Wondering about BMW mechanics or indy shops

[MattE30]

What is the going rate for an hour of labor, Ryan?

[SR20Fastback]

$102.22/hour here

[silverblades181]

Also, you have to remember that old cars only get rarer by the day, and soon there will not be enough to work on (independent shops close all the time because there isn't enough business). With the new cars comming out these days, no indepandant can afford to buy the tools just to start to work on them, and that isn't going to change.

Actualy the independent shop where I get my repairs done (the ones I dont feel confortable doing yet) is doing great buisness, it's always full. Of course he does other euro cars like Volks, Audi, Volvo etc. but he's specialised in BMWs and his shop is filled with E36s and E34s, with also some E30s. Newer I saw was an E39 530i and an E46 M3.

[Brew]

Its pretty obvious that the manufacturers are phasing out the independent shops. Only very well-funded independents will be able to work on the e60, e63, e65, etc. cars because of the programming equipment necessary for almost every repair or component replacement, not to mention the knowledge of the systems required.

[SR20Fastback]

Its pretty obvious that the manufacturers are phasing out the independent shops. Only very well-funded independents will be able to work on the e60, e63, e65, etc. cars because of the programming equipment necessary for almost every repair or component replacement, not to mention the knowledge of the systems required.

correct! in a few years... well they be fucked!

[m42technic]

Wooooo... just got back from Ontario for dealer training...

[e30evolution]

Its pretty obvious that the manufacturers are phasing out the independent shops. Only very well-funded independents will be able to work on the e60, e63, e65, etc. cars because of the programming equipment necessary for almost every repair or component replacement, not to mention the knowledge of the systems required.

correct! in a few years... well they be fucked!

not really... most shops have subscriptions to Alldata, or Mitchell on demand, and at my shop we have the modis scan tool with updates every 6 months, haven't run into anything it couldnt handle

[SR20Fastback]

just wait till they see their first e65/e60/e63

[trent]

just wait till they see their first e65/e60/e63

I agree with you guys that those will be going to the dealer for the most part for a while. However, it isn't like the other/older cars are disppearing. There is still plenty of work out there for an independent shop. Also, are we referring to mostly electrical shit? All those cars are going to need consumable work, brakes, radiators, hoses, fluid flushes etc, after these cars come off warranty. An independent will be cheaper in this region.

Hell, there are still shops dedicated to 2002s out there! :)

[robert325is]

sticky!

[M3 Ryan]

Its pretty obvious that the manufacturers are phasing out the independent shops. Only very well-funded independents will be able to work on the e60, e63, e65, etc. cars because of the programming equipment necessary for almost every repair or component replacement, not to mention the knowledge of the systems required.

correct! in a few years... well they be fucked!

not really... most shops have subscriptions to Alldata, or Mitchell on demand, and at my shop we have the modis scan tool with updates every 6 months, haven't run into anything it couldnt handle

You have got to be joking if you think Alldata or Mitchell on Demand are going to help you AT ALL on these new cars. There are updates almost every week to fix what they fucked up the week before. This information from BMW is withheld from the independant side of the market for 5+ years. You cannot use software 5 years old on these cars, at any point in their lives, because when you update one module, all the rest have to be brought up with it. When you do this, some modules may not accecpt the new program, so then they need to be replaced all together. Then with that new module, all the rest must be updated again to be at the same level. Its a scary cycle.
The new cars are mechanically pretty sound. The brakes last around ~30k miles and the cars don't seem to have many part failues, just software and module issues...

[SR20Fastback]

just wait till they see their first e65/e60/e63

I agree with you guys that those will be going to the dealer for the most part for a while. However, it isn't like the other/older cars are disppearing. There is still plenty of work out there for an independent shop. Also, are we referring to mostly electrical shit? All those cars are going to need consumable work, brakes, radiators, hoses, fluid flushes etc, after these cars come off warranty. An independent will be cheaper in this region.

Hell, there are still shops dedicated to 2002s out there! :)

they might be able to do those things, if anyone ever tells them how to reset the lights :)

[trent]

just wait till they see their first e65/e60/e63

I agree with you guys that those will be going to the dealer for the most part for a while. However, it isn't like the other/older cars are disppearing. There is still plenty of work out there for an independent shop. Also, are we referring to mostly electrical shit? All those cars are going to need consumable work, brakes, radiators, hoses, fluid flushes etc, after these cars come off warranty. An independent will be cheaper in this region.

Hell, there are still shops dedicated to 2002s out there! :)

they might be able to do those things, if anyone ever tells them how to reset the lights :)

Well, the good things is there are a few companies who are trying to reverse-engineer these things. Baum tools is one of them. BMW does some tricky things, all this stuff is supposed to be universal under OBDII. But nothing is ever like that.

This information from BMW is withheld from the independant side of the market for 5+ years.

You do realize this is actually illegal? I do realize it is the current practice, but it is very close to an anti-trust sort of monopoly. Automanufactures for years have been trying to keep their information from independents to run them out of business and there have been many laws against it, however, these huge companies don't really give a shit. :)

[SR20Fastback]

don't really need any tools to reset anything anymore, just the know how to do it 8)

[Madhatter]

I don't really understand how all of this works but you saying that BMW will pay you the equivalent of one hours work for changing a 17" tyre? Jeez, over here i would earn about $7 US if I changed 4 17" tyres.

Oh, and an LSD costs around $800. Great huh

No, they are talking about work units. Each job you perform is assigned a value that bmw say it should take. It's used in calculating your hours worked, but also for charging the customer.

$800, luxury! LSD's are upwards of $1200 here, $1000 is a good price, $800 is a steal.