ texts to me was utter sh*te lol.

I'm not really surprised by all of this, we don't call it the "stealership" for nothing. I just need to get a bit more clued up on parts and such as I know "BMW parts" are expensive for no other reason other than they are "BMW parts", but are made by someone else who'd sell the same part for cheaper.

Edited by JoelTLOU on Saturday 25th February 09:23

Edited by JoelTLOU on Saturday 25th February 09:25

Edited by JoelTLOU on Saturday 25th February 09:27

Edited by JoelTLOU on Saturday 25th February 09:28

Edited by JoelTLOU on Saturday 25th February 09:49

[JoelTLOU]

Pepperpots said:

how come two shock absorbers cost over a grand, are they gold plated?



Sorry, didn't scroll down, the rears are £162 each.
So they must be charging er, £1300-£324=£976 for labour

£976.

Edited by Pepperpots on Friday 24th February 18:32

All the info for the BMW specialist quotes and labour times, and the BMW dealer shenanigans in my recent reply to rottenegg.

[Thats What She Said]

I dont understand how they can be quoting 4 or 5 hours book time to replace the rear shocks. I did the rear shocks on my F30 last weekend, on my driveway. It took just over an hour to do both, and that was with a cup of tea. I cant imagine it's too different on a G30, but it was literally 4 bolts. One of the easiest jobs you can do.

[JoelTLOU]

Thats What She Said said:

I dont understand how they can be quoting 4 or 5 hours book time to replace the rear shocks. I did the rear shocks on my F30 last weekend, on my driveway. It took just over an hour to do both, and that was with a cup of tea. I cant imagine it's too different on a G30, but it was literally 4 bolts. One of the easiest jobs you can do.

Yep my friend who fixes cars says it takes him 2 hours max on some specific cars. But said maybe as it's a newer BMW it's a bit more difficult (not so sure about that, but I don't know, I don't fix cars).

Worst case I've been ripped off £125 for the labour (ignoring the part price...assuming the job takes 2 hours max as my friend said), as I accepted the 3 hours labour quote.

Edited by JoelTLOU on Saturday 25th February 09:47

Edited by JoelTLOU on Saturday 25th February 10:27

[JoelTLOU]

steve_n said:

It was genuine. The guy I bought the car from lived down a pot holed track so it probably got battered. Replaced it with Sachs but if these don't last I'll switch to Bilstein.

I live in the countryside and one of my friends I visit quite a bit lives up a horrendously potholey track. Also my driveway is also bumpy with a lot of potholes, all in all doesn't help the lifespan of my shocks I suppose.

[bmwmike]

My old F10 needed rear shocks and both front lower tension arms at around 50k, and by 70k both rear springs had been replaced. Cars getting too heavy or roads getting too bumpy, or both. We will need the India rough road packages in the UK before long.

[I-am-the-reverend]

JoelTLOU said:

Yep my friend who fixes cars says it takes him 2 hours max on some specific cars. But said maybe as it's a newer BMW it's a bit more difficult (not so sure about that, but I don't know, I don't fix cars).

Worst case I've been ripped off £125 for the labour (ignoring the part price...assuming the job takes 2 hours max as my friend said), as I accepted the 3 hours labour quote.

Edited by JoelTLOU on Saturday 25th February 09:47

Edited by JoelTLOU on Saturday 25th February 10:27

F30 onward 3 Series stuff have all the damper mount bolts inside the rear arch so you don't have that tiresome boot trim removal ritual.

F10's and G30's still require removing seats/trim to access the rear top mount nuts. Very boring.

[bmwmike]

Just pop the rear speakers out on the F10 and the 3 bolts underneath to drop the strut. Harder part iirc was navigating the strut out of the lower suspension components and having enough height. On axle stands it was tricky. On a lift it would be trivial I think.