It's the middle of summer and the fan/blower for the a/c died yesterday. How much can I expect to shell out for this repair?

check fuses...then check out some of the on line parts places and go to real oem or pull out your bentleys.

Probably needs a blower resistor/final stage unit. X5 is an easy replacement. Figure less than $150 at the dealer, or the price of the part if you do it yourself.

wow... dealer charges $150 hour... with the part $300 if they do it in an hour. Well, that gives me a baseline... thx

I tried a new repair place.. figured give them a shot and see what happens... always on the lookout for good mechanics... I've had my share of ripoffs/incompetants.

Nice shop, very friendly, mechanic knew what he was talking about.. former BMW tech. Suggested it was probably the final stage unit. It was the final stage unit... part was $125, labor $40, plus tax, $181 total. I'm happy :)