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My mechanic tells me that he has to replace the 6 ignition coils in my 1998 BMW 528i - he wants $800 to do it. I can get new coils online for about $30 each, and it seems to me that I could put them in myself within an hour. Am I unaware of some kind of special tuning, knowledge, or tools that would be required, or can I venture into this apparently simple DIY project without worry?

Also, OEM coils replacements are $70, which is still only $420 - so the additional $380 is what has me wondering.

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  • 380 for install, setup and testing by a BMW garage? Seems perfectly reasonable.
    – Rory Alsop
    Jul 1, 2012 at 20:42
  • Anything under a grand always feels reasonable, lol...just wondering if this is something I could do to save the 500 so that I can afford his christmas bonus!
    – GDP
    Jul 1, 2012 at 23:45
  • Why does he want to replace all of them? Doesn't seem likely that all 6 are bad. What symptoms are you having? Jul 5, 2012 at 18:43

1 Answer 1

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IF you have an E39 with an M54 engine, it is as easy as:

  1. Unplugging Battery
  2. Unplug cable, and possibly unscrew rail
  3. Unscrew each coil pack, and replace
  4. Reconnect all items, and test drive

Not a very hard job, as all the packs are exposed once you remove the cover.

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  • The 1998 apparently has the M52 engine: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M52#M52B28
    – Bob Cross
    Jul 5, 2012 at 12:04
  • Have done the plugs, and simple stuff....it looked easy enough, but I just didn't know if there was some magic with new ones...thanks you good people! :)
    – GDP
    Jul 5, 2012 at 12:50

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