Quote from repair shop seems high

[Andy1M3]

Hi guys

Took the M3 to get checked out for an exhaust leak. They recommended changing the gaskets from the manifold to the head and from the headers to the midpipe. They also noticed the valve cover gaskets are weeping a bit. I was a bit surprised about the quote and figured I'd see what you guys have to say. There's another qualified shop close by that I will check out as well.

Parts - cylinder head to header gaskets x 8 = $567
Parts - header to midpope gaskets x 2 = $85
Parts - valve cover gasket set = $115
Labour - header gasket replacement and mid pipe = 8 hours = $800
Labour - valve cover gasket = 3 hours = $300

Total - $1867CAD ($767 parts, $1100 labour)

Normally I'd do the work myself but I don't have a lift and I've never had much fun doing exhaust gaskets. The quote seems high to me. Am I wrong?

[DRLane]

Labor seems very reasonable. Pulling the headers to replace those gaskets isn’t fun work, although I think you’ll want an alignment in there as it’s best to drop the subframe or at least lower it a bit.

Do you know what’s included in the header gasket part quote? Lots of single use bolts and nuts in that area.

[kolosy]

The parts seem low. I just lined up everything I need to do my vcg and just that was $600-ish USD

[BP709]

That labor is actually very low imo. Parts are far off on the valve covers. Need valve cover gaskets, spark plug tubes, orings/gaskets under the oil separators, upper timing cover gaskets, and all bolts to get the grommets. If not done that way they will leak again. Really you should do new valve covers or get a refinished set to do it 100%.

[shimmy23]

seems reasonable or less than it would be here in WA state. 8hrs of labor here is ~$1200 plus tax

[Theodore]

I'm in agreement, both the labor costs and parts costs seem low to me. I would have them just replace the header to mid-pipe gaskets first (common wear part on these engines), relatively easy to replace, and skip the header gaskets (uncommon issue on this engine) and see if it fixes your exhaust leak. The effort (labor) required to change out the header gaskets is significant in this car. I'd also ask to see a parts list of what they plan to replace for the valve covers, if you don't see the items listed by BP709 I'd take that repair to another shop more familiar with the S65.

[Richneerd]

That's actually a good price! I would totally do it for that laundry list you got.

In the CA Bay Area, it's 185-250 per/hour

[SAMM3Y]

The valve covers most likely need more than a simple gasket replacement.. I wouldn't let them slap just new gaskets on them.. the covers will need cleaning up too and new hardware for fastening them back to the heads.. if you're only interested in solving the exhaust leak you should start with just the header donuts to midpipe gaskets... especially if they've been disturbed previously with an aftermarket x pipe etc.

[amrazM]

idk why they are trying to sell you cylinder head to exhaust manifold gaskets, those dont go bad unless something was tampered with. skip this job and put the money towards new valve covers or refinishing the ones on your car currently, with leaking covers and flaking paint its a waste of money to just remove and install with new gaskets.