crypto

Since I changed my wheels I am now giving more serious consideration to getting coilovers.. despite the fact my wife would probably want to kill me if I did it in the near future. I am somewhat limited in my choices due to have an XI model and would primarily be looking at the KW V3s. Those seem to range from just under 2k to $2500 depending on who is pricing it for you and what kind of deal you can get. If you go used it seems around $1500 or less depending on your luck of the draw. So no matter how you slice and dice not cheap, but there's no surprise there.

However, what got me thinking a bit more is the cost of installing them. I am not a car expert with the tools and shop and I don't have any grade-school friends that run a performance shop.. so I don't have any special pricing there. It seems an alignment is pretty much required when you change these components, so it's the cost of the labor to install + alignment. I got a quote just north of $800 to do the install and alignment. Does that sound fair or pricey? Then I am thinking.. when it comes time to remove these.. it's likely going to cost me the same. I can't imagine removing the set, putting the stock parts on, and doing another alignment would be any cheaper. So for the install & removal .. ~$1700. It seems like the costs associated with just install/removal seem pretty high.. anywhere from 85-100% of the cost of the part itself. Does that seem reasonable?

Just rambling with a stream of consciousness here. Is the end answer.. the look and feel is priceless, so if you can afford it.. money is no object? Or is there a way to still save a bit of coin as these numbers seem a bit excessive?

cryptical

This sounds high...when I had the suspension changed out on my old car (SAAB 9-5 Aero), they weren't coilovers so they still had to remove/replace springs and whatnot. I believe they charged me about 45 minutes/wheel, so it was about $350 said and done for labor. Alignment was done elsewhere and was like $50 from what I remember.

jjsigpi

Sent you a PM man...

crypto

Got it thanks (and replied). Looks like we may have a much much cheaper local option.

kashdriven

I would not pay to have it dis-assembled. Typical coilover installs cost about $400-$800 depending on your location. It took me about 4-5 hours to complete my install with the help of a friend who knew more about the BMW suspension than I did. Good choice on the V3s by KW. I would start with factory setting on the coilovers to see how you like it. Another thing is do NOT align the car right away. You want to wait atleast 300 miles before aligning it.

kashdriven

Here is my install how to. Yours will be slightly different

https://5series.net/forums/topic/122...4#entry1433784

ModBargains.com

Install costs do vary greatly from state to state, this is something we see here all the time. For example here are the shop we would charge $300 for a coilover install on an E60 as opposed to another state that doesn't have such competitive rates which can charge up to $800. If you are mechanically inclined and have access to the required tools I would suggest you know this out yourself. The extra money you saved can be used for more performance parts