What man can engineer, man can reverse-engineer. Dealer service departments favor replacement over repair for complex, labor-intensive jobs like transmission failures because it is far more profitable that way. It gets the customer's car out of the shop sooner and thereby frees up the tech for next job (and more jobs per tech means fewer techs needed on staff). The DCT is not unique in this regard--bring a failing wet automatic or a balky manual box and you'll almost invariably be sold a remanufactured transmission, not a repair. If history is any guide, independent specialists will someday figure out how the innards of these things are put together and offer services the dealers can't or won't. They'll never be cheap to repair, but replacement is unlikely to remain the sole option forever.
This is another example of NTS's point. My Lexus dealership tried to do the same thing to me last month. My front brake calipers froze up. The dealer told me they needed to be replaced (along with the rotors and pads) at a cost of $2800. The two calipers alone were priced at $650 - each. I found an independent Lexus mechanic that rebuilt the front calipers and replaced the rotors and pads on all four wheels for $1200.
I would say the same thing about the soon-to-be-mine 330ci ZHP. I don't know that it is that much faster than a regular E46 330i, but the exhaust note is awesome, and the I like the more aggressive looks.
The meaning of S First, as has been noted, there's that exhaust. . . WHAH! The Germans kept asking how it could be legal in America; the Yanks just kept grinning and saying, "that's okay, that's okay." I think the diffy might be a smidge lower than standard as well; that would account for the feeling of fastocity. Even Stevie D hisself will tell you that the best bang for the buck is to change the differential so you can use the torque provided by the turbo, single or twin.
