[bvanderhaar]

According to the dealer inspection after recall work on my 2008 328xi with 128K miles they recommend: Rear Shock Absorber Assembly R&R, Front Strut Assembly R&R.

I should note the car is currently at a indy waiting for a quote, due to the RF tire blowing, the tow truck drivers diagnosis was the spring either broke or somehow came loose and rubbed against the tire causing the failure. (Ironically the dealer techs said the valve cover leak is the most pressing thing to replace, the RF tire/suspension failed 3 miles after leaving).

This is my daily driver, I want to keep the stock height and maximize durability/longevity. I'm in Michigan where roads have significant potholes, especially during the winter.

My initial reaction from the above information, this post and this post is to replace springs and struts on the front axle and the shock assembly on the rear axle with Bilstein B4's. Is this a good plan? Do the springs need to be replaced in pairs? Other wear components to replace during the job (there is an additional rear shock absorber part no 33536767334)? The posts seem to suggest to just replace things that broke/obviously worn.
Thanks in advance for any advice/leads

[Emilime75]

There's, for the most part, two schools of thought. Those that only replace the affected part, and those who prefer to replace things in pairs and/or sets. I'm part of the latter and believe that things like shocks/struts/springs should be replaced in pairs, at the minimum. If one is worn out/broken, chances are the other isn't far behind unless there was a significant incident that caused one to fail. Springs do sag with age, and while that may go un-noticed in most cases, replacing just one out of a pair could be noticable as the new one might end up higher...especially if you're replacing any rubber pads and mounts with it, which also compress over time.

With that said, I also DIY(keeping costs down) and see my cars as more than just tools and want them to perform as best as they can. Some don't do either, or can't/don't want to shell out additional dollars for "what isn't broken".

The Bilstein B4 is a good stock replacement. Add in strut mounts, spring pads, bump stops...there is a vendor on here, who I won't name because I don't like their posting policy, but they sell preassmebled kits with all new parts ready to go. This is the easiset solution, but not the cheapest.

In the end, you need to get a good, clear diagnosis of what really is needed, what it will cost, and then decide if spending extra is something you want to do.

[bvanderhaar]

Thanks for your clear, concise response, Emilime75. My indie shop called early and said the spring is broke and they replace them in pairs - $1300 for parts/labor (including new tire). The shop said in their experience the strut/strut assembly hold up well and aren't required for replacement unless they were obviously leaking/damaged, which they'll know for sure once the car is apart, but they looked fine at the moment. If I wanted it done it would be +$800 in parts/no labor. My own estimates of sourcing the parts were closer to $300-$400, so the part quote surprised me a bit. Since the indie shop can get it done faster than I can DIY at this point, I decided to have them replace the springs/tire.

Based on your response and reading on the board, I plan to do the shock absorber/struts at my own pace if one fails/starts wearing to an unacceptable level to me.

In case this helps someone else, here is the quotes from the dealer:
Rear Shock Absorber Assembly R&R - $1264
Front Strut Assembly R&R - $3482