What's a fair price for a transmission fluid change on my BMW?

[BMW Dom]

Hey, all,

I'm trying to shop around for a good place to have my transmission fluid changed. I'm in the Cincinnati, Ohio area.

I'm trying to find what a good price would be to have a shop change my transmission fluid and filter. This is not something I want to do myself. It's too messy, and is just too much.

All parts needed on FCP euro are about $200. Most BMW places want $800-$1000 for this job. I think that's crazy.

Could I take it do a descent shop and bring the supplies? Obviously, I don't want my transmission messed up, but it's definitely not worth $600 for labor.

My car is RWD, so the transfer case being in the way is not an issue.

Any advice?

Thanks

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I paid $400 (circa 2020) labor at a Euro shop.

I provided the trans kit from FCP Euro

 

[BMW Dom]

I paid $400 (circa 2020) labor at a Euro shop.

I provided the trans kit from FCP Euro

That doesn't seem too bad.

 

[The Critic]

Book time is 2.8 hr, so 3 hours?

Local MB/BMW dealer here is $230/hr. Plus they are missing out on their usual parts mark-up. So yes, $800-$1k is fair.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Paid about $600 all in for a mostly BMW shop to do the trans fluid change on my JL Wrangler with the 8 speed ZF. Labor was $250, supplies about $350 for Mopar fluid/filter/gasket.

 

[BMW Dom]

Book time is 2.8 hr, so 3 hours?

Local MB/BMW dealer here is $230/hr. Plus they are missing out on their usual parts mark-up. So yes, $800-$1k is fair.

3 hours? No way. It's 1-2 hours tops.

 

[The Critic]

3 hours? No way. It's 1-2 hours tops.

2009 328i RWD? 2.8 hrs

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Paid about $600 all in for a mostly BMW shop to do the trans fluid change on my JL Wrangler with the 8 speed ZF. Labor was $250, supplies about $350 for Mopar fluid/filter/gasket.

This shop was $100/hr and it took 2.5 hours.

 

[Oillover]

3 hours? No way. It's 1-2 hours tops.

How many have you done?

 

[BMW Dom]

How many have you done?

I did it once. The only hard part is doing the final fill.

 

[atikovi]

This is not something I want to do myself. It's too messy, and is just too much.

All parts needed on FCP euro are about $200. Most BMW places want $800-$1000 for this job. I think that's crazy.

So it's OK if somebody ELSE gets themselves messy, but not ok if they charge a fair price for it? Either pay the piper or put on some old clothes and get into it. Doing the same job on my old Volvo today, outside, in the cold, on my back, face inches from the undercarriage, and it will be a 2 day affair waiting for parts. I don't pay people to do something I can do myself when there is a large variance in price.

 

[drtyler]

So it's OK if somebody ELSE gets themselves messy, but not ok if they charge a fair price for it? Either pay the piper or put on some old clothes and get into it. Doing the same job on my old Volvo today, outside, in the cold, on my back, face inches from the undercarriage, and it will be a 2 day affair waiting for parts. I don't pay people to do something I can do myself when there is a large variance in price.

Yes, this.

do it yourself, or don’t complain about the cost for a shop to do the work.

If you aren’t particularly handy with DIY, then it would probably be beneficial to be on good terms with a decent shop.

 

[BMW Dom]

So it's OK if somebody ELSE gets themselves messy, but not ok if they charge a fair price for it? Either pay the piper or put on some old clothes and get into it. Doing the same job on my old Volvo today, outside, in the cold, on my back, face inches from the undercarriage, and it will be a 2 day affair waiting for parts. I don't pay people to do something I can do myself when there is a large variance in price.

Yeah, you're right.

 

[BMW Dom]

Yes, this.

do it yourself, or don’t complain about the cost for a shop to do the work.

If you aren’t particularly handy with DIY, then it would probably be beneficial to be on good terms with a decent shop.

I agree. I guess 800-1000 is fair. I wouldn't say I'm unhandy for DIY, but I live with my parents, so I don't want to make a mess of their garage.

 

[drtyler]

I agree. I guess 800-1000 is fair. I wouldn't say I'm unhandy for DIY, but I live with my parents, so I don't want to make a mess of their garage.

I agree its high, but thats just the reality. Would it be less $$ to just do a drain and fill, rather than filter replacement?

 

[walterjay]

I agree. I guess 800-1000 is fair. I wouldn't say I'm unhandy for DIY, but I live with my parents, so I don't want to make a mess of their garage.

Clean up the garage when you are done. Leave it a little better than you found it.

 

[BMW Dom]

Clean up the garage when you are done. Leave it a little better than you found it.

Haha. The floor is covered in oil stains already

 

[BMW Dom]

I agree its high, but thats just the reality. Would it be less $$ to just do a drain and fill, rather than filter replacement?

That's a good point. I found a shop near me that looks legit. I'll call them and get a quote. I'd like to get the filter replaced, as it probably has never been done.

 

[JavierH19]

Unless health issues or a working area are a problem I'd do it myself. I was timid doing my first ever trans fluid change but I just learned to take it easy and nowadays with the internet ready to give us answers it's a lot easier.

I ended up buying a little HF suction pump for $7 and it's handy for pumping fluid in. Takes a bit but it's doable. If you've got a 2009 then it has a 6 speed and thus a metal pan and drain bolt so you can do easy spill and fills. I believe the plastic drain bolt in the zf8 is one time and can't be screwed back in unless I'm mistaken. You don't really have to change the filter but you can if you fancy or have a lot of miles on it. They usually aren't clogged until 150-250k depending on the size and conditions. You also don't have to do multiple spill and fills since the ratio of fluid replaced isn't great beyond the first one. Just one every 40k or so is fine. I don't know if you can drain the TC on that trans but if it can be then that's better. I've only replaced the filter once on my 328k 4l65e. But i do a spill every 3 years or so. So far no parts replaced just fluid and one filter so far. But i'll probably replace the filter next time.

 

[BMW Dom]

Unless health issues or a working area are a problem I'd do it myself. I was timid doing my first ever trans fluid change but I just learned to take it easy and nowadays with the internet ready to give us answers it's a lot easier.

I ended up buying a little HF suction pump for $7 and it's handy for pumping fluid in. Takes a bit but it's doable. If you've got a 2009 then it has a 6 speed and thus a metal pan and drain bolt so you can do easy spill and fills. I believe the plastic drain bolt in the zf8 is one time and can't be screwed back in unless I'm mistaken. You don't really have to change the filter but you can if you fancy or have a lot of miles on it. They usually aren't clogged until 150-250k depending on the size and conditions. You also don't have to do multiple spill and fills since the ratio of fluid replaced isn't great beyond the first one. Just one every 40k or so is fine. I don't know if you can drain the TC on that trans but if it can be then that's better. I've only replaced the filter once on my 328k 4l65e. But i do a spill every 3 years or so. So far no parts replaced just fluid and one filter so far. But i'll probably replace the filter next time.

Yeah, I want to do it myself, but it's just not going to happen. I tried to help my dad do it on his, and we couldn't get one of the brackets off, because we didn't have an E12 wrench. When it was running, we couldn't get the fill plug back in. We both burned are arms pretty badly. Lots of cursing was going on, and the garage floor was covered in ATF. He took it to the shop the next day, and it was about 2 quarts low. So, that's why I'm not doing it.