First, I am going to apologize for this VERY long post, but I am trying to not leave any details out....so here goes....
I have an 05 ZHP coupe, 6mt w/ 50k miles on it. I live in the DC area and my buddy that I have known for more than 15 years happens to be a BMW lead tech as a BMW dealership in the DC area.
When I bought my ZHP 3 months ago, he told me he would take care of my maintenance at a reduced labor price and get me parts at his cost. He has a professional car lift at his house with all the BMW tools needed to do side jobs.
The first thing he did for my car was replace the accesory belts. He quoted me $125 parts & labor. I agreed and he did the job.
Just before SIGFEST 2012, I asked him if he could do my oil change and check out 2 lights that were on my dash. The first light was my "yellow oil light". I asked him, about it and he said to check the oil. I asked him, should I check the oil after its been sitting still for 8 hours or should I check it after driving it for a few minutes. He said its fine to have it parked all day at work and then check it at the end of the day before starting the engine. The level showed right in the middle of the safe zone on the dipstick, however the oil light would keep coming on while driving and also illuminate for 20 seconds after shutting the engine off. My buddy said, its probably the oil level sensor that went bad and that he would check it out. The other light that was constantly (and still is) on, is the "service engine soon" light. He told me that its probably an emissions related thing but not serious. I asked him if he could pull the codes and he said it would cost me $50 to pull the codes. He also quoted me $90 for an oil change (includes oil, filter and labor)
Now, I know the stealer charge about $140 for an oil change and $120 to pull the codes. I asked my buddy why so much to pull the codes and he said it takes about 30 mins for the entire diagnostic to complete and that it runs through a series of tests and thats why he wants to charge me $50 for that.
I told him to hold off until after SIGFEST. Just before I left for SIGFEST, I got online and called a few BMW mechaninc shops - asking them when should I check my oil...when its been resting all day long or should I run the engine for a few mins first? They all said, run the engine for 5-10 mins and then let it sit for 3 mins, then check it.
I did so, and the oil level was in the low range. I bought some BMW oil previous to checking the dipstick and indeed it needed oil, so I added a little bit at a time and kept checking the dipstick. After adding a full quart, the dipstick read right in the middle of the safe zone. I turned my engine back on and since then the oil light has not come back on since! So, I am sure it was not my oil level sensor, like my buddy said it probably was.
Next, while I was at SIGFEST, I was lucky enough to meet a nice guy that had a portable code reader. He was more than willing to pull my codes for free and even told me from his manual what each one meant. I am 95% sure the code reader he was using was a "Peake research R5 FCX3-16 Fault Code reader" He pulled my codes and they were" 28dd (mass air sensor) & 2882/2883 (mixture prep) - which he thinks that I may have a crack in my lower intake boot.
When I got back to the DC area and texted my buddy that my oil light has not come on in 3 days since adding a quart of oil and that I had my codes pulled and what they each meant. He replied back "those codes dont mean much to me. Thats aftermarket scanners. I get BMW codes and tests with my BMW SW".
I want to know from you guys/gals, are the codes pulles using the Peake scanner the same as a BMW scanner, or would they be something totally different. Also, is it really that labor intensive to check codes. (A guy that I never met before, did it for free in 10 minutes, yet a buddy that Ive known for 15+ years wants $50 bucks)???
Do you guys/gals think he is ripping me off or just trying to squeeze as much money out of me as possible?
Please chime in.
-Andrew
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