Bought car, took a risk, lessons learned.

bugg · 05-01-2021, 07:38 PM

Just picked up a new to me 2011 E90 6MT yesterday from a franchise Chevy dealership in the PNW. The car was traded in with ISC (trash) coilovers w/original suspension in the trunk. The dealership, in their ever loving wisdom, decided to have one of their techs take off the coilovers and reinstall OEM suspension provided by the previous owner. The car was at a nearby BMW dealership for the Takata recall and suspension checkup. The Chevy dealership wanted to rush the sale and brought it back for me to look at before the suspension job could be done though.

The car felt stock and healthy during my test drive, except for a bit of bucking at the rear end. Felt like it was under (or inconsistently) damped.

I brought this up during negotiations, and the deal we ended up on was me taking the car as-is in exchange for a price I was happy with and closing the sale the same day.

I did get the car up on a lift in their shop to check things out before negotiations. Things looked pretty normal with no red flags from down there - and with a clean history, 65k miles and straight body, I wasn't TOO worried about the car. Figured it was likely just a coding/EDC issue as that's the stuff a GM tech wouldn't be able to do. Occam's razor, right?

What I DIDN'T do was peel back the trunk liner to look at the top mounts for the rear shocks. I did that today, and saw this:

Well... that's not right. Either the PO lost some parts, the tech could care less, or both. The top of the shock is not fastened, sits fully erect about 3-4 inches higher than where it should be, and I can grab it and wave it around.

Forget Occam's Razor, this is full Murphy's Law (and maybe Hanlon's Razor). I mean, you'd think that anyone with a reasonable degree of mechanical aptitude might know they didn't install the shock right.

I don't have a jack or stands right now, so I'm not able to really get into the subframe and check things out. Thankfully the body around the area looks fine. I'll pick up a jack tomorrow and make sure the right shocks were installed in the right corners, and how this tech pieced these shocks together. It looks like the passenger rear might not be the correct shock either.

I'm sure there are a dozen or so life lessons for me here

bugg · 05-01-2021, 08:03 PM

Bonus GIF:

View post on imgur.com

pbonsalb · 05-01-2021, 09:04 PM

This is why I do my own work. Fortunately the damage done here to the bmw by the professional Chevy mechanic is minimal because the knowledgeable buyer caught the problem early.

bugg · 05-01-2021, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

This is why I do my own work. Fortunately the damage done here to the bmw by the professional Chevy mechanic is minimal because the knowledgeable buyer caught the problem early.

Yeah, I knew something was wrong with the rear and babied it on the way home. Front feels fine and at a glance it looks like the right stuff is installed, but best to check their work now. This also happened after the salesman boasted their service department was one of the best in the country lol

pbonsalb · 05-02-2021, 06:11 AM

It is hard to know all cars. I am pretty competent with the cars I have, but give me another brand to work on and I would research rather than presume. Of course I am just a DIYer and don’t claim to be a mechanic.

tdott · 05-02-2021, 08:56 AM

Easy fix.

amrazM · 05-03-2021, 09:15 AM

missing parts

Supporting Cup 33526764418
Sealing grommet 33506767010
Guide support, lower part 33506771738

bbnks2 · 05-04-2021, 11:32 PM

Buy Monroe upper strut mounts from pepboys... they are rubber instead of foam so not only are they cheaper than oem but they are also an upgrade... easy fix

bugg · 05-14-2021, 04:45 PM

Update: Got some time to get the car up and check out the rear suspension. Looks like the only part missing was the supporting cup - probably got reused on the coilovers and then thrown out by dealer techs. Shocks seemed to be in good shape with plenty of life left. While I was at it, I figured I'd replace the hardware and bump stops.

As a caveat, I had ordered the parts after a 12 hour night shift so I was a little fuzzy at the time.

It turns out I ordered the non-EDC parts for the smaller shaft diameter shocks. I guess I could have just reused old bump stops, widened the holes in the non-EDC cups, and thrown it all on. Rather than listen to my big brain though I just went and placed an order for the correct parts.

UNTIL NEXT WEEK, THEN...

As a bonus nothing's wrong with EDC and the codes cleared out after I plugged in the shocks with newly ordered wiring harnesses.

Mimmer · 06-14-2021, 05:50 PM

What dealer?

s0ldats · 06-21-2021, 06:44 PM

congrats on the purchase! were you able to get it for a crazy deal?

05-01-2021, 07:38 PM	#1
bugg Private 24 Rep 60 Posts Drives: '11 E90 M3 / '95 993 Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: Seattle iTrader: (0)	Bought car, took a risk, lessons learned. Just picked up a new to me 2011 E90 6MT yesterday from a franchise Chevy dealership in the PNW. The car was traded in with ISC (trash) coilovers w/original suspension in the trunk. The dealership, in their ever loving wisdom, decided to have one of their techs take off the coilovers and reinstall OEM suspension provided by the previous owner. The car was at a nearby BMW dealership for the Takata recall and suspension checkup. The Chevy dealership wanted to rush the sale and brought it back for me to look at before the suspension job could be done though. The car felt stock and healthy during my test drive, except for a bit of bucking at the rear end. Felt like it was under (or inconsistently) damped. I brought this up during negotiations, and the deal we ended up on was me taking the car as-is in exchange for a price I was happy with and closing the sale the same day. I did get the car up on a lift in their shop to check things out before negotiations. Things looked pretty normal with no red flags from down there - and with a clean history, 65k miles and straight body, I wasn't TOO worried about the car. Figured it was likely just a coding/EDC issue as that's the stuff a GM tech wouldn't be able to do. Occam's razor, right? What I DIDN'T do was peel back the trunk liner to look at the top mounts for the rear shocks. I did that today, and saw this: Well... that's not right. Either the PO lost some parts, the tech could care less, or both. The top of the shock is not fastened, sits fully erect about 3-4 inches higher than where it should be, and I can grab it and wave it around. Forget Occam's Razor, this is full Murphy's Law (and maybe Hanlon's Razor). I mean, you'd think that anyone with a reasonable degree of mechanical aptitude might know they didn't install the shock right. I don't have a jack or stands right now, so I'm not able to really get into the subframe and check things out. Thankfully the body around the area looks fine. I'll pick up a jack tomorrow and make sure the right shocks were installed in the right corners, and how this tech pieced these shocks together. It looks like the passenger rear might not be the correct shock either. I'm sure there are a dozen or so life lessons for me here
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05-01-2021, 08:03 PM	#2
bugg Private 24 Rep 60 Posts Drives: '11 E90 M3 / '95 993 Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: Seattle iTrader: (0)	Bonus GIF: View post on imgur.com
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05-01-2021, 09:04 PM	#3
pbonsalb Lieutenant General 5231 Rep 10,614 Posts Drives: 18 F90 M5, 99 E36 M3 Turbo Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: New England iTrader: (4)	This is why I do my own work. Fortunately the damage done here to the bmw by the professional Chevy mechanic is minimal because the knowledgeable buyer caught the problem early.
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05-02-2021, 06:11 AM	#5
pbonsalb Lieutenant General 5231 Rep 10,614 Posts Drives: 18 F90 M5, 99 E36 M3 Turbo Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: New England iTrader: (4)	It is hard to know all cars. I am pretty competent with the cars I have, but give me another brand to work on and I would research rather than presume. Of course I am just a DIYer and don’t claim to be a mechanic.
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05-02-2021, 08:56 AM	#6
tdott Brigadier General 3941 Rep 3,986 Posts Drives: M3 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: South FL / 6ix iTrader: (4)	Easy fix.
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05-03-2021, 09:15 AM	#7
amrazM mTekMods 2139 Rep 2,899 Posts Drives: like a granny. Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Manhatan iTrader: (1)	missing parts Supporting Cup 33526764418 Sealing grommet 33506767010 Guide support, lower part 33506771738 __________________ 2011 Frozen Black/Fox Red E90 M3 650+WHP G-Power Supercharged First DCT to Manual Conversion Worldwide KW CS, BBS RI-A, BW Headers, Snow 2.5
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05-04-2021, 11:32 PM	#8
bbnks2 Colonel 1207 Rep 2,025 Posts Drives: 135i N55 Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: NY iTrader: (0)	Buy Monroe upper strut mounts from pepboys... they are rubber instead of foam so not only are they cheaper than oem but they are also an upgrade... easy fix
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05-14-2021, 04:45 PM	#9
bugg Private 24 Rep 60 Posts Drives: '11 E90 M3 / '95 993 Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: Seattle iTrader: (0)	Update: Got some time to get the car up and check out the rear suspension. Looks like the only part missing was the supporting cup - probably got reused on the coilovers and then thrown out by dealer techs. Shocks seemed to be in good shape with plenty of life left. While I was at it, I figured I'd replace the hardware and bump stops. As a caveat, I had ordered the parts after a 12 hour night shift so I was a little fuzzy at the time. It turns out I ordered the non-EDC parts for the smaller shaft diameter shocks. I guess I could have just reused old bump stops, widened the holes in the non-EDC cups, and thrown it all on. Rather than listen to my big brain though I just went and placed an order for the correct parts. UNTIL NEXT WEEK, THEN... As a bonus nothing's wrong with EDC and the codes cleared out after I plugged in the shocks with newly ordered wiring harnesses.
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06-14-2021, 05:50 PM	#10
Mimmer Lieutenant 57 Rep 412 Posts Drives: E92 13' Join Date: May 2010 Location: WA iTrader: (1) Garage List 2013 e92 m3 [0.00]	What dealer?
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06-21-2021, 06:44 PM	#11
s0ldats First Lieutenant 54 Rep 334 Posts Drives: 2011 E90 M3 stripper Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: socal iTrader: (0)	congrats on the purchase! were you able to get it for a crazy deal?
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