by "LJ909" (lj909)
Published 11/08/2017 at 13:37
by "LJ909" (lj909)
Published 11/08/2017 at 13:37
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STARS: 0
The image you see above was taken from a F01 750 owner over on Bimmerfest. His car had started to smoke badly and after one repair of a PCV system had to go back and have the entire engine replaced under warranty because the engine hydro locked and shot a con-rod through the block. I’m sure some of you may be familiar with this story and of the shittyness that is the N63. But what are some of your own or stories you’ve heard about wallet emptying repair stories with BMW?
"Discerning" (discerning2003c5z)
11/08/2017 at 13:42, STARS: 1
I don’t think anything can top the N63.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/08/2017 at 13:45, STARS: 1
I hydrolocked my N55 but that was because I got caught in a flash flood and BMW conveniently has a duct that sucks air from the kidney grille directly into the airbox. I had it replaced under a comprehensive claim on my insurance. It was a major hassle but thanks to my small local shop being flexible with me, and some finagling on my part, I worked some engine mods into the deal.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
11/08/2017 at 13:46, STARS: 3
"Party-vi" (party-vi)
11/08/2017 at 13:48, STARS: 6
That would be BatteryTenderUnecessary’s experience with his E30 M3 .
"LJ909" (lj909)
11/08/2017 at 13:49, STARS: 0
Damn. You really came out better than you did before.
"Biggus Dickus (RevsBro)" (NKlein)
11/08/2017 at 13:49, STARS: 1
Well in defense of the E30 M3, you should know that parts for that car have become insanely expensive due to lack of availability.
Edit: However, his experience with that shop was atrocious.
"Biggus Dickus (RevsBro)" (NKlein)
11/08/2017 at 13:49, STARS: 1
Its always fun seeing the M3 forums when someone’s S65 throws a rod through the block or oil pan.
"LJ909" (lj909)
11/08/2017 at 13:49, STARS: 0
Damn. Could have been way worse though. None of that was covered by warranty?
"LJ909" (lj909)
11/08/2017 at 13:50, STARS: 0
Which if you dig enough, happens way too often than it should.
"BeaterGT" (beatergt)
11/08/2017 at 13:51, STARS: 3
That “Thank You!” couldn’t be more disconcerting.
"farscythe - makin da cawfee!" (farscythe)
11/08/2017 at 13:52, STARS: 4
not so much a horror story... but kid me had a holiday job at my uncles bmw dealership... one time they ran out of work for me to do so they just handed me a toolbox and told me to go dissasemble the old seized up engine they had sitting around (wich i think translates to go be in your corner and dont get in our way)‘
i think figuring out how to get take that thing apart is the closest i’ve ever come to screaming in frustration
"Biggus Dickus (RevsBro)" (NKlein)
11/08/2017 at 13:56, STARS: 1
Definitely somewhat true but as an E92 M3 owner, I think the problem is significantly exaggerated. It is no where near the level of bad the S54 rod bearing issue was.
I think too many owners flog on their S65 before letting it get up to op temp so the oil doesn’t have the proper viscosity to film up in the bearing clearances. Also tons of the blown bearing issues are from SC cars which have significantly more stress on the 1 and 8 bearings (which tend to be the ones that fail from what I recal).
"LJ909" (lj909)
11/08/2017 at 13:58, STARS: 1
I bet you saw first hand how much over engineering goes into German tech.
"LJ909" (lj909)
11/08/2017 at 14:00, STARS: 1
Oh yea compared to the S54, its almost a non issue because that was both widespread and way worse. What compounds things even more is that these cars in some places have gotten so cheap that these punks can afford them. So they flog them too soon like you mentioned or too much and dont keep up on the maintenance. Some of these M cars are like delicate children that require tender care at times even with the performance they have.
"farscythe - makin da cawfee!" (farscythe)
11/08/2017 at 14:02, STARS: 0
pretty much... i failed to completely dissasemble it .. got all the obvious easy bits off and then you start hitting things like in order to remove this bit on top you have to unscrew 6 bolts up top.. 3 down under and one hidden somewhere random (well.. thats how it felt to little 10 year old me)
"farscythe - makin da cawfee!" (farscythe)
11/08/2017 at 14:02, STARS: 1
pretty much... i failed to completely dissasemble it .. got all the obvious easy bits off and then you start hitting things like in order to remove this bit on top you have to unscrew 6 bolts up top.. 3 down under and one hidden somewhere random (well.. thats how it felt to little 10 year old me)
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/08/2017 at 14:02, STARS: 1
Except for that pesky resale value issue.
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
11/08/2017 at 14:17, STARS: 1
I decided to look on Craigslist for
bad ideas
750's and
came across this
. 230k miles!! That has to be one of the highest-mileage 750's in existence, of any generation.
In other news, other 2007 750's are listed at around the same prices at the same-era 3-series, LOL
"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
11/08/2017 at 14:17, STARS: 3
How long do you have?
I’ve got an 850 in the shop now that a client bought sight unseen and drove across the country, and he’s now into it for $10k in repairs. The car was a complete mess. Valve guides on an E60 545i, $7,000. Timing chains on a 63k mile N20 turbo, $2,500. 335i/535i turbos, $6,000. Injectors and decarbon service on a 335d, $6,000. E46 SMG hydraulic unit $5,000. E60 M5 broken valve spring, $6,400 (on an SMG car, where overrev is theoretically impossible, mind you). Every E90 and 1-series will need an AC evaporator, that’s $2,000. And so on... and I say this as a lifelong BMW enthusiast. They haven’t built a car I would own since about 2005, with the only exception being the E90 M3.
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
11/08/2017 at 14:18, STARS: 0
Holy crap, that sounds miserable. The list of incorrect repairs is just insane. You’d almost have to go out of your way to do that poor of a job.
"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
11/08/2017 at 14:28, STARS: 0
For your reading/schadenfreude pleasure:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1432603
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1400080
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=439844
Now I have to go look up a post on a Tesla-related article recently where someone said something like “you would never see the quality issues in European luxury cars that you see in Teslas”
LOL
"boxrocket" (boxrocket)
11/08/2017 at 14:29, STARS: 2
Not my car, but an acquaintance’s: His parents bought him a first-year current-body 3-series- 320 or 340, I don’t remember which - from CarMax, and he drives between Florida and Missouri to go to-from college. Needless to say, he quickly exceeded the mileage limits of the powertrain warranty. This became relevant when the transmission decided it didn’t want to do its job of transmitting engine power to the rear wheels. BMW unblinkingly quoted almost $15k for a new transmission. Thankfully he had the DeMuro-approved CarMax coverage, and got it repaired for just his deductible. Crazy that just one element of the drivetrain is worth about half the car’s value.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
11/08/2017 at 14:30, STARS: 1
All out of warranty. That bill did include tires, which wouldn’t have been included anyways.
"Marcus" (mahdigga)
11/08/2017 at 14:39, STARS: 4
X5 wouldn’t move to come out of the parking garage. I hear an loud popping noise from the rear and see the real wheel jumping as it struggled to move.
Get X5 Towed to indie shop (A1 ALL German Auto in Manhattan) that i’ve worked with before. They diagnose, GUESS that it’s a switch inside of the transmission. I disagree that it’s it. I’m guessing that its the transfer case or driveshaft. The owner strongly suggests that we start her. Promises too waive the labor if this doesn’t fix it.
Shop won’t answer or return my calls for days. I go up to the shop. Guess What? What’s the part inside of the transmission as I guessed.
Wait another week. No returned calls. Drive to the shop. We think it’s the rear diff. Find a user rear diff. Diff is installed, but the car isn’t right. 4x4 errors all over. Shop suggests that the rear diff caused the transfer case to go out.
Screams and frustrations ensure. Lots of expletives on my behalf. Shop says that if I find a transfer case, they’ll install it for free. I find a transfer case, take it back. Another week later: Oh! The case that you bought, we can’t get the computer to sync with that transfer case. The truck drives fine as long as the transfer case is unplugged.
Give me my car, NOW!
~$4,000 in parts and labor. ~$1000 in rental cars. Im driving around in a rear-wheel drive X5.
Should’ve went straight to the dealer. The shop really screwed me over with their “throw parts at it until its fixed” approach. Never going back there again.
"Biggus Dickus (RevsBro)" (NKlein)
11/08/2017 at 14:39, STARS: 0
Ha yeah, prior to buying my E92 M3 2 years ago I probably read every. Single. Thread. About rod bearings. Some of these new ones look pretty hilarious.
"LJ909" (lj909)
11/08/2017 at 14:39, STARS: 0
230k is a ton of miles. But if you have nothing to loose go for it. I personally wouldn’t touch ANY generation of 7 Series with a V8. I am partial to the F01 740 though. Much less of a gamble.
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
11/08/2017 at 14:45, STARS: 1
LOL I have no desire to own an older V12 BMW right now; this from someone who has two BMWs in the driveway already, with a combined age of 24 years and 364,000 total miles.
But the same search turned up an ‘84 535i manual for $2,500... and boy I’d love to have that.
"RPM esq." (rpm3)
11/08/2017 at 14:50, STARS: 0
I had an Inspection II on my E46 M3 around 50,000 miles that turned up several “small” things that needed doing—to the tune of $400-600 each—plus the fact that I needed to replace the VANOS before it failed. I don’t have the paperwork to post but I just looked up the total charge for the service and the additional stuff: $7,969.40, at a trusted independent shop (implying that it would have been worse at the dealer). Ouch. I put it up for sale the following spring.
"LJ909" (lj909)
11/08/2017 at 14:53, STARS: 0
I’m not an owner. Yet. I’m considering buying an F01 740 though. But like all those things you mentioned, and from seeing other people say things like they wouldnt own a BMW from 05-07 on, even the most basic repairs on them are costly and Ive never understood why. I mean I once saw a man with a E65 7 Series needing window motor replacements in like 2 doors. Almost $500 bucks each. And this was from an independent shop. Its ridiculous.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
11/08/2017 at 14:53, STARS: 0
I may regret this but I think a slightly used 7 series is going to be Mrs. future next gen S200 owner’s next car.
"LJ909" (lj909)
11/08/2017 at 14:55, STARS: 1
Damn. 15 grand for a trans in bottom barrel lease special 3 Series. Like I mentioned to someone else, I never quite understood why BMW repair costs are almost exotic car like. Its whats mostly kept me from owning one. Unfortunately mom is partial to BMW’s having went from a 07 325 to her current 6 GC. I told her she needs to get away from them and her recent battery change of nearly $600 bucks has her thinking maybe she should.
"LJ909" (lj909)
11/08/2017 at 14:58, STARS: 1
I would have just gotten rid of the car at that point even though it was the shop that was part of the problem. I once said that I think indie BMW shops are the ultimate scam because a lot of them are really shitty and are taking people for thousands of dollars in repairs that are often only part of the problem or misdiagnosed.
"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
11/08/2017 at 14:58, STARS: 2
They should add a light on the dashboard that looks like this:
"LJ909" (lj909)
11/08/2017 at 14:59, STARS: 0
I bet if the Vanos had gone that price would have doubled. Good thing you got rid of it. Doesnt it just make you not want to own any BMW ever again?
"RPM esq." (rpm3)
11/08/2017 at 15:03, STARS: 1
I’m sure you’re right. I’d happily own an old BMW, but no I would probably not buy a recent one.
"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
11/08/2017 at 15:09, STARS: 0
Read these links about E90 M3s:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1432603
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1400080
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=439844
For me, I the only BMW I would consider is maybe one of the older non-turbo I6 models with the manual transmission.
"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
11/08/2017 at 15:42, STARS: 0
Oh, I know all about them, but I love the way they drive and they’re the last N/A M-car with ITBs so they’re a bit special. They’re my only exception though, otherwise it’s older manual, normally aspirated sixes and fours.
"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
11/08/2017 at 15:45, STARS: 0
I cannot recommend F01s. There is no good reason to buy one over a sports package equipped Lexus equivalent. The E65 was bad, the F01 is too. If it’s got over 80k be prepared to spend a bunch of money.
"LJ909" (lj909)
11/08/2017 at 15:51, STARS: 0
Yea overall they just seem to be bad cars. The only reason I wanted was was because the I6 in the 40's are way more reliable than the N36. But most of the ones Ive looked at are $16-20 grand with 70 thousand plus on them. Im more Hyundai Equus leaning.
"RacingShark" (racingshark)
11/08/2017 at 15:54, STARS: 0
wouldn’t vanos failure cost as much as replacing it before it failed? It just loses some power, it’s not catastrophic. It’s just the seals that fail. You can fix it for a few hundred $ if you’re handy. No need to spend a few grand on it.
"Spasoje" (Spasoje)
11/08/2017 at 15:58, STARS: 1
Reminds me of the door locks in my MkIV Jetta: the latch is faulty in each of the doors, so when you press unlock on the remote (or the button in the interior), the doors don’t actually unlock most of the time. The cost? $500, EACH. Thankfully, you can still unlock them manually, so I ‘only’ had the driver’s door one replaced...
Here’s the irony: my 14-year ownership experience has been less painful than any of the BMWs in this thread!
"LJ909" (lj909)
11/08/2017 at 15:58, STARS: 0
I think it depends on the car. Ive seen some as low as $1200 or has high as $2500 and thats just in parts.
"RacingShark" (racingshark)
11/08/2017 at 16:18, STARS: 1
you can get a rebuilt vanos unit for ~$500 or all the parts to do it yourself for about $250. (I’m quoting e46 parts. Some fancy new one might cost more)
It is tricky to find the right shop. I had my differential explode and finding a shop that was willing to install a used diff was tricky. Most would only install a new part (over $1300), but I found a race shop that had no problem installing a used diff for $400 (not including labor on either quote). The race shop even sourced the part for me.
"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
11/08/2017 at 17:28, STARS: 0
Sounds like they weren’t using the proper diagnostic equipment/software:
http://www.bmw-icom.org/about-bmw-icom/
"AM3R, lost another burner" (am3r17)
11/08/2017 at 17:49, STARS: 0
$6k for turbos is ridiculous!
"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
11/08/2017 at 19:31, STARS: 0
Yep. Factory turbos are $2k apiece, plus something like 15 hours with oil lines. Same turbos are available for less on the aftermarket of course, but when they want factory parts it is what it is. Even if I buy aftermarket I can’t compete with Amazon/Pelican prices in any case. I don’t advocate fixing them, by the way. I tell people to get rid of those things on a regular basis.
"AM3R, lost another burner" (am3r17)
11/08/2017 at 21:11, STARS: 0
You can find the same exact turbos, made by Mitsubishi, for a lottttt cheaper. I have a 335i myself on original turbos and I’ve put in lots of research on this. If my turbos ever do go out (hopefully not any time soon) I’m not expecting to pay anywhere close to $6k! That’s how much people spend going hybrid twin turbos or a big single!
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
11/09/2017 at 05:59, STARS: 0
we have a brand new Holden Calais in at work with only 50km (yes 50km)
and it needs a new engine, LS3 V8 making a bad knocking noise.
customer took delivery last Friday, returned Saturday morning with a crook motor.