tonylauno1

So at a different workshop to get rack-end and control arm bushing replaced, another customer put a dent in my door so the mechanic took to it a panel beater to get it repaired. The panel beater got clear coat all over the interior, it smelled really bad. Clear coat on the window, rear view mirror, the fake wood veneer from driver to passenger were all rough, door handle on both doors you could also see grey specs of particle settle on window, vents and other areas of the car, the whole car was covered in grey and black hand prints. Wipe a wet cloth over the beige leather and you take a coating of dust off the seats which had been settle in so it wasn't dry dust. Took it back to the panel beater with the mechanic, he didn't deny that it wasn't him but he had no idea how it had got into the car but did offer to get a full groom done by an expert. I asked the panel beater if this has happened to his car how would he want his car fixed, he said a new interior but he couldn't afford it, he was genuinely sorry and scared about his mistakes but I'm still left with the problem and I still want him to pay for it. At the same time, got the mechanic to take the car back to the wheel alignment place to get the steering wheel centered and found out they took the steering wheel out and move the steering wheel a tooth to the left on the gear to center it. Then they didn't plug the airbag connector in, the last wire on the connector had been broken as well as the end of the connector (look like they pull the wire 45degrees which broke the connector as well as broke the wire) and what alerted me was the airbag light was on and the airbag was not installed correctly. The mechanic said the airbag circuit in the clockspring are probably worn and broken which is common but it is too much of a coincidence. I installed the steering wheel so I know it was lined up correctly and luckily when the mechanic called the wheel alignment guys they did admit to taking the steering wheel out to center it, when asked why the mechanic has listen for a while on the phone which meant they were explaining why. One simple problem with control-arm and rack-end which should have been diagnosed but two mechanics failed to notice it, had to get he car checked out three times with before they found the problem. All these problems had the same symptom, wheel was moving when you grab hold of it and shook it. If a customer took the car in with a problem and the mechanic diagnose it with worn bushing, you would think they would check that the wheel has stopped moving, if it had not then continue to diagnose and they would have found the ball joint on control arm was worn too and repeat the same procedure then they would have found that the rack end was lose as well. Both mechanics failed me, if these problems had different symptoms then I have nothing to say... I think the two mechanics shouldn't be named because there is still a bit of grey area but what the panel beater and wheel alignment people did are 100% wrong and even deserves a website dedicated to them. I'm working on it too. Church Street Panelbeater - put clear coat all over the interior, you could feel it on any rough surface Church Street Motors - these guys took steering wheel out to center-align and broken a wire, didn't plug airbag connector back in and did install airbag in steering wheel correctly..

Thanks Cliff, I'll look into this.

If I was you, I would go to $117 at dealers if others are charging $90. damn, not teven a nice new demo car to tempt you into upgrading. I guess that loan car is only an option if you had bought from them and I'm sure if you had an account at their workshop then it's 20th the following month.

The thing is this guy who told me that rear trailing arm bushes takes 3-4 hours, is a BMW Dealer trained staff, and he is well known in the BMW circles and respected by many including people at Jerry Clayton. Sounds like he needs to be train by you... Glenn said he could do the whole thing in 4 hours, so perhaps 2.5hours is a bit long, and as soon as I told this guy this he went quiet and started saying people take shortcuts implying Glenn, the only reason I brought up Glenn's name is this guy said he has a huge respect for Glenn. I thought i might get somewhere speaking to the owner of this place in private, don't get me wrong he is very pleasant the whole time but the things that he says is not so pleasant nor is his attitude towards how he runs the business.

In 5 years of owning BMW, this is the first time where it had failed, and it had failed when i change mechanics and use this BM Specialist who only fixed BMW Cars. Going back to my mechanic and asking the owner to supervise work on my car, if he is not going to supervise then I will certainly look elsewhere.

If people still want to go back then that's fine, they have not had the same experience as me, they do not give discounts to bimmersport anyway, they only fix bmw cars so they do not need to give us discounts.He said some drivers could complete a lap in 1 min and other could complete a lap in 2 mins, it is what it is and that is it. So that meant if he takes 3-4 hours to replace rear trailing arm bushes and if there are others who can do the whole list in 4 hours then so what... He also said his staff comes first and customers second, so no use complaining about this staff. He also said if his staff worked on a car for 5hrs and it should be 3hrs then he will charge a regular 3hrs otherwise it's 5hrs. We have to pay for his staff incompetence. Bushing + labour let's say is $350 and he doesn't want to reimburse me for $350. Fine, it's $350 I won't starve, I will actually promote his business for him. I will make him famous, famous for all the right reason or not, that is up to him to decide not me and he has made himself very clear.

I'm sure the BMW Dealerships are pleasant to deal with but it's $120+gst vs $65+gst.This workshop I go to has been great when they had a workshop manager, now its the owner who tries to take over that job but he is so busy with everything else, no one is supervising and doing quality control. When the owner use to take on the workshop duty and when he had a workshop manager things were great, now I tell the owner he needs to supervise and check everything. Most things his staff can get away with because other customers do not know but I check the work and if something is not right, I want it fixed. ie went in to get new battery, and battery cover was not put back properly and two screws are missing. Yes it's not important but I like it to be there, I went in with battery cover properly installed with two screws, and I would like the same please when it comes back. Perhaps it is worth paying $120+gst so I don't have to keep going back to get things done properly.

You know what, I asked the owner who everyone here agrees is very knowledgeable in BMW cars, and he said rear trailing arm bushes along would be 3-4 hour job so my invoice is correct. When I told him Glenn (someone who he has huge respect for) could do all in 4-5 hours, he said he doesn't take shortcuts, some he will take and some he won't and rear trailing arm bushes, he will not take any shortcuts. Some drivers could complete a lap in 1 min and other could complete a lap in 2 mins, it is what it is and that is it.He also said his staff comes first and customers second, so no use complaining about this staff. He also said if his staff worked on a car for 5hrs and it should be 3hrs then it depends on if customer is a regular, if customer is a regular then charge 3hrs and if customer is not a regular then 5hrs.

If I tell people which place this is, people wouldn't believe me. This place only does BMW cars, everyone here agrees they are one of the top guys. But the owner is let down by a few people that makes big mistakes.

Incompetent and have the don't care attitude, it's not their own car and they really don't care. Do the work as quick as they can and move on, don't care whether they got their dirty hands all over your beige interior.

BMW Specialist, not a dealer.

Something new about this BMW Specialist in town who only fixed BMW cars. While getting a rack-end replaced from my own mechanic, he said the front right bushing is lose, i showed him my receipt from Jerry Clayton on March 2011 for the bushing, he took it to Jerry Clayton for a replacment under warranty and Jerry Clayton said, the marks on the bushing showed that the mechanic did not lubricate it before putting it on so can't claim under warranty. Will need to go back to these so called BMW Specialist and ask them whether they will take responsibility of this or will I have to listen to their excuses. I wonder if they will refund $260 + 1/2 Labour because it's only one side.

The owner of this place knows his sh*t, as well as the manager (I know this manager from a previous place he managed and it was great) However this manager is not the workshop manager, so he doesn't check the work, he is more like a consultant at this new workshop. On top of this, this workshop only does BMW cars, and are very busy too. My thoughts were if they only do BMW and these are common issues, they can do it in their sleep but how wrong was I... The company should have said, this job takes certain amount of time, if the mechanics takes too long then they need to do something about their staff. So there could be two customers with the same work required ie replace bushings, and one gets charged 1hr while the other gets charged 1.5hrs because that mechanic wasn't capable or slow. It was my luck with these two mechanics... And I was not kidding or exaggerating, this mechanic that I had stopped to chat as he was getting into my car, he actually picked up STP Engine Flush, and asked what is this and he also asked how does he flush a diff. He also said have never changed any diff oil on any BMW. Changing diff oil is in the InspectionII check list.

I only asked their hourly rate which was incorrectly quoted to me so it was up to them to get the problem solved. What i put on numbered 1) - 5) is the actual work carried out, that is what was described on the invoice, word by word.

Well I knew these problems are not for a tyre shop, it's a mechanical issue that needed to be repaired by a mechanic so didn't bother with a tyre shop. The company is well known but no I can't named and shame them, it's easy enough to guess anyway In a separate incident, my own mechanic replaced the lower control arm but they failed to noticed the wheel was still moving (Nov11). This was only picked up by tyre shop when I got new tyres few days ago. It turns out the rack end is lose too. That is what they think, car still in workshop at the moment, will get better idea what the actual problem was. This time i told my mechanic, can he manage the process and check all work himself before calling me. By the way, have gotten my own stands and trolley jack

Yes, always listen to both side of the story, I could not agree more. To summarise, even when the car was on the ground, wheel can be moved backwards when the mechanic hold it in his hand and shook it with force. I guess there is much more force acting on it when braking. All I'm saying is why did this BMW Specialist place did not check if their initial diagnose and work had fixed the problem and especially when i went back to say I am still having problems. This is a BMW Specialist workshop. I had spoken to the manager, sign the papers for the loan car, and on my way to the loan car I stopped to chat to the mechanic who was getting into my car, just to show him I had bought my own oil, filter & engine flush. (Was going to do it myself, since the car was going up on the hoist for other problems i got them to do it) I guess the moral of the story is, who cares if the manager/owner is a great BMW mind, the staff he hires are not, and you are being charged for his expertise however he employs less than qualified mechanics to work for him yet still charges you a premium.

This is from a BMW Specialist Workshop - just wanted opinions on the number of hours that it took to see if people think it's reasonable. 1) fill engine flush 2) drain engine oil, replace filter and refill oil 3) drain diff oil, refill and drain again, then refill to level 4) replace lower control arm bushes 5) replace trailing arm bushes I was charged 8 hours for this. First I was told it was $80 an hour when invoiced came out it was $90 an hour, I asked and he said oh, did I say $80, can't be. (This guy is a new manager) The mechanic who was test driving my car does not have BMW experience, he diagnosed the problem but not sure if he was the one doing the job. Another mechanic asked me how to flush the diff oil because as a BMW Specialist we know all about BMW and have never needed to replace any diff oil... So I told him to drain it, fill it up then drain it again. The same mechanic ask me what is this STP Engine flush for? He has never used one before, how to use it? So explained it and told him to read instructions because he is responsible if anything goes wrong. Picked up the car and came back to tell them the car still doesn't feel right, still feels like front end is lose and the steering wheel does move when I brake suddenly. They had another look and said the bushing is all good, nothing else is wrong so I lived with it. After a while I notice the tyre wear became increasing worse so I took it to another garage, and they spotted the problem immediately, the worn ball joint on the lower control arm itself. I gave them the same information I gave the BMW Specialist workshop and they were shocked something so simple was not picked up by anyone, let alone a BMW Specialist. I ended up having to buy two new tyres to pass WOF when if in fact my problem had been fixed earlier I would have had another 15,000km from the tyres. It took a huge chunks off the inside tyre, it looks like the car had a huge negative camber because it was only wearing out a 2cm inside edge.

I wasn't advertising, just passing on good deals that I have come across. Even if they didn't offer BMW Club Members a discount, the prices are already low enough for everyone to take notice and go WOW Michelin PS3. ie Firestone at Glenfield the one next to Toyota is offering insane prices on Bridgestone RE11. Need to call and ask for certain someone to tell him you saw it on a Altezza Club forum. from So the question is, could I say what I said in my deleted thread and 1) not mention BMW Club Members get a further discount and 2) only mention their company name instead of address & contact number Would this still be classified as advertising? If this is not then Great, I can repost and the only difference is BMW Club Members won't get the discount anymore. This just means that all BMW Club Members suffers from being on this forum. If Forum rules prevents us all from "advertising" then that's fine, we can all respect the rules if we know what it is. But this just means the same discount will get spread through another medium. With or without this Forum, members will still get the discount as it spread thought another medium.

I think it needs to be more visible too Hands up who have ever read any rules for anything wherever they have an account? It could be an trademe account, or bimmersport or Apple or gmail etc

Ok, so I could say Michelin Tyres have dropped their prices sharply 5-6 months ago and now they are very affordable. eg I got a pair of Michelin PS3 for the price of a Bridgestone RE002.

Ok, so was i not suppose to post a thread about a Michelin dealer giving BMW Club members a good price? An explanation to know what rules i had broken would be appreciated otherwise i will make the same mistake again. Whoever deleted my Michelin tyre thread, can you send me a message to tell me what rules i have broken so i won't make the same mistake again. Thank you kindly

Thanks Michael.

Has anyone been able to compare the GSD3 made in China vs Germany ? The ones selling on trademe 245/40/17 $189 are made in China, wondered if they were the same as the ones made in Germany?

I replaced mine vanos seal as a last resort after the mechanic had checked everything and could find nothing. Since the symptoms were exactly what http://www.beisansystems.com had describe on my M52TUB28 I decided to give it a go. I certainly noticed a faster take off, car responded quicker in the low rpm. Don't really go fast a lot, don't know if there is a improvement in mid & high rpm. Since I am on the subject of faster take off - I just flushed my differential oil (this is a year after the Vanos seal change), and have noticed a huge improvement in accelerating, taking off and reduced oil consumption. Now have to be careful about going full throttle into a bend, never use to be able to spin the wheels. (the BMW specialist looks at me funny and say, we have never change the differential oil but if you want sure.)

Just reiterating what Wayney has mentioned. Only noticeable in when engine is cold, and warming up. Symptoms are rpm rising & falling and maybe stalling, but this is only when idling at cold. Exactly what beisansystems.com describe to the very last detail. However they say M54 has the same problem but does not display these symptoms. I have taken my car to the mechanic a few times and they could not diagnose the problem. The only fault they got was o2 sensor & cylinders not firing. They check o2 sensor, ignition coil, wiring, plugs, intake system and all was fine. After I found beisansystems.com, I thought why not, it's only like $60 and the problem is gone and even noticed the car has a little more power in low-mid rpm. Don't know much about high rpm Whatever the problem is with your car you need to fix that but it would be worth getting the vanos seals done too. Correction: my description is only for M52TU engine. Reading the symptoms on beisansystems.com for M54, it fits your description exactly. It looks like Wayney has a M52TU too, is that right Wayney?