Hi, I know very little about BMWs, but a friend was told by her shop that she needs to replace the lower control arms on her 2000 323 wagon/80k miles. She was quoted US$1300. They told her this after she experienced brake squeel after an expensive brake job. Seems absolutely unrelated and it seems likely to me they're trying to cheat her. But maybe it's a good idea to check.
I did some searching and it seems these arms have non-replaceable ball joints. Online pricing for a pair seems to be between $300 and $500, so the $1300 quote looks pretty high to me--I don't think this is a dealer, where you expect to pay 2x for parts.
She doesn't have any handling issues. I should be able to tell if they're really a problem by jacking the wheel off the ground, holding top & bottom, and seeing if it wobbles, right?
One more question. In my searching I saw discussion of 323 having top speed of 120MPH. My only recent experience with BMWs is in Germany, and a couple of years ago I took a couple of roadtrips in a 323 wagon cruising at an ECU-limited 230km/h (>143MPH). Good brakes BTW. Are USDM BWMs that much slower?
Thanks, David