$1000 to *diagnose* wastegate failure at bmw bellevue, wa
 

I've got the well known N54 wastegate rattle issue with my e61. i've requested that my dealer diagnose and confirm the problem. My local BMW dealer in Bellevue has quoted me ~ $1000 for the *diagnostic procedure* alone.

Now, being the skeptic that i am, i'm nearly 90% sure they'll come back and tell me that it's not covered by the extended warranty and they'll gladly bill me for the time. That said, this particular dealership is pretty much inept when it comes to service so i tend not to put a lot of faith in them.

So, can anyone recommend a way to mitigate this cost? can an independent shop validate the issue or does it have to be a dealer? since there is an extended warranty on a well known issue shouldn't the diagnostic also be covered here?

thanks for your input!

That should be covered under the extended warranty that BMW had to provide because of the class action lawsuit. How many miles are on your car?

it is covered by the extended warranty (55K miles), but only if its an actual problem.

the issue is that the dealer wants to charge me $1000 just to tell me whether or not its a problem that meets the requirements of the warranty extension...

That's the dealer's way of encouraging you not to pursue a repair on your car. $1000 to diagnose a wastegate rattle is beyond ludicrous. Whatever the word is for "worse than insane", it's that. I'd contact BMWNA, especially since this may be covered under extended warranty. You could always try another dealer if that's feasible. BMW AG and BMW NA should do a better job of keeping its dealers in check. They pretty much let them run wild.

This is why people trade in BMWs at the Lexus dealer.

wow, that is just totally stupid. They don't need to actually take them off to diagnose that, or are they suggesting that?

I'm fairly certain I have posted the actual technical bulletins related to the wastegate rattle, so I would suggest looking them up and reading the details yourself. If you can't find it from me, I'm sure a Google search will bring it up on E90post

I have dealt with Alex Long in service at BMW Seattle, and he was pretty good, so if he is still there you might want to hit him up as well.

thanks. i'll try BMW Seattle and see how that goes.

Weird. I had a completely different experience there 3 months ago. New turbos. $140 or so diagnostic.

This is where having a good relationship with a SA comes in handy. Yes, they will try to charge a drag fee if there are no codes, normally a 30ff at minimum, present since they need to gain access to the WG to perform the drill bit test. You could always do it your self if you have the time and tools to confirm if it won't pass the drill bit test then you know the diag fee won't apply. Luckily the SA I have been going to for the past 3 years happens to be my buddy so I never had to worry about getting charged a diag fee.

can you possible provide me with a copy of your invoice for the $140 diagnostic? of course you can black out any private information.

As part of my test drive I heard the tell tale noise on decel. I was purchasing the car from an independent dealer, and the car had about 6 mos of CPO. I told them to fix the noise as a condition of sale. The Indy brought the car to a BMW dealer who replaced both turbos at zero charge (diagnostic or otherwise).