Dodged a bullet + found an honest indy shop in Austin

gigtime · 12-15-2011, 08:54 PM

Since I returned to Austin, I haven't found an indy shop yet. I knew it was close to time to replace the rear differential mount bushings. BMW of Austin wants $1200 to do the job so I decided to find an indy and get it done next month.

So last Sunday, I start to hear a terrible squealing and scraping coming from my left rear wheel. I immediately thought wheel bearing but without a jack, there was no way to see if the wheel moved back and forth. I couldn't see any problems when I looked underneath.

Monday, I had it towed to Paul's Motor Werks here in Austin expecting that I was probably going to end up replacing a wheel bearing and if one goes the other usually follows.

Monday night, I get a call from Jack at PMW and he says my car is good to go. They removed the wheel and found a small rock lodged between the rotor and the heat shield. Apparently he had to jump through a few hoops to get it to come out but he did.

I had to reimburse them $75 for the tow but they didn't charge me a dime for the work. Jack also told me I probably had another six months before I needed to replace the rear differential bushings but when I was ready, they'd charge me $525.

I'm pretty impressed with them.

Finnegan · 12-16-2011, 12:49 AM

It's always nice to find a professional or shop that's honest and does good work.

Aries326 · 12-16-2011, 01:17 AM

We should keep a thread with names, phone numbers and locations of honest shops around the country.

chickdr · 12-16-2011, 06:58 AM

I had that same issue in a Mazda 323 GT I had in college. Very scary sound eh? Glad you found someone who was honest. I probably would just had the bushings done while it was there to save another trip.

gigtime · 12-16-2011, 11:15 AM

Quote:

I had that same issue in a Mazda 323 GT I had in college. Very scary sound eh? Glad you found someone who was honest. I probably would just had the bushings done while it was there to save another trip.

Scary, indeed, especially when I logged in the forum from my phone and saw what was involved in changing out the bearings.

I've got a trip coming up next week so I'm going to drop it off on my way out of town and have them take care of a couple of oil leaks and do the bushings then.

12-15-2011, 08:54 PM	#1
gigtime Enlisted Member 1 Rep 49 Posts Drives: 2003 Z4 2.5i Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Austin, TX iTrader: (0)	Dodged a bullet + found an honest indy shop in Austin Since I returned to Austin, I haven't found an indy shop yet. I knew it was close to time to replace the rear differential mount bushings. BMW of Austin wants $1200 to do the job so I decided to find an indy and get it done next month. So last Sunday, I start to hear a terrible squealing and scraping coming from my left rear wheel. I immediately thought wheel bearing but without a jack, there was no way to see if the wheel moved back and forth. I couldn't see any problems when I looked underneath. Monday, I had it towed to Paul's Motor Werks here in Austin expecting that I was probably going to end up replacing a wheel bearing and if one goes the other usually follows. Monday night, I get a call from Jack at PMW and he says my car is good to go. They removed the wheel and found a small rock lodged between the rotor and the heat shield. Apparently he had to jump through a few hoops to get it to come out but he did. I had to reimburse them $75 for the tow but they didn't charge me a dime for the work. Jack also told me I probably had another six months before I needed to replace the rear differential bushings but when I was ready, they'd charge me $525. I'm pretty impressed with them.
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12-16-2011, 12:49 AM	#2
Finnegan Dog Listener 704 Rep 7,850 Posts Drives: Z4M/. Z3M, E36/46 M3 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Teaching the dog to slalom iTrader: (22)	It's always nice to find a professional or shop that's honest and does good work.
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12-16-2011, 01:17 AM	#3
Aries326 Lieutenant Colonel 195 Rep 1,530 Posts Drives: 2008 Z4 3.0si, 2013 E92 M3 ZCP Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: NC iTrader: (2) Garage List 2013 E92 M3 [0.00] 2008 BMW Z4 3.0si [9.00]	We should keep a thread with names, phone numbers and locations of honest shops around the country. __________________
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12-16-2011, 06:58 AM	#4
chickdr Lieutenant Colonel 140 Rep 1,991 Posts Drives: 2006 M Roadster Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buford, GA iTrader: (0)	I had that same issue in a Mazda 323 GT I had in college. Very scary sound eh? Glad you found someone who was honest. I probably would just had the bushings done while it was there to save another trip.
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