yes it would have been cheaper to DIY, especially the Evap canister. The O2 sensor still costs almost 200 bucks and depending on motor can be a bit of a PITA. If ya know this sites exists, why'd ya have the work done and pay for it before checking thoes prices with us here first? CWS.

Labor on the O2 sensor, especially if it is a 4cyl is a matter of minutes, the evap is significamtly more work but it's mainly to remove other parts in the way. Both jobs would just be time consuming, not difficult.

 

You said O2 sensor can be a PITA, but then you say it's a matter of minutes. Which is it? Did you mix something up?

Anyways, my Camry died, and I have gotten a different car. I found I had to put thousands of dollars into the Camry to keep it running, so I might as well not drive an econobox. If I need to plow thousands into a car, I'd rather get compliments on my car, and simply drive a higher end car.

Since I hope to make my latest car last a few years, I am now learning about how to DIY, so I was thinking back on the bullshit repairs I overpaid for in the past. Sounds like the O2 is a real money maker.

 

:lol: all that happened in a day! Wow. Well congrats on the BMW I guess. The thousands you'd have to put into the camry is a sure thing if ya take it to a shop, everywhere is expensive these days. Just make sure you invest in tools because DIY on a biemer is pretty expensive with the higher price parts and all.

So i guess it's Bust then hu?

 

labor one the only upstream o2 sensor on 4cyl engine is a matter of minutes, same as front bank (Bank 2) upstream oxygen sensor on V6 engine.

labor on upstream sensor for rear bank (bank 1) on V6 is problematic and takes longer as some stuff needs to get out of way to get easy access.
I was able to replace it under 1 hour from top using o2 sensor socket and a 3/8'' torque wrench, pliers and flare nut wrench after I removed the front strut brace and air box together with rubber intake hose/inlet.

labor on downstream o2 sensor is about 30 mins including the time to jack the car up and unbolt the seat IF you have no trouble removing the old one out (sometimes it's a PITA and even torch doesn't help).

Denso o2 sensors are around $70-90 new on ebay and amazon. Denso AFR sensors (for upstream Calif emissions) are around $100 new on ebay or amazon. dealers will charge you for same sensors (with both Denso and Toyota logos) around $300 each + book time on labor multiplied by their shop rates (~$100/hr).

good luck with BMW, I hope you will never have to see the dealer, because if you do strap yourself and take a bite stick with you.

 

Thanks fenixus, Ok, so on a 4-cyl, it was a trivial replacement. At $450, it looks like the tech made about $350 for the labor, as the part would have cost a DIY $100. I am going to read these forums from now on, regardless of car.

I have an indie mechanic who seems pretty honest. For him, his hourly rate is the same whether it's a Camry or a BMW. So, I just pay more for parts. With him, I have already avoided insane dealer rates. He's not cheap, but these days, NO car repair is cheap, including econoboxes. If it's a disaster, I will return on Japanese cars. I can afford one car that turns out to be a nightmare, as the buy price was under $6k, so I have budget for a lot of repairs (compared to driving a new $20k car, for example)

 

yeah, DIYing older cars is the only way to keep the maintenance at reasonable levels and you will have lots of spare money to either do some agressive maintenance items to keep the car in top notch or mod it with upgrades

besides, you will learn a lot in process and that knowledge is similar on many cars, there are differences of course, but it's not rocket science

it helps to have a factory service manuals, Toyota gives unlimited access to their electronic service system (TIS) at only $15 (or $10) for 2 days, so you can download pretty much the whole piece for your car from their resources.

this forums is particularly valuable, because there is plenty of helpful DIYs with pics on how to replace certain common things, including tools used and parts used

 

Yea, in a way, I'm glad the Camry died, b/c it forced me to research DIY since BMW stuff can be costly, but like you said, this applies to all cars, so it's good knowledge. Even if I never turn a wrench, I will always consult the forums archives from now on! What a goldmine. I def. want to try some simpler stuff, as well.

 

have fun and good luck