I had my bmw towed to a well reviewed auto shop on Monday. I had issues with the stability control, felt like hitting a patch of ice, so it didnt feel safe to drive and figured it'd require more in depth troubleshooting. The shop thinks the coilover wrench i had in the trunk was shorting the battery causing me to lose power. Strange, but reasonable since i keep in container by the battery and my battery doesnt have a cover on the + cable.
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anyways, they told me there were several other issues with the car. on the list was a cabin air filter replacement, the z3 never came with one. they said the rubber on the control arm bushings wer tearing. I replaced mine with solid UHMW a year ago. When i asked how the rubber could tear when mine are plastic, they said they just put that there as substitute for something else in the rear suspension, despite putting the part number and description for the front ones. Drive belt is allegedly cracked, but i put a new one on a little over a year ago (havent had a chance to check it yet just to make sure). Valve cover gasket also apparently needs replacing even though thats the first thing i replaced on the car. I could have messed part of it up, but i havent noticed leaking from there and neither did the BMW dealer.
The place seemed like a legit business, but it seems like their customers just don't know any better. I'm not a great mechanic. i've taken apart more than I've fixed. I hardly knew anything when i first got my delorean and I've still got tons to learn, but this is the first time I've ever been told I needed stuff replaced that the car didnt come equipped with or repair a broken part that isnt even on the car anymore. This has really knocked down my trust down for auto shops.