why the high variability in the price quotes for ac compressor replacement by dealers

[oldbimmerguy]

Is anyone willing to dispute the fact that BY FAR THE WORST part of ownership is the stealership experience. Bmw has always wanted to have it both ways, they do all they can to send owners to the stealer, with proprietary software, tools and documentation, then bow out and offer zero input or assistance when things go south for the owner, claiming the stealer is an independent business. The sheer audacity of a stealer to quote 15,18,or22k for compressor jobs on the i3, without apology and with attitude is mind blowing. Bmw Na says not our problem. Why the huge differential, some get the job done for 10k less than others. Bmw should step up and establish some reasonable flat fee to get this fixed so that thousands of i3 owners do not send their super green recyllable car to the land fill 15 years too early. Perhaps a class action would get their attention. They could also easily develop a new part number for an in line filter that is simply and cheaply installed to greatly enhance reliability. However, knowing how the system works, the filter would cost 3k, the stealer would charge another 3k to install, and BMWNA would say not our problem, they are an independent business

 

[Clanduncan]

Speaking as someone who has just taken my 8.5 year old car for this very job, it's not as bad as I feared. After some negotiation, this will cost me about £2100 (@$2600) from a BMW UK dealership.

 

[Joff]

I wonder if there is a huge difference in how many other parts of the AC system are replaced in a $22k repair VS a more reasonable quote. If they are gonna do it for $2600, I doubt they can drop the high voltage battery and replace it's cooling system for that.