Hello,
I am looking to do some rather routine maintenance work on my BMW, which is a 2009 E60 535d, and I was wondering whether anyone could recommend a very good garage in Wiesbaden or the surrounding area, one where they know what they're doing, charge decent prices, work fast and offer good customer service. What I would like to do is change the brake drums and pads on all four wheels, have someone to look at my front shock absorbers, as I am sure they need replacement, and have someone look carefully into my front axle suspension, particularly the wishbones, tension struts, anti-roll bars, bushings, etc. - that sort of stuff. Probably some of those need replacement as well. Furthermore, the car seems to have developed a rather annoying problem in the last 4-5 months, meaning that the power steering sometimes hardens dramatically when parking (especially when repeated manoeuvring is needed), and it makes all sorts of bad noises when the wheels reach full lock. I have tried topping up the power steering fluid, however there wasn't much to top up everytime I've looked, so it doesn't seem to be leaking any fluid. I would like to have someone look into this and I would prefer to get the most efficient solution, rather than ending up changing parts for no good reason (that's why I'm asking for a good garage). Since I'm there, I would probably do the oil change and, ideally, put on the winter tyres (already have them), if they have the necessary facilities (would save me one trip to the tyre shop). I am driving rather a lot across most of Europe (120,000 - 150,000 km per year), and I reckon that most of the problems have to do with the poorer quality of roads in many places... anyway, that's what I'm looking for.
One last note would be to please don't point me to the BMW Niederlassung. I have lived in several countries so far, always drove BMWs and I believe that the BMW Niederlassung is the same all over the world: horrible. I have had some very brief interactions with the one in Wiesbaden, and the conclusion is the same: I don't like them. I find that the only purpose they serve well is that of selling new cars.
In case this topic would be better placed in another section of the Forum and the fact that it is written in English would be acceptable (I do apologise about this, I should have learned better German by now...), any hint from the admins would be much appreciated. Thank you!
Lots of info all at once but first of all I want to say Hi....
I am from the Heidelberg area and finding a good garage with decent prices is really rough. I see what you said about the BMW shops. And for the most part that is really true. But I do have to say there is one in Mannheim that the people are nice, the coffee is good, they do reliable work and the prices are ok because the work is reliable. Now the BMW shops in Heidelberg... cant say that. And as I am not from Wiesbaden I am not sure whats in their area.
Generally speaking though if you get close to the Air Base the Euromaster should be pretty good.
Hi BILAL,
Thank you for the input, it is appreciated. I am of course still looking for a garage, however I am going to have to find one very fast, as I basically have no time at all to run around searching, and I am on the road for most of the time. Besides, I'll have to head to Oslo in about 10 days, and I would prefer to have the car done by then (especially since I am driving there). I have noted the hints regarding garages around Heidelberg. Might come in handy... Thanks!
