[spicytuna]

My Koni Yellows and H&R springs finally arrived. How much should I expect to pay to have them installed by an indie shop?

Thanks for any feedback!

[ssdara]

Originally Posted by spicytuna

My Koni Yellows and H&R springs finally arrived. How much should I expect to pay to have them installed by an indie shop?

Thanks for any feedback!

Depends on their skill, best shop here quoted me 8 hours for downpipes because they're greedy and suck. They should be able to do it in 2 hours, but they'll probably charge you 4-6. Removing trunk liner yourself would probably save you an hour of labor

[larrysing]

I have a very reasonable and affordable local mechanic who did my rear B8s for $205 and my front B8 struts for $245. No springs though, so can't help you on that part.

[spicytuna]

Oh and is there anything else I should swap out while the springs and shocks are being replaced? Like bump stops or similar? I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row.

Thanks again!

[vapore0n]

front bump stops might need to be cut.
Some people get the Z3 shorter ones. You might need to look into this, as its been long time since I had this done.
So might as well get all 4.

[blackturbo]

New mounts are recommended.

[ssdara]

Originally Posted by spicytuna

Oh and is there anything else I should swap out while the springs and shocks are being replaced? Like bump stops or similar? I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row.

Thanks again!

Just talk to chris@strutmonkey in the suspension forum. There are a lot of parts. He might even save you labor cost with his pre-assembled units. Wish I had known about it before I spent hours researching all the components and putting it together.

[spicytuna]

Originally Posted by vapore0n

front bump stops might need to be cut.
Some people get the Z3 shorter ones. You might need to look into this, as its been long time since I had this done.
So might as well get all 4.

something like this?

https://www.amazon.com/Additional-Sh...2Aentries%2A=0

Do these need to be cut prior to installation? Im confused.

[The HACK]

THIS is the reason why you can never get an honest pricing from a mechanic.

Say, they go by the book, and charge you $110 per hour for, again, by the book, 4 hours of labor, someone on the great intarweb is going to say hey, my buddy and I installed the whole shebang in two hours and he only charged me $200. You go to said mechanic and say, hey, someone told me that this job only takes 2 hours, and that $110 per hour is at least 10% overpriced. WTF?

Say, they DON'T go by the book, low-balls you and say it takes 2 hours at $90 per hour, rushes through the job to finish it so they can put another car up on the rack to make up for it, and forgot to tighten ALL the bolts to BMW specified spec...3 weeks later one of your suspension bolt snaps in an area completely unrelated to the install, you come back to the shop demanding the shop pay $$$ for your repairs because you found ONE bolt undertorqued (but say, it's the diff bolt that broke). WTF?

Say, you walk into a shop armed with all THIS knowledge you culled from the mighty intarweb, and demand that they take a torque wrench to every bolt and be meticulous and finish the car looking cleaner than you left it, with all new bolts, replace all worn bushings while they're under there, but you insist that you'll only pay $200 because that's what you read on the intarweb that that is how much it should cost to install springs and shocks, not to mention that they have to use their fancy wall mounted spring compressor, get new shock and spring mounts, and new strut bearings because your OE parts are all worn out...etc...And they told you to get the f**k out of their shop. WTF?

Honestly. I know quite a few mechanics. They are all honest. At least, they all start out very honest. The business itself and having to protect themselves from people who know enough to be dangerous, but not enough to be useful like y'all, is why THEY usually choose to charge their full rate and BY THE BOOK. Especially for customers they don't know.

YOU want to know how much you should pay for the install? Ask your mechanic for his hourly rate and how long it will take to install. Asking on the great intarweb is pointless and useless, IMO.

[spicytuna]

Originally Posted by The HACK

YOU want to know how much you should pay for the install? Ask your mechanic for his hourly rate and how long it will take to install. Asking on the great intarweb is pointless and useless, IMO.

Clearly I'm looking for a general consensus. If the majority of owners say I should expect to pay $400 - 600 but then I go to Joe Blows BMW shop and he quotes me $1500 for the same job then clearly that would throw a flag.

But you already knew that right?

[slupie]

I did my shocks and springs in my garage and it took me 6 hours with mostly hand tools and on jack stands.

[Underground6t9]

When i did my coilovers my mechanic charged me $500 and it took him like 6hrs.

[Antetokounmpo]

Originally Posted by larrysing

I have a very reasonable and affordable local mechanic who did my rear B8s for $205 and my front B8 struts for $245. No springs though, so can't help you on that part.

$205 for rear shocks??? I can change a rear shock in literally 15 min. Once you have the wheel off there are 2 bolts that need to be removed and that's it. The strut just comes right out after you unbolt it. Fronts are a different story though.

[brewnami]

Originally Posted by Heel Toe

$205 for rear shocks??? I can change a rear shock in literally 15 min. Once you have the wheel off there are 2 bolts that need to be removed and that's it. The strut just comes right out after you unbolt it. Fronts are a different story though.

15 mins? Do you already have your entire trunk liner removed? Do you start the time when the trunk is stripped, the car is lifted, the rear control arm is loosened and supported? Rears are much more of a pain in the ass than the fronts in my opinion. I've done two sets of coils on an E92 in my garage. The rears suck.

[Antetokounmpo]

Originally Posted by brewnami

15 mins? Do you already have your entire trunk liner removed? Do you start the time when the trunk is stripped, the car is lifted, the rear control arm is loosened and supported? Rears are much more of a pain in the ass than the fronts in my opinion. I've done two sets of coils on an E92 in my garage. The rears suck.

You only need to remove 3 pop rivets in the liner to do a side. Takes like 1 min to move the liner. I'd also imagine if you don't have folding rear seats it would be tougher.

When I was installing my bilstein b12s, the front took a total of about 3 hours and the backs took a total of about 1 hour. (This is shocks and spring by the way) A few months ago I changed an upper rear shock mount which included removing the rear shock. It literally only took 15 min to do.

[WreckerX5d]

Find a reputable BMW indy. I shopped around for the B12 kit/M3 controls install and was quoted $1100+, labor only because they all go by book hours. The indy near me charged $500 for the B12 kit and M3 controls installed.

I've met too many 'mechanics' who think BMW's are some complicated machine that require an act of God to fix. It's a Macpherson strut with a basic rear end, like many other vehicles out there.

Also, I would replace the mounts as well. Turner Motorsport has a pretty good price on there's and they seem to hold up fine. I've been running my mounts from them for multiple tens of thousands of miles on New York roads without issue.

[avocet]

Originally Posted by spicytuna

My Koni Yellows and H&R springs finally arrived. How much should I expect to pay to have them installed by an indie shop?

Thanks for any feedback!

I would change all my shock mounts. I did not change mine, and have replaced both upper and lower rears, and really want to change out the fronts.

Search Monroe shock mounts. They are inexpensive and are of good quality and perform quite well.

As for bump stops I think Koni's require different/modded stops as already mentioned.

Originally Posted by The HACK

THIS is the reason why you can never get an honest pricing from a mechanic.

S

This is honestly one of the reasons why I did NOT choose the automotive business to be a mechanic in!

Having said that, I would really enjoy working and tinkering on nice cars all day! Helicopters aren't bad, but they come with their own set of problems. lol.

[spicytuna]

Originally Posted by avocet

I would change all my shock mounts. I did not change mine, and have replaced both upper and lower rears, and really want to change out the fronts.

Search Monroe shock mounts. They are inexpensive and are of good quality and perform quite well.

As for bump stops I think Koni's require different/modded stops as already mentioned.



This is honestly one of the reasons why I did NOT choose the automotive business to be a mechanic in!

Having said that, I would really enjoy working and tinkering on nice cars all day! Helicopters aren't bad, but they come with their own set of problems. lol.

Thanks for the feedback! Do I need replacement shock mounts for all 4 wheels? Is this the right part #? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IJGAZRA