Estimate for E30 M3 S14 rebuild is in...ugh...

"Battery Tender Unnecessary" (carac)
06/04/2014 at 12:59 • Filed to: None

Looks like I'm going to have to put up $ 11002.57 to redo the rebuild I paid another guy $10525 to do two years ago. Time to get that money back, which is easier said than done. I have to say, few things suck worse than finding out major engine work needs to be redone. Here I thought it was a noisy, "busy" engine "because racecar." But in reality it was noisy because shitty rebuild.

DISCUSSION (24)

For Sweden > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 13:00

I'm surprised a shop will perform a rebuild for under $15,000.

Also, I'm guessing Jagvar laughs at your maintenance costs.

Will with a W8 races an E30 > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 13:01

S50 swap.

Saracen > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 13:08

What happened?

davedave1111 > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 13:10

Ouch. What makes it cost so much, just out of interest? Isn't it quite a simple engine?

macanamera > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 13:11

Yikes. Time to swap in a 2J and unleash the dragon.

rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 13:17

That sucks. If you were local I'd say call my mechanic. He's got a buddy that is a race mechanic for serious teams that mostly does F-car rebuilds for street duty but likes to do other things sometimes in his spare time.

Have you priced a Korman stroker?

quarterlifecrisis > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 13:22

That's a hurter. I mean, at least their estimate appears to be a very accurate number. God forbid the estimate be ~$11k. Nope, gotta get that other $2.57 in there just in case.

Crocket Bernet > For Sweden
06/04/2014 at 13:26

I'm sure that the maintenance on his SLS costs like tuition money.

M3BimmerBilly > Will with a W8 races an E30
06/04/2014 at 13:32

Im mothballing the S14 and gently placing it on an engine stand indefinitely and swapping in any S52/54 variant in its place. That buzzy little motor just isnt worth $11K. Its a massive dissapointment.

Roadster Man > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 13:49

Gonna be tough to get some of the $$ back from the first rebuilder, but you probably can. Have your lawyer call him and threaten him, dropping things like "implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose" and so on.

I thought about suing a mechanic who sold me a "rebuilt" WRX engine that drank a quart of oil every 1000 miles.. There is caselaw regarding engine rebuilds and implied warranties in nearly every jurisdiction. You may have a good case depending on where you are- and a threat of a good case is all you need sometimes.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 14:07

What do they have to do? Buy an Elantra?

Klaus Schmoll > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 14:28

Aww shit! A friend of mine had that happening to him too. He had a really nice and clean Corrado G60, and the VW forums at that time were all the rage about a guy doing AMG supercharger swaps on these engines. By the time he had dropped his car off, the reviews started to turn sour. Turns out he was running a ponzy scheme with engines. Basically dropping parts customer A's car into customer B's engine and so on. He developed different aliases on the forums, but when the evidence started to pile up against him, he went bankrupt. My friend managed to get his car back, but with only half a running engine, and obviously the money was gone too.

Rico > Klaus Schmoll
06/04/2014 at 15:35

What an idiot, how can you possibly think that'd work (Ponzi scheme with car engines) the Ponzi Scheme Madoff got away with for so many years only worked because people don't invest money and expect their return the same month!

Rico > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 15:37

Before seeking legal recourse, see if the first guy is willing to re do the work (maybe not for free but at significant reduced cost) and if not then threaten legal action.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > Rico
06/04/2014 at 16:40

I think it's a "reasonable" assumption that if he had two years to do it right the first time and didn't, that he's not going to be able to fix it in the time another shop could. I was jerked around with promises, 15+ "next week" estimates...including dates that ended up being over a year before he actually finished. I had to threaten legal recourse the first time to get him to finish it. He had it on the back burner for most of two years because he got in over his head with a BMW S14 motor and didn't know what to do. I'm pretty sure he eventually shipped it to a friend to finish it. I had two reputable BMW-only shops in NC and VA flat refuse to rebuild a S14, because they knew what to expect. He said he had built one before, but I highly doubt it.

Rico > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 16:51

Ah I didn't know the scope of how long the work took or the issues that you ran into with him. I hope everything else goes well, keep us posted!

Battery Tender Unnecessary > macanamera
06/04/2014 at 16:53

I can hear the gnashing of teeth from S14.net already.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > Crocket Bernet
06/04/2014 at 16:54

Less than a grand over two years and 20k miles, not bad. Less than the E39 M5.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S
06/04/2014 at 16:55

Don't tempt me. My desire to keep it stock is holding me back from going full Sport Evo 2.5 as it is.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > davedave1111
06/04/2014 at 16:58

Parts. BMW keeps making some parts but they build in batches. If you end up needing a part that's been out of reprint for a while then prices are steep. They only made 16k total...and only 5k of those were for the US market...and probably less than half of those still run, so the market isn't that big. Even works that way with the carpet. I remember going to a BMW parts dept. to find out how much a full set of new carpets cost. At the time it was $800. I went back 6 months later when I was ready to reupholster it and they had gone up to $2400. He said they'd come back down once they made more.

EuroJosh > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 16:59

Take it to VAC in philly!

Crocket Bernet > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/04/2014 at 17:47

That's actually pretty fantastic considering the price of upkeep of a lot of MBs I was expecting like 5k oil changes.

Steve Slater > Rico
12/23/2014 at 22:54

I wouldnt let the first guy check the air in the tires on my Schwinn.

Steve Slater > Battery Tender Unnecessary
12/23/2014 at 22:55

If Robert Berry said "hello" ,I wouldn't believe him.