[razorduc]

I'm reviving an old thread because my turbos just failed at 103,000 miles ~5 years (I had purchased the extended warranty).

South Bay BMW quote of $8,200 to replace because it "takes about 25 hours". That a little over half of what the car is worth with the turbos working.

SA is writing to BMW to see what they can do right now.....

Anybody know of any shops that I can get them repaired in the LA or OC area?

Also, how bad is it to drive the car in this condition?

[shortseller]

Originally Posted by razorduc

I'm reviving an old thread because my turbos just failed at 103,000 miles ~5 years (I had purchased the extended warranty).

South Bay BMW quote of $8,200 to replace because it "takes about 25 hours". That a little over half of what the car is worth with the turbos working.

SA is writing to BMW to see what they can do right now.....

Anybody know of any shops that I can get them repaired in the LA or OC area?

Also, how bad is it to drive the car in this condition?

With BMW's embrace of turbos in many current models, sounds to me like owners are screwed given their inherent life span. With quotes like we see above, you would think BMW would figure out a much more design friendly way to get to these turbos (i.e.,25hrs - what joke) that so many will be needing replaced down the road; not to mention the neg impact on resale value. Then again I'm sure they are aware of the math going forward. So much for the NA 6 & 8's we all loved. Nice call BMW!

[e92ben]

Trade it in before it gets bad and get another!

[mikekilpatrick]

ANY job on a BMW is a DIY IF you have the service manual! Go to ebay, buy a factory manual on CD or DVD and READ IT! Every procedure a dealer does, the manual COVERS! Even if it took you 15 hours to replace two turbos, is your time worth 200.00 an hour? Mine sure as hell is! Trick to turbos in general is to make sure they are properly lubricated. Now, I only own a 328xi, so I am not familiar with the lubrication of the turbos on these, but in my opinion, if BMW recommends 15k mile oil changes and i had turbos, I would change the oil every 4-5 k miles. Shop at auto zone or advance auto and you can find synthetic oil for 2 dollars a quart or even FREE if you shop and send in the rebates. I am on a YEAR ROUND hunt for deals on synthetic oil and i stock up on it for I can do more frequent oil changes. Did an oil change at 4500 miles recently and just got back from a 2500 mile round trip to Florida, so I will be doing another change soon. You can't hurt your car from changing the oil too often, but you CAN hurt it by not changing it enough. Just like the tranny fluid and transaxle fluid, BMW says lifetime and THAT IS BULLSHIT! There is NO SUCH THING as lifetime on any damn fluid! It all wears down with use. BMW just makes sure you are over the 100k in their usage analysis tests before anything major fails. I have had transmission experts say you should change your tranny fluid once a year to ensure maximum auto trans life. I think the 60k mile or 4 year rule is probably the best thing to do.

[ihc95]

Originally Posted by razorduc

I'm reviving an old thread because my turbos just failed at 103,000 miles ~5 years (I had purchased the extended warranty).

South Bay BMW quote of $8,200 to replace because it "takes about 25 hours". That a little over half of what the car is worth with the turbos working.

SA is writing to BMW to see what they can do right now.....

Anybody know of any shops that I can get them repaired in the LA or OC area?

Also, how bad is it to drive the car in this condition?

Keep us updated!!

[razorduc]

The AWESOME news is that my SA just told me BMW has agreed to take care of the replacement cost (minus the $180 diagnostic fee).

I did find 2 shops with good reputations that would do the work:

The M Shop in Eagle Rock was ~$3,500 with all parts, labor, tax.

European Motor Works in Arcadia was ~$3,000 with used turbo (found a set with 9,000 mi), ~$3,500 with re-built, and ~$3,700 with factory new parts.

Great way to go into the long weekend!

[shortseller]

Originally Posted by razorduc

The AWESOME news is that my SA just told me BMW has agreed to take care of the replacement cost (minus the $180 diagnostic fee).

I did find 2 shops with good reputations that would do the work:

The M Shop in Eagle Rock was ~$3,500 with all parts, labor, tax.

European Motor Works in Arcadia was ~$3,000 with used turbo (found a set with 9,000 mi), ~$3,500 with re-built, and ~$3,700 with factory new parts.

Great way to go into the long weekend!

That's great news, nice to hear they did the right thing. You might want to buy your SA and nice dinner.

[nightops]

Originally Posted by alfons335i

i took my car in for waste gate rattle that was supposably fixed about 8 months ago for the 2nd time and they decided to replace both my turbos. i aint complaining. thank you CPO, cost me $50<< dont mind spending $50 on two turbos and labor

had to ressurect this do you mind telling me which dealer in LA did this work for you? also, do they do both turbos even if only one is rattling? you can pm me if you dont want to list the dealer- thx

[Gugs]

Originally Posted by nightops

had to ressurect this do you mind telling me which dealer in LA did this work for you? also, do they do both turbos even if only one is rattling? you can pm me if you dont want to list the dealer- thx

It's relevant to your VIN number as per the service bulletin and extended turbo warranty to 80k on select models.

[ExchangeHut]

I have a 2006 330i with 189k on it. I just replaced the water pump and thermostat. I really enjoyed this repair because I got to see all parts of the engine and how the engine was designed and how it all works. I am too cheap to pay someone $100-$150/hr to do the work, I figured I could take it all apart and if I get stuck, I can pay someone to come help. I have done this with a transmission on a Craftsman tractor, Intake Manifold Plenum on a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland and now on the water pump. I haven't been stumped yet, luckily. Still kind of a rookie but dangerous enough to wrench on a car.

Anyway, the point I'm getting to is this... What would it take to put turbos on my 330i? At 189k miles, I really enjoy my car and would rather see what I can get out of this car, since it is only worth $7k. I would do any work myself and just want to know what all needs to be replaced to do this or if it would be cost effective to do this project.

Any thoughts?

[themyst]

That is all crazy talk. I "rebuilt" my stock turbos with some 10k mile-old center-sections. 30-40 minutes to swap out. Rob Beck sells stock center sections for $100-150 I believe, and he's got plenty of them.

With that said, labor at an independent shop with reasonable rates runs $750-1000 for the job itself, plus fluids and parts (an additional $250 or so). I don't see why you can't do the entire job for no more than $1500.

[Envuks]

Originally Posted by themyst

That is all crazy talk. I "rebuilt" my stock turbos with some 10k mile-old center-sections. 30-40 minutes to swap out. Rob Beck sells stock center sections for $100-150 I believe, and he's got plenty of them.

With that said, labor at an independent shop with reasonable rates runs $750-1000 for the job itself, plus fluids and parts (an additional $250 or so). I don't see why you can't do the entire job for no more than $1500.

I agree here. The numbers referenced in this post are way too high. It's a roughly $2k job with new parts and labor, obviously at an Indy shop

[shaginwagon13]

Originally Posted by themyst

That is all crazy talk. I "rebuilt" my stock turbos with some 10k mile-old center-sections. 30-40 minutes to swap out. Rob Beck sells stock center sections for $100-150 I believe, and he's got plenty of them.

With that said, labor at an independent shop with reasonable rates runs $750-1000 for the job itself, plus fluids and parts (an additional $250 or so). I don't see why you can't do the entire job for no more than $1500.

^ Agreed.

[woo1]

My 2008 135i is in surgery right now. I was hearing rattlesnakes under the hood and was starting to get turbo lag. I brought it in and they originally offered to replace just the wastegates. When they removed them they noticed turbo damage. Now they're replacing both turbos.

The $3200 for the extended warranty has more than paid for itself. I'll pick it up in a few days and cover the $50 deductible with a smile. I highly recommend the extended warranty for any high performance car.

The $1000 for the wheel and tire warranty has paid for itself at least 3 times over. Same goes for the service agreement. I'd rather factor in the costs of these warranties into my monthly payment and drive worry-free. Plus, I've never been without a loaner when I drop of my car. Can't beat that! ...well unless you're a technician and do all of your own work, that is.

[sammy_0559]

Originally Posted by woo1

My 2008 135i is in surgery right now. I was hearing rattlesnakes under the hood and was starting to get turbo lag. I brought it in and they originally offered to replace just the wastegates. When they removed them they noticed turbo damage. Now they're replacing both turbos.

The $3200 for the extended warranty has more than paid for itself. I'll pick it up in a few days and cover the $50 deductible with a smile. I highly recommend the extended warranty for any high performance car.

The $1000 for the wheel and tire warranty has paid for itself at least 3 times over. Same goes for the service agreement. I'd rather factor in the costs of these warranties into my monthly payment and drive worry-free. Plus, I've never been without a loaner when I drop of my car. Can't beat that! ...well unless you're a technician and do all of your own work, that is.

YOu brought this thread wayy before dinosaurs were extinct...lol

[woo1]

^ I was doing research on actual costs since I was covered. The post came up in search results. I'm glad I could amuse and entertain you.

[ha9981]

Honestly how the heck is someone expected to own a 335i out of warranty? This is way to risky, it is like the cost of a blown motor except it goes out despite care owners take.

How can this be avoided? Was this issue completely fixed in newer models?

Why would anyone want to buy a out of warranty car that has a high chance of turbos failing that can cost $2k to fix, and as it appears, is anything but an average persons DIY.

[dicostal]

anyone else had stock replaced recently, and how much did it cost?
also if you had after market installed how much was labor?

This information will help me decide to weather keep the car or wait for turbo to fail and fix it...
since after market turbos seem not be reliable (i need turbos that you can put on at least 80k on) this seems the only option right now.

Thanks

[Nitrousbird]

Originally Posted by dicostal

anyone else had stock replaced recently, and how much did it cost?
also if you had after market installed how much was labor?

This information will help me decide to weather keep the car or wait for turbo to fail and fix it...
since after market turbos seem not be reliable (i need turbos that you can put on at least 80k on) this seems the only option right now.

Thanks

Do it yourself, then it's just the cost of the turbo's.

[dicostal]

Originally Posted by Nitrousbird

Do it yourself, then it's just the cost of the turbo's.

I guess I could give that a try... but I am not sure I wanna tackle a job that big. I've done small stuff like plugs and coils, even rear shocks... but this seems a bit out of my league...
However if someone is looking to make a few extra buck over the week end, I guess i would let them do it..

[Nitrousbird]

Originally Posted by dicostal

I guess I could give that a try... but I am not sure I wanna tackle a job that big. I've done small stuff like plugs and coils, even rear shocks... but this seems a bit out of my league...
However if someone is looking to make a few extra buck over the week end, I guess i would let them do it..

You learn out of necessity. Roll your sleeves up, get some grease under those finger nails and tackle the job. I learned when I was a kid putting himself through college that wanted a modded car. Couldn't afford to pay someone to turn my wrenches so I did it myself. I had no parents to teach me - early message boards, research, repair manuals and figuring crap out got me by.

Didn't take too long to figure out it's a hell of a lot cheaper to own a car if you repair it yourself. I wouldn't dare own a BMW if I was paying someone else to do the work.

[924er]

I think Vargas sells quality rebuilt tubros for 990 for a pair. They are machined and balanced. The rebuild kit is another 200. I know a guy who can replace them for 800. PM me

Turbos failing at 102k isn't bad at all.