Where to get rod bearings done?

[InnerBlueSkies]

Originally Posted by SAMM3Y

Good things rarely come cheap.. and cheap things are NEVER good. If you wanna risk a side street cheap job consider doing it yourself. Know good service companies have employees who need benefits and adequate compensation to come to work happy. Auto Service companies have overheads and have to justify the price of their work to cover liability if something goes wrong with your $20k motor within a couple hundred miles of you leaving. Know authorized vendors typically charge at least 💯 % markup on parts they install to warrant their work and get parts from their trusted suppliers.

Now you might be able to find a ma and pa place that has limited overheads that can do it for cheaper but ask yourself if they have done the job multiple times before because experience goes a long way.

Having said all that, I did my own but it did cost me $1k in materials which won't be warranted and a $2k car lift. I don't get the warm fuzzy feeling when I'm tachin' out my car knowing it won't grenade that I probably would if I'd let P-tech (my local) or an ACM do it professionally but I got to learn and I'm ok if the motor shits the bed.

The 20% price difference you don't wanna pay might be worth something if you ever plan on selling your car private party. If you can show that an invasive procedure was done by a reputable company with a warranted BE bearing it might be worth something to someone especially if your car is a non-modded example. Just a thought.

Not saying any price you have been quoted is justified but I'm not against specialty shops with a great reputation charging what they charge, let them make some money. I'm not sure what a dealership would charge but I'm still willing to bet it's more than an ACM or P-tech and I'd rather give my $ to small business.

Spot on, major surgery. Not suggesting one gets blindly ripped off but if I had someone working on my eyes, balls, or heart I'd be hesitant to give the contract to the lowest bidder

[E46tknv]

Originally Posted by SAMM3Y

Now you might be able to find a ma and pa place that has limited overheads that can do it for cheaper but ask yourself if they have done the job multiple times before because experience goes a long way.

The 20% price difference you don't wanna pay might be worth something if you ever plan on selling your car private party. If you can show that an invasive procedure was done by a reputable company with a warranted BE bearing it might be worth something to someone especially if your car is a non-modded example. Just a thought.

Not saying any price you have been quoted is justified but I'm not against specialty shops with a great reputation charging what they charge, let them make some money. I'm not sure what a dealership would charge but I'm still willing to bet it's more than an ACM or P-tech and I'd rather give my $ to small business.

I would absolutely NEVER go to a ma and pa shop who have never done the work before. Id actually ask the obvious questions:
have you done this before? how many times? what parts do you use?
sometimes even ask if they are driving anything "built", let alone an M3. So yes, a little bit of homework is worth doing.

Glad you mentioned the sale to a private party. That would be one of my big reasons for using a reputable shop vs saving $200-$500. I may be taking a chance in losing that when its time to sell the car.

I am glad the tri-state community is very involved with my situation and appreciate everyone's input. Hopefully we can plan a nice philly cheesesteak run after the work is done

[jaehshim]

Coming from other brands, searching through different forum/vender and having experienced GOOD and BAD shops all over Northern NJ/ NYC area the past ~14yrs, I have my own list of go-to shops, from body work shops, paint shops, alignment, tire, mechanicals etc.
With that said, having owned my E90 M3 the past 7 yrs, I can say ACM is the GO-TO shop in Northern NJ / NYC area, especially for the mechanical aspect of M cars.

I am not an ACM rep and I'm neutral when it comes to quality of work and pricing at any shop. Trust me, I've done DIYs myself to avoid $$$ and often went to forum members' garages instead of going to a shop to save $$$ or when I simply didn't have the tools.

Yes, there are shops who will do the same work for cheap, and Yes there are members with experience who can do the job for you at a fraction of cost, or maybe you can do it yourself 1. if you have that time in your life. 2. if you have the garage space and tools for the job.
The best asset that ACM carries compared to other shops in my opinion is the sheer amount of experience they have with BMWs, especially with the S65 motor.

we are not talking about a Civic that needs a break job (costs $226 to buy the whole 4 rotors and pads)
But considering the job that is already costly to begin with (rod bearing), especially when it needs an intricate work and experience, I'd rather pay to get my car done at ACM after seeing and acknowledging the OEM parts they use, the work environment of the shop, and the quality of work and experience they have.

Yes I am aware that having to pay $$$ extra doesn't equate to the quality of work. There's some alignment shops I used to bring my old Acura, when I paid $65 (well under market price) the old technician used a machine from 1980s but man, he knows what he's doing when it comes to alignment. In contrast, I've been to shops where they advertise using this new machine with this that technology, they cost $$$ and totally messed up the car.

My point is that skill and experience is often what we are paying for, and i think ACM has the legit pricing for the work they offer.

[Ab28]

To expand on the aspect of potentially selling your car down the road:

When I sold my first E9x the buyer had two main conditions.
1) Low miles (the car only had 40k on it, and was almost 10 years old)
2) Rod Bearings done

The fact that ACM did the work sealed the deal. It held more weight than one might have thought.


I understand it's out of pocket now, but you might get most of that back.

[E46tknv]

Originally Posted by lat77

To expand on the aspect of potentially selling your car down the road:

When I sold my first E9x the buyer had two main conditions.
1) Low miles (the car only had 40k on it, and was almost 10 years old)
2) Rod Bearings done

The fact that ACM did the work sealed the deal. It held more weight than one might have thought.


I understand it's out of pocket now, but you might get most of that back.

Very great write up to the previous member and completely agree. Most of the work id do on my own. Something as crucial as this catastrophic, ticking time bomb part, needs to be spent at a shop I believe with someone that has a great track record with doing the exact same job for the numerous amounts of years.


I’ve scheduled my appointment and hoping this would be the last straw for any detrimental maintenance needed for this e9X M series.