BMW have just quoted me £240+vat for parts and £350+vat for labour and I know I can get OEM parts for £100…

Advice please?

wow. I'd get somewhere to do the job as the wheel alignment needs to be done afterwards, but NOT at a BMW dealer!

Have you asked how many hours labour the quote covers?

Not much. Centralise the rack (BMWs have the facility for this I believe, so you might as well), undo both TREs, knock out of the taper with a hammer / ball joint splitter, replace TREs, do tracking with the rack still centralised. I would expect that to come to about £100 for labour, maximum. I've done one in not much time at all before (hour or two tops), and I normally spend more time looking for my tools than working.

A bit more time if you can't centralise the rack as you'll want to get the TREs somewhere near right first time, so you'll be marking things and counting threads.

Unless BMW TREs are incredibly difficult to access / complex to change. But I doubt it.

It's a nightmare job doing it diy.
Try a decent local garage or bmw specialist.
Was it an mot failure? If so, it's common for it to be resolved by just changing the track rod end, not the full rod itself.

If you have axle stands, a good toolkit and offroad space why not?

Pop online for a forum for instructions.

As above- get the tracking etc sorted afterwards.

Now, Daffy why have you been clipping kerbs? 🙄

as above – unless you've whacked something and bent the tie rods, I'd be surprised if you need to replace them. It cost about 4 quid for a rod end for my pug 🙂

It's for my E46 and is common on cars over 60000 miles for them to need done, mine's at 69000 and there's a little vibration through the front wheels on low speed bumps.

BMW (Scothall Leeds) seemed to think it would need four hours!

Wheel allignment is £40 by a local tyre centre.

I don't have a decent tool kit, but could afford one with the money saved. I do have Axle stands and a trolley jack.

What tools would I need other than a socket set a hammer and a strap wrench?

Not sure but question- have you asked for quotes from a number of beemer indies as well?

Ball joint splitter might come in handy.

Have a look on youtube

It's a nightmare job doing it diy.
Try a decent local garage or bmw specialist.

Unless BMW have found a new way of complicating mac'y strut suspension (it's possible, I have to admit!), it's about the easiest real job you can do on a car. Took me 20 mins 3 weeks ago on my peugeot. And that includes jacking the car and removing/refitting the wheel.

The rod end is, but not the rod itself

Hora, no – not yet. I have never needed one in 5 years being in Leeds, so don't know any good ones.. 🙁 Any ideas?

It is the whole rod – apparently it may just be the rod end, but it's best to replace both the inner and outer at the same time…

Sounds like someone is on a bonus scheme to me.

I've only had an inner go on me once and was on a 70,000 mile Escort and during my "cornering on three wheels phase".

Swap the end and see how it is. Count off the revolutions and screw the new one on the same number of turns. You'll have to hold the rod itself to stop if from turning whilst you do this.

Coffeeking is right, 20 mins a side then get the tracking done to be sure.

Some track rod ends have to be screwed into the rack, it makes access tricky. As above deffo a diy job, pro tracking.

The rod end is, but not the rod itself

Touché

Still not a massive task, but a lot more fiddly.

If you've got axle stands, the first thing I'd do is get the front end in the air and figure out exactly what needs doing. Make sure it really is the tie rods and not the rear wishbone bushing, as this is prone to failure on the E46, and would probably give the symptoms you describe too.

If the tie rod ends haven't been adjusted in the last 60k miles, you may find them very difficult to unscrew from the rods.

If you're local and are tempted to DIY, you might want to have a look at Pit Start in Park Royal – rent a bay or lift, and then borrow their tools.

Easy job, unless its a right old wreck and they are rusted in.
When you remove the old ones, count how many turns they were screwed in. Install the new ones with as near as you can the same turns. Tracking won't be all that far off.

Find yourself a BMW specialist, damn site cheaper than the dealers and pretty much all of them are run by ex BMW techs who've had all the training.