[Sxs1687]

Hi guys, any of you live in the MD area, by any chance? I'm between DC and BMore in Howard County, for anyone familiar with this area.

My M550i warranty ends in a few weeks. Curious to know if anyone recommends any good, reasonable, and reliable indy shops in this area? I've been debating buying an extended warranty but haven't done much research yet.

My last car was a F10 550i and I got the extended warranty thru BMW of Catonsville, although it was a Toyota warranty. I only used it two times thru the dealer....1.) drivetrain malfunction which needed new spark plugs and 2 coil packs (I ended up having to pay a portion of this) and 2.) Tie rods which was surprisingly covered in full by the warranty when my high pressure pump blew (manufacturer warranty covered this). I mention all of this because I'm unsure I want/need the extended warranty. I spent $4990 on this "platinum" warranty on my last car and most certainly did not get my money's worth within my 4 yrs of owning it.

My other car is a Lexus and I actually have a Toyota guy that great with all Jap cars. He does work for basically every Jap car owner on my street and much of my family. I only use him for bigger things, such as spark plugs and such. I usually do filters, oil changes, brakes, rotors, brake fluid, etc all on my own on both cars. Wonder if I should let him work on the Bimmer too 🤔.

Sorry, a lot of thoughts going on here lol. Just wanting to get some of your guys' thoughts too.

[HerkHealer]

Originally Posted by Sxs1687

Hi guys, any of you live in the MD area, by any chance? I'm between DC and BMore in Howard County, for anyone familiar with this area.

My M550i warranty ends in a few weeks. Curious to know if anyone recommends any good, reasonable, and reliable indy shops in this area? I've been debating buying an extended warranty but haven't done much research yet.

My last car was a F10 550i and I got the extended warranty thru BMW of Catonsville, although it was a Toyota warranty. I only used it two times thru the dealer....1.) drivetrain malfunction which needed new spark plugs and 2 coil packs (I ended up having to pay a portion of this) and 2.) Tie rods which was surprisingly covered in full by the warranty when my high pressure pump blew (manufacturer warranty covered this). I mention all of this because I'm unsure I want/need the extended warranty. I spent $4990 on this "platinum" warranty on my last car and most certainly did not get my money's worth within my 4 yrs of owning it.

My other car is a Lexus and I actually have a Toyota guy that great with all Jap cars. He does work for basically every Jap car owner on my street and much of my family. I only use him for bigger things, such as spark plugs and such. I usually do filters, oil changes, brakes, rotors, brake fluid, etc all on my own on both cars. Wonder if I should let him work on the Bimmer too ��.

Sorry, a lot of thoughts going on here lol. Just wanting to get some of your guys' thoughts too.

Look up the Route 66 Extended Warranty in our forum. Several have used it.
You can get 7 yr/120K for roughly $3,000, depending on your mileage. And that is for the top Tier level that covers everything except wear/tear items.
And it is transferable.

[Mosaud1998]

https://www.bimmershops.com/search?q=maryland

[bryansna]

I have had work done at Induktion Motors. Ed is the owner and is fair and honest. Also BA Motors is a solid shop in Columbia

[Sxs1687]

Coming back to this thread after a long while. Would you guys rather go to the dealer or an indy shop for what is most likely warranty work? (Thru a 3rd party extended warranty). I actually made an appt with BA motors in Columbia as mentioned earlier in this thread, for Thurs, because they have fantastic reviews and it's closer to home but now I'm just wondering. 🤔🤔

Their diag fee is up to $310 (2 hrs)...could be one hour, depending on if they can figure out the issue within that time. Dealer is $250 (1 hr). But dealer's hourly rate is $250 vs BA which is $155. I kind of think I'll get more individual attention from the Indy shop and they specialize in BMWs, along with working with warranties. I just want some opinions on what you guys think. Thanks!! 🙏🏽

[adhrp]

Originally Posted by Sxs1687

Coming back to this thread after a long while. Would you guys rather go to the dealer or an indy shop for what is most likely warranty work? (Thru a 3rd party extended warranty). I actually made an appt with BA motors in Columbia as mentioned earlier in this thread, for Thurs, because they have fantastic reviews and it's closer to home but now I'm just wondering. ����

Their diag fee is up to $310 (2 hrs)...could be one hour, depending on if they can figure out the issue within that time. Dealer is $250 (1 hr). But dealer's hourly rate is $250 vs BA which is $155. I kind of think I'll get more individual attention from the Indy shop and they specialize in BMWs, along with working with warranties. I just want some opinions on what you guys think. Thanks!! ����

I have been thinking about this now that I'm out of the original warranty and on an EW. I now take my car to the dealer for Value Service and to the indy for everything else. I have settled on the following: I will take it to whoever first reported the issue. If the issue is something you detected yourself and is yet to be diagnosed, I would take it to indy as long as they are solid at what they do and you trust them.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by Sxs1687

Coming back to this thread after a long while. Would you guys rather go to the dealer or an indy shop for what is most likely warranty work? (Thru a 3rd party extended warranty). I actually made an appt with BA motors in Columbia as mentioned earlier in this thread, for Thurs, because they have fantastic reviews and it's closer to home but now I'm just wondering. 🤔🤔

Their diag fee is up to $310 (2 hrs)...could be one hour, depending on if they can figure out the issue within that time. Dealer is $250 (1 hr). But dealer's hourly rate is $250 vs BA which is $155. I kind of think I'll get more individual attention from the Indy shop and they specialize in BMWs, along with working with warranties. I just want some opinions on what you guys think. Thanks!! 🙏🏽

Dealer for the loaner. It's so convenient and they could care less how long you keep it. Also, my particular dealer is very competitive to my indy, less in some cases. In terms of repairs, this dealer has been solid. I know dealers tend to replace vs. diagnose and troubleshoot, but if I am not paying, I don't care.

[Gautam]

Originally Posted by Sxs1687

Coming back to this thread after a long while. Would you guys rather go to the dealer or an indy shop for what is most likely warranty work? (Thru a 3rd party extended warranty). I actually made an appt with BA motors in Columbia as mentioned earlier in this thread, for Thurs, because they have fantastic reviews and it's closer to home but now I'm just wondering. 🤔🤔

Their diag fee is up to $310 (2 hrs)...could be one hour, depending on if they can figure out the issue within that time. Dealer is $250 (1 hr). But dealer's hourly rate is $250 vs BA which is $155. I kind of think I'll get more individual attention from the Indy shop and they specialize in BMWs, along with working with warranties. I just want some opinions on what you guys think. Thanks!! 🙏🏽

I in general have had lukewarm experiences with dealers, multiple states, all across the country. Long wait times have been the norm rather than the exception.

I've used both an indy and a dealer in the past couple of months.

My experience with the dealer was, I had to book 2 weeks in advance to get a loaner, needed to wait 30 minutes to get a loaner, waited over an hour and a half for the SA who ended up being busy enough that I ended up going home before I got talk to him face to face.

With the indy, I shot them an email and they had availability the day after next. Dropped my keys off, was in and out in 5 minutes. (I got lucky and have one a 5 minute walk from the office) Car was done about 7 hours later.

The major draw of the dealer is the loaner, but indies can be so much faster that the need is diminished if not invalidated. I haven't tried it yet, but if memory serves, Route 66 also covers around $150 worth of car rental per claim.

[Sxs1687]

SoooOooOoo I ended up going to an Indy shop for my wastegate issue. All in all, they did the work as they were supposed to but I think I may have ended up paying more here than I would've at the dealer.

Based on the recommendation on here, I gave this Indy shop a shot and told them what was going on. They told me there'd be a diag fee of upto 2 hrs labor or $310 but likely not that long. I didn't think they'd need two hours because I provided them with all the error codes but they claimed they took over 2hrs to test everything. (Dealer charges 250 for diag). They came back saying the left wastegate needed to be replaced (which is what I had expected from the start) and said 4 hours labor at $155/hr. The part was $967 (marked up quite a bit because the dealer has this part online for $550-650). Rt.66 said they can't cover any more than MSRP, which is $674. Rt.66 agent said the shop was price gouging and was getting worked up looking at the claim lol. Also rt.66 did not want to pay more than 2.6hrs of labor. After talking to some supervisors, I got them to cover the 4hrs but would not go any higher on the part cost. I ended up having to pay $700 today for the extra part cost and diag fee. At the dealer I think the part would have cost less but their hourly rate is $250 and rt.66 covers up to $195/hr in Maryland. I called the dealer to see if they'd just take the car and replace the part, knowing I had a diag report but they said they needed to do their own diag. Called a couple other Indy shops to see if I could just get the waste gate purchased and installed thru them or if I provided it and all of them needed to do diags first so I just ended up keeping it at the first indy shop.

I'm glad the car is back but I'm debating whether I should've gone to the dealer instead. Btw, after they replaced the part, they told me I might need to do another diagnostic because they were getting a misfire error everytime they test drove the car, which could be a fuel injector issue. I told them I need the car back today because I have stuff to do. They apparently did a full system reset of some sort and the misfire error stopped coming up. I don't know. Anyway, I'm glad the car is back and no codes, no CEL, and acceleration is back to being top notch. Just wanted to share this experience. I'm also wondering if the rt.66 warranty is the better choice than the dealer warranty. I had the dealer warranty with my F10 and there were no deductibles, no diag fees, and it covered any labor rate at any BMW dealership. It was $1k more than rt.66 and only 4 yrs/100k miles but Im already $700 in the hole...so I dunno?! Lot to think about and calculate when it's time for the next car.

Cherry on top, I came home after picking up the car and in my mail was a $50 coupon for any service over $100 from this Indy shop. Lovely!

[adhrp]

IME, some indy shops, even reputed ones, can be more expensive than the dealer. Not sure if it's poor management of overhead or what but I've gone to indy shops based on a historical reputation of trust and found them to be questionable in terms of pricing and quoting repairs/replacement that might not be needed. This seems to be one such shop.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by Sxs1687

SoooOooOoo I ended up going to an Indy shop for my wastegate issue. All in all, they did the work as they were supposed to but I think I may have ended up paying more here than I would've at the dealer.

Based on the recommendation on here, I gave this Indy shop a shot and told them what was going on. They told me there'd be a diag fee of upto 2 hrs labor or $310 but likely not that long. I didn't think they'd need two hours because I provided them with all the error codes but they claimed they took over 2hrs to test everything. (Dealer charges 250 for diag). They came back saying the left wastegate needed to be replaced (which is what I had expected from the start) and said 4 hours labor at $155/hr. The part was $967 (marked up quite a bit because the dealer has this part online for $550-650). Rt.66 said they can't cover any more than MSRP, which is $674. Rt.66 agent said the shop was price gouging and was getting worked up looking at the claim lol. Also rt.66 did not want to pay more than 2.6hrs of labor. After talking to some supervisors, I got them to cover the 4hrs but would not go any higher on the part cost. I ended up having to pay $700 today for the extra part cost and diag fee. At the dealer I think the part would have cost less but their hourly rate is $250 and rt.66 covers up to $195/hr in Maryland. I called the dealer to see if they'd just take the car and replace the part, knowing I had a diag report but they said they needed to do their own diag. Called a couple other Indy shops to see if I could just get the waste gate purchased and installed thru [...]

So my experience with BMW only Indy shops is the price tag is barely slightly less than the dealer. The one I had (past tense) insists on sourcing OEM parts from a local dealer in which they have an account and get a discount but charge me the dealer retail price. Their hourly rate is slightly below the dealer and nothing to write home about. Both my dealer and the Indy is well below $200 per hour. I’m in Mass right outside of Boston, so I’m not out in the boonies where everything is cheaper.

I recently had a bunch of service stuff done. Plugs, coolant, filters, alignment. I got quotes from the dealer and two local BMW shops. The dealer was $1,000 less than the indies. I personally have never been charged a diagnostic fee. I think that’s bullshit. My dealer has never charged me one and neither has the Indy. I’ve always done the work they recommended as the fix. I can only see a diagnostic fee of they put time troubleshooting into it and you don’t move forward.

In your case, honestly, I can’t blame Route 66. The Indy was gouging on all line items. $195 per hour is more than enough to cover my dealer or Indy. A 30% up charge on the part is something I don’t blame them for pushing back on.

Sure if you bought the dealer BMW warranty, the dealer would be tied to the published time and rates for the repair. Just like factory warranty work. The dealer doesn’t try to take advantage of the warranty they sell or the customer. But you probably would have paid north of $5,000 for the same coverage as Route 66 and I doubt you could get 7 years.

The rates and fees in your area are outrageous. I would try a different dealer next time if you can.

I’m done with my indie. I like them in terms of competency and care, but they kind of gave it to me up the ass on my E39 and they don’t provide loaners. I still don’t know why they don’t source parts from FCP who is one state over and parts arrive the next day. OEM and guaranteed for life. My guess is they make more money off the dealer parts or get kick backs. The recent quote for +$1,000 more than the dealer was the last straw. It's too bad, I like them, they did all my Dinan work and I have spent over $30,000 there, but I get more loyalty concessions at the dealer. YMMV.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by adhrp

IME, some indy shops, even reputed ones, can be more expensive than the dealer. Not sure if it's poor management of overhead or what but I've gone to indy shops based on a historical reputation of trust and found them to be questionable in terms of pricing and quoting repairs/replacement that might not be needed. This seems to be one such shop.

Same. I think most people assume the dealer is evil and has to be more and they think they are saving money avoiding the dealer.

[adhrp]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Same. I think most people assume the dealer is evil and has to be more and they think they are saving money avoiding the dealer.

I know this thread is about a repair, but with BMW's value service, there's no way I'm going to go to an indy unless it's outside the value service menu (for example, an oil change at my reputed local indy is currently 20% higher than the dealer). BMW has found a nice way to get customers back in for service. If they find a failing part during such a service, Route 66 can deal with it.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by adhrp

I know this thread is about a repair, but with BMW's value service, there's no way I'm going to go to an indy unless it's outside the value service menu (for example, an oil change at my reputed local indy is currently 20% higher than the dealer). BMW has found a nice way to get customers back in for service. If they find a failing part during such a service, Route 66 can deal with it.

Yep, a lot of that service I mentioned earlier fell into the value category. $350 bucks for plugs at the dealer? That's just nuts. They definitely are trying to take back some indy business.

[Sxs1687]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Yep, a lot of that service I mentioned earlier fell into the value category. $350 bucks for plugs at the dealer? That's just nuts. They definitely are trying to take back some indy business.

What? $350 for 8 plugs replaced??? I need to call my dealer and see if they have the same price. If so, I'd want to do mine. What's this value service you guys are talking about? I've never heard of this.

So this was def my fault for going to the Indy shop vs the dealer for my wastegate issue. It took so much longer than expected (I took it in two Thursdays ago for the initial diagnosis), not to mention the amount I ended up having to pay. My gut told me to go to the dealer but I was being cheap and hoping the diag would be $155 vs the 310 and did not think they'd upcharge the part as high as they did. I was talking to Gautam about a similar issue and I know he paid around $600 from the dealer in the Bay Area for a similar issue I was having. I was hoping going Indy would make it around half that cost, but instead I paid more...and the Bay Area's labor cost is like $300/hr vs my dealer at $250. FML for this dumb decision...oh well now I guess.

We have two dealers near me: BMW of Catonsville and BMW of Silver Spring. Catonsville is very responsive but I feel like they're a little conservative with negotiating with warranty companies. Silver Spring is better (based on a couple issues I had with my F10), but I can never get ahold of anyone there. Nobody picks up the phone, answers emails or returns voicemails. It's nuts. I've tried NUMEROUS times. And the service advisor I had with my F10 is no longer there so his direct line is inactive. How is this place getting any customers or business?! Mind boggling.

[Sxs1687]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Yep, a lot of that service I mentioned earlier fell into the value category. $350 bucks for plugs at the dealer? That's just nuts. They definitely are trying to take back some indy business.

I was dumbfounded by the $350 for 8 plugs, that I'd didnt even read the other services. The engine air filters come out to around that much I think to DIY it, coolant service for that price too!!! The only thing on there that might've a been a little high is the cabin filter but wow, these are great prices. I bet my dealer here will have much higher pricing sadly. I'll call over today and see.

[HerkHealer]

Shops will screw you over, if you let them do it.
I learned this lesson about 10 years ago when I had my SUV at the shop for a front Diff issue that required an oil change. The guy asked me if I wanted regular or synthetic oil.
I always change my own oil (7 qts) for about $35 including filter and synthetic. So i opted for synthetic.
These assholes charged me $16 per quart of oil. I was so pissed.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by Sxs1687

I was dumbfounded by the $350 for 8 plugs, that I'd didnt even read the other services. The engine air filters come out to around that much I think to DIY it, coolant service for that price too!!! The only thing on there that might've a been a little high is the cabin filter but wow, these are great prices. I bet my dealer here will have much higher pricing sadly. I'll call over today and see.

FWIU, dealers have these value service programs going on for service items. Plugs, Coolant, Filters, Brake Fluid, Alignment etc. Even my alignment was only $150 bucks (normally $250). Brake fluid change was $199 a few months before this visit. Agreed the Cabin filter seems high, but the OEM BMW filter is like $70 (which is ridiculous), so $30 bucks to pop it in and save my back, sign me up.

Here are the quotes I got from two indies, dealer with loaner that is flexible on returning it is a no-brainer:

[Warp Ten]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

FWIU, dealers have these value service programs going on for service items. Plugs, Coolant, Filters, Brake Fluid, Alignment etc. Even my alignment was only $150 bucks (normally $250). Brake fluid change was $199 a few months before this visit. Agreed the Cabin filter seems high, but the OEM BMW filter is like $70 (which is ridiculous), so $30 bucks to pop it in and save my back, sign me up.

When I had my 2019 540xi in for an oil change last week they recommended replacing the cabin filter for $321 and changing the 6 spark plugs (at only 20,000 miles) for $410. Didn't see a value service price in those...Bob

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by Warp Ten

When I had my 2019 540xi in for an oil change last week they recommended replacing the cabin filter for $321 and changing the 6 spark plugs (at only 20,000 miles) for $410. Didn't see a value service price in those...Bob

That's what they normally charge for the Cabin Filter. In terms of the plugs, I am not familiar with the B58, but I bet $410 is the normal rate as they should be A LOT easier to change than on the N63. The last plugs on each side on the firewall are a bitch, FWIU.

[Warp Ten]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

That's what they normally charge for the Cabin Filter. In terms of the plugs, I am not familiar with the B58, but I bet $410 is the normal rate as they should be A LOT easier to change than on the N63. The last plugs on each side on the firewall are a bitch, FWIU.

Remember the late '60s Sunbeam Tiger? They stuffed a Ford V8 into the little British sports car (like Carrol Shelby did) and it was so far back they had to provide a hole in the cabin (covered with a rubber plug) next to the accelerator pedal to access the last plug. --Bob

[Benjamin_Nicholas]

Indie, not Indy.

Indy is short for a city.