Are struts and tie rods expendible parts?

[dj_kim]

Hi!

I hate to second-guess my mechanics, but the Korean "authorized" BMW mechanics are notorious for ripping off unsuspecting customers.

I had to take my E39 (528i) to a mechanic the other day because the radio wouldn't work. He concluded that the battery was the problem, but kindly offered to do a "free" overall check-up on my car. He later called me at my work to tell me that "struts and tie rods" had to be replaced. Not wanting to risk any malfunctioning in the family car, I approved the work, which cost me a little over US$1,000. The invoice lists replacements of struts, tie rods, straps and so on. They said these were all expendible parts and actually were beyond the usual replacement period of 5 years (my 528 is a 2000).

Is what they are saying true? With so few "authorized" mechanics in Korea, I'd hate to see them abuse my trust.

 

[Big Daddy]

How many miles are on the car? It would seem that if the struts and tie rods were bad you should have noticed it in the ride. Some cars last well over 100k with the original struts, depends on how and where they are driven.

 

[dj_kim]

I had 45,000k (30,000 miles) on my car.

If the struts and tie rods were indeed bad, what should I have felt during ride? I did not feel anything especially bad before, and I certainly don't feel any improvement after the replacement.

 

[Big Daddy]

I highly doubt your tie rods and struts were bad at 30,000 miles, unless you have some rough roads over there and have been bouncing over pot holes most of those miles! Did you keep the old parts?

 

[Kirby]

Dan's right on, 30K miles for struts and tie rods should not require replacement unless the roads are REALLY bad.

 

[epj3]

My e30 had 170,000 miles before I replaced the suspension, still drove fine. E34 has 136k miles but I'm doing that stuff in the next few weeks. But, it's still more than driveable...

 

[Militant-Grunt]

The tie rods in my ML were shot at 54k miles, but thats because NYC roads are THE worst... Everything else is fine *knock on wood*
At 30k miles I highly doubt you needed to replace that stuff.

 

[rcgils]

The struts most definitely should not have needed to be replaced. The outer tie rod ends could possibly have gone bad but not both at the same time. Overall, I too feel like you have been ripped off. Next time you get in a situation like this make them show you the problem or go get a second opinion.

 

[epj3]

I take back my original statement and would like to change it to say "all 5er suspension parts last a maximum of 100k miles, which you are lucky if it does"