[drilling]

My indy shop gave me a quote for $4000 for the following problems. Is it really time for me to go back go Honda

[eelnoraa]

I have need to work on my g05 yet. For my older bmws, lower ball joint do wear out as Honda and Toyota. The entire lower control arm is like $100 with ball joint in it. Replacing literally is a 45min job with one hand holding a camera 75% of the time. It is they simple. After they need alignment tho. Maybe time to get another quote from another shop?

[swainbmw]

Take the 4000 and the car and trade it in for new one

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by drilling

My indy shop gave me a quote for $4000 for the following problems. Is it really time for me to go back go Honda

No, it's time to find a new indy. $4K just for that? You kidding me? I've rebuilt suspensions on cars, it's more like an $800 job if they need to do both sides and that includes whatever that inspection is too.

[BlkGS]

Ball joints either press in and out, or bolt.in and put. Your shop doesn't want to do it. The question is why.

Unless you conveniently left out that there was $3600 worth of work they also had on their estimate.

[drilling]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

Ball joints either press in and out, or bolt.in and put. Your shop doesn't want to do it. The question is why.

Unless you conveniently left out that there was $3600 worth of work they also had on their estimate.

They said they need to replace apl 4 of them

[BlkGS]

That seems very high for 4 ball joints being replaced to me. I'd call the dealer and see what they'd charge, I bet they'd be less than that.

How many miles/years on it to need 4 ball joints already? Those last like 15 years or more on most vehicles. They're like, borderline lifetime items nowadays.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by drilling

They said they need to replace apl 4 of them

What year and model X5 do you have? (you should add it to your profile so it shows, that helps people help you)

[drilling]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

What year and model X5 do you have? (you should add it to your profile so it shows, that helps people help you)

2019 X5

100k miles

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by drilling

2019 X5

100k miles

Well, at least it's not a low mile failure. Having a couple ball joints starting to develop some play after getting 20k miles a year isn't that unreasonable. If it had 50k miles on it, that'd be one thing. 100k, eh, doesn't feel premature anymore.

I can only imagine you've had to do plenty of other service to the car tomget it to 100k miles? Kinda surprised by this whole topic now.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by drilling

2019 X5

100k miles

Ok, I stand corrected on my $800 because it appears your indy shop is not going to replace the individual ball joints but rather replace the entire arm(s) the ball joints are in. Ball joints can be pressed out of the arm and new ones pressed back in, if that were the case, $800 should cover it as 80% of it is labor. I guess you should check with them to be sure. If they are going to replace all the arms that have ball joints in them, then the cost is going to be more as the parts are pricey but the labor will be lower. Here are some pix showing the various suspension parts that have ball joints in them.

The first pic is in the rear, that is the only ball joint I saw in the pix I looked at, that Rear Swing Support Arm is about $60. The second pic is the front suspension, the three main arms, #1, 4 and 8 are around $350 each and you need two of each, so that's around $2K right there and that's just the price of the parts without labor. They will also have to realign the car once done.
The pricing I used is only from one site, FCP Euro, but I find them to be mostly on point with pricing.

So, talk with them, are they replacing only the ball joints or the complete arms? How long will you keep the car if you already have 100K on it? Is it worth putting $4K into it? I suspect you will need shocks/struts as well. Front OEM struts are about $1,800 for the pair and rears are about $1,300 for the pair without labor.

If you're mechanically inclined and have the tools or have a friend who is, you can buy the parts and install them yourself and then take it for an alignment. They are not difficult to replace when you replace the entire arm and since you will have removed the arms you might as well replace the shocks/struts at the same time.

.

[drilling]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

Well, at least it's not a low mile failure. Having a couple ball joints starting to develop some play after getting 20k miles a year isn't that unreasonable. If it had 50k miles on it, that'd be one thing. 100k, eh, doesn't feel premature anymore.

I can only imagine you've had to do plenty of other service to the car tomget it to 100k miles? Kinda surprised by this whole topic now.

I guess it aint bullet proof as i hoped it would be. I guess I should speak to other indy shops? Is it worth taking to BMW service center since they will try their best to upcharge me anyways?

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

Ok, I stand corrected on my $800 because it appears your indy shop is not going to replace the individual ball joints but rather replace the entire arm(s) the ball joints are in. Ball joints can be pressed out of the arm and new ones pressed back in, if that were the case, $800 should cover it as 80% of it is labor. I guess you should check with them to be sure. If they are going to replace all the arms that have ball joints in them, then the cost is going to be more as the parts are pricey but the labor will be lower. Here are some pix showing the various suspension parts that have ball joints in them.

The first pic is in the rear, that is the only ball joint I saw in the pix I looked at, that Rear Swing Support Arm is about $60. The second pic is the front suspension, the three main arms, #1, 4 and 8 are around $350 each and you need two of each, so that's around $2K right there and that's just the price of the parts without labor. They will also have to realign the car once done.
The pricing I used is only from one site, FCP Euro, but I find them to be mostly on point with pricing.

So, talk with them, are they replacing only the ball joints or the complete arms? How long will you keep the car if you already have 100K on it? Is it worth putting $4K into it? I suspect you will need shocks/struts as well. Front OEM struts are about $1,800 for the pair and rears are about $1,300 for the pair without labor.

If you're mechanically inclined and have the tools or have a friend who is, you can buy the parts and install them yourself and then take it [...]

I could be wrong, but I kind of think replacing the control arm and sway bar link will be cheaper than pressing ball joint out. In my older bmw, I don’t bother with the ball joint at all, I just replace the whole thing, especially for the front.

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by drilling

I guess it aint bullet proof as i hoped it would be. I guess I should speak to other indy shops? Is it worth taking to BMW service center since they will try their best to upcharge me anyways?

Suspension bushing and joints are designed to be wear items. They are not supposed to last forever. 100k miles isn’t a bad mileage for suspension maintainance.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

I could be wrong, but I kind of think replacing the control arm and sway bar link will be cheaper than pressing ball joint out. In my older bmw, I don’t bother with the ball joint at all, I just replace the whole thing, especially for the front.

It's parts cost vs labor cost. Pressing a ball joint in and out is a 5-10 minute job with proper access and tools. But controls arms often have bushings attached and other stuff that can wear out, so they like to replace the whole arm. Bit more parts cost, but saves labor cost vs trying to do bushings and ball joints individually.

[davchr]

Originally Posted by drilling

I guess it aint bullet proof as i hoped it would be. I guess I should speak to other indy shops? Is it worth taking to BMW service center since they will try their best to upcharge me anyways?

Ball joints and suspension bushings wear out. After a brief search I was not able to find aftermarket ball joints or control arms for the G05. For earlier X5s I found complete front suspension sets for $200 to $300. While this will not help you, maybe in a few years when more owners need the suspension parts for their G05 they will be available at reasonable cost.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

I could be wrong, but I kind of think replacing the control arm and sway bar link will be cheaper than pressing ball joint out. In my older bmw, I don’t bother with the ball joint at all, I just replace the whole thing, especially for the front.

Been there, done that.. .

.