[christopherolney2008]

I have had my rear shock absorbers recently replaced(5months)
now there telling me the top caps i think there called or they called them bump stops are need of replacing ones split and the other very worn
i said to them why didnt you replace them when you put
new ones on when they replaced the new shocks
they said something about cost
am i being a bit over the top if im paying for the shocks to be replaced surely you would renew the caps or whatever they are called

[aaronblack]

Yep top mounts or shock mounts some refer to. Where did you get your shocks replaced? Ideally they should have seen them and advised you, but in a lot of cases they (mechanics) don't.

I havnt looked into E9x yet but I believe you got top and lower mounts, so look into them all this time, somebody could correct me if I'm wrong.

[christopherolney2008]

Originally Posted by aaronblack

Yep top mounts or shock mounts some refer to. Where did you get your shocks replaced? Ideally they should have seen them and advised you, but in a lot of cases they (mechanics) don't.

I havnt looked into E9x yet but I believe you got top and lower mounts, so look into them all this time, somebody could correct me if I'm wrong.

Originally Posted by aaronblack

Yep top mounts or shock mounts some refer to. Where did you get your shocks replaced? Ideally they should have seen them and advised you, but in a lot of cases they (mechanics) don't.

I havnt looked into E9x yet but I believe you got top and lower mounts, so look into them all this time, somebody could correct me if I'm wrong.

At a Bmw garage

[therealdb1]

Originally Posted by christopherolney2008

At a Bmw garage

Do you mean a franchised stealership?
Unusual for them if they did not advise that the top mounts were on their way out. More work for them equals more profit.
In proportion to the labour to do the job the parts are inexpensive and now you need to pay the labour again to have the mounts replaced so how has that saved you cost?
If you are not able to do the job yourself I would consider taking your car to a known reasonable independent garage rather than a BMW badged one. If you do not know of a local establishment to you ask on here for a recommendation.

[christopherolney2008]

Yes a franchised dealer it was done under warranty that I pay 70 pound a month for but have to pay £250.00 excess
the job was nearly 800 pound for both shocks that's why I'm peeved

[therealdb1]

Originally Posted by christopherolney2008

Yes a franchised dealer it was done under warranty that I pay 70 pound a month for but have to pay £250.00 excess
the job was nearly 800 pound for both shocks that's why I'm peeved

Ah! Makes sense if it was a warrantee job. They would not have replaced the top mounts under the guarantee if they were deemed serviceable at the time. What they should have done is contacted you while your car was in bits and advised that the top mounts were likely to require replacement in the next year or so and offered to replace them for you if you paid for those parts alone.

I think what I would do in this instance is go back to the dealer and explain that they should have advised top mount replacement at the time even if they were at your cost as you would have saved the labour charge and see if they can do a deal for you to get them done.
You will most likely still have to pay something towards the labour but the bill may well be less than the excess you have to pay on your warrantee.

Worst case is they say "no" in which case take your business elsewhere but you might be surprised how flexible these service departments can be if you discuss your issue with the manager within earshot of other customers so a Saturday morning is a good time to hold such a conversation if you see what I mean.

[christopherolney2008]

That's what I said why didn't you say anything at the time of replacement his answer was some technician are ocd and some are not if you can believe that

[therealdb1]

Originally Posted by christopherolney2008

That's what I said why didn't you say anything at the time of replacement his answer was some technician are ocd and some are not if you can believe that

That's not your problem is it?
You have paid to have your car repaired to an acceptable standard which it was not. The technician should be trained to identify and highlight a potential issue whilst the job is in progress so he has not carried out his job correctly.
As I say, visit the service department and ask to speak with the manager.
Be prepared to stamp your feet a bit and see what they offer.

[christopherolney2008]

Ok thank you for your help

[aaronblack]

Originally Posted by therealdb1

That's not your problem is it?
You have paid to have your car repaired to an acceptable standard which it was not. The technician should be trained to identify and highlight a potential issue whilst the job is in progress so he has not carried out his job correctly.
As I say, visit the service department and ask to speak with the manager.
Be prepared to stamp your feet a bit and see what they offer.

Well said here. Talk to the manager, if this was done 6 months ago I'm certain the mounts would have shown signs.

Some technicians are OCD some aren't isn't the way they should be doing business!

[Tambohamilton]

Informing a customer about worn parts isn't OCD; it's called doing their job! They need to lose the 'non-OCD' mechanics and hire better ones. I'd tell them they can do it for the price of the parts only, or I'd be taking my business elsewhere - permanently.

[OliSharp]

OP I'm sorry to hear you've had such a bad time with your rear dampers, seems BMW have really stitched you up. Unfortunately to replace the bump stops means removing the dampers again.

I've just paid £14 for a pair of rear bump stops (from Autodoc). From the dealer they'll be more obviously, but they really should have changed those along with your dampers. On an 11 year old car they'd have fallen apart anyway when the mechanic took them off.

They should also have changed the bottom mounts (a block of rubber that sits between the damper and the suspension arm). This part is equally cheap.

As far as the top mounts are concerned, one sits inside the boot away from the elements and shouldn't need changing, and there's one that sits in the wheel arch, but is protected by the rubber dust boot so again should be fine. Bumpstop and bottom mount are the ones to focus on.

You really need to get the service manager on the phone and ask them to explain themselves. BMW service literature often tells mechanics to "inspect and replace if necessary" and there's no way they can justify not replacing 11 year old bump stops, it has nothing to do with OCD! Escalate this to BMW UK if necessary: it's seriously out of order.

You'll need to replace your front dampers soon too (if you haven't already): please, please don't go to BMW, go to a good independent. Should still be around £250 fitted for the front dampers, it's an easy job.

[Chappers 71]

^
And have the front top mounts changed at the same time if you do have front shocks renewed