v_therussian

Since I got this overheat message, I've been re-evaluating my approach to maintaining the car, while avoiding BMW dealerships at all costs. While my original reason for avoiding them is still there - most dealers are "stealers", they will charge 200 bucks to press a reset button and let the computer run the program for an hour or two, etc - I realize (or maybe I hope?) that there must be some honest competent dealers out there. Another reason for avoiding the dealerships has been, of course, the cost itself - I don't believe in aftermarket warranties, and am a testament to the fact that they aren't necessary. I would have spent considerably more on aftermarket warranties + deductibles over the time I've had this car, than I paid in repairs out of my own pocket. What I'm thinking now occasionally: if my indie charges a thousand for a job that would cost 20-30% more at the dealer, maybe I'd rather overpay a little to have the car serviced the way it is supposed to be... even if I download every single TIS and have all the work done "by the book", a dealer, who sees hundreds of these cars every week, is still a better specialist, no?



Can you guys point out the holes in my theory? If anyone can recommend a New York area dealership - preferably, with a specific friendly reliable contact in mind, if possible - I would sure appreciate it. When my car was still under warranty, I used to take it to the BMW of Manhattan, and they were actually decent to me. But since the warranty ran out, I've been roughing it in the indie slums.

tooltec

That's the $64,000 question and I'm sure you will get a variety of answers.I go the DIY and main dealer route,mainly because I have been servicing my own cars (and motorcycles) for many years .The only time that my car is with the main dealer is if something needs to be replaced under warranty.I always use BMW filters,etc and BMW LL-04 oil whilst under warranty,out of warranty I use Mahle filters (suppliers to BMW).However,this has worked for me because I never keep a car long enough to have expensive items wearing out or failing.
Years ago,a good friend said don't keep a car after 3 years/60,000 miles,it will cost you money.That was before synthetic oil and better quality control in manufacture,so today you could extend that a fair bit.
Regarding main dealers,they don't always get a fault diagnosis correct the first time.I had an engine noise on a V6 Ford after 10,000 miles diagnosed as main bearings. I didn't believe it and decided to investigate before agreeing to an engine strip down (out of warranty after 1 year in those days).
The fault I found was a noisy belt idler pulley bearing! Repaired it myself. If I have a problem that is new to the dealer,I visit three,and they rarely agree on the cause/solution.Independent repairers have lower labour charges but I find that they are rarely up to date with the latest models,maybe that is not the case where you are.No matter which you choose,if they don't get it right the first time it costs more money until they do!

Kamil09m

Here in Houston, I have a BMW tech that works on my car after the managers leave the dealership. I just drop it off at night with him and pick it up that night or the next day, when ever he's done with the work. He's cheaper than any Indy and I trust him more than anyone, been dealing with him for about 3 years now. You could maybe find a hook up like that up there.

pjinca

I'll continue to do my own work now that my car is out of warranty. Failing that I'll take it to an indy shop that specializes in BMW. I like indy shops, you can build a better relationship than you do with dealers and they are specialists in BMW's, so you can bet they have seen at least as many BMW issues as any dealer if they've been around a while.
Let me put it this way: Last time at the dealer (right before warranty ran out) I asked about something someone had mentioned on their LCI car. The tech looked at me like I had just sprouted wings, had no idea what LCI was - neither did the SA. When I went to Solely Bimmer and asked him he knew immediately what I was talking about and said it was nothing to worry about. See what I mean?

v_therussian

Thanks guys! Honestly, I think in NYC area, both - dealers and indies are all pretty slick. Save for a handful of individual indies, I can't say that I know of any shops that are straight around here. With the exception of the guy I use and Motorcepts, I can't think of any indie shop in this area, who are not scamming at least in some way.

Anyway, now that my engine is done, I have a dilemma - get a new engine (not my favorite option), or get another car and cut my losses. And I'm leaning toward just getting another car right now... which would mean, hopefully, that it will be under warranty, so I won't have to worry about this crap anymore. All in all, a great ownership experience with an awful-awful-awful ending. Who would have expected a well-taken care of BMW I-6 would fail at 87K miles?! But, what's done is done, right? Gotta go on somehow - I'm sure something good will come out of this in the end. It always does

Kamil09m

I feel your pain man. Its sucks when something like this happens to our cars, makes you doubt so much about reliability in the future. My father just had to get a new transmission in his 2008 Mercedes benz s550 at 65k miles that cost about 6 grand. Like you said, who would have thought stuff like this would happen to well taken care of high end cars. Being the world it is, it's hard to even trust people or aftermarket warranty's. I say lease a car, beat the hell out of them and give them the keys back after a few years and get a new toy lol

v_therussian

That's right - DON'T trust aftermarket warranties. They are all rigged against you by default. I've done some research on them some years back, and believe me - no aftermarket warranty is completely trustworthy. Except for the BMW CPO - that is at least somewhat reliable, in terms of getting your car fixed, when something major goes wrong.

I'm shocked an S-class with 65k miles would need a new transmission! SHOCKED! I thought those cars can go 150-200k miles without major issues. Guess it is a brand new world. Leasing cars and beating the hell out of them is great and all, but that kind of puts an end to owning a car, making it your own. I took pride in taking care of my E60, I changed oil and serviced it properly, I never red-lined the engine, never done anything that would lead to the painful result I find myself in the middle of right now - yet it still went. Without much notice, just gone. Getting a new engine is about 7 grand - one way or another. Rebuilding this one - the one mechanic that I do trust with these engines essentially said he doesn't even want to mess with rebuilding it - not. worth. it. terrible... I am shocked... I was hoping to keep this car for a long-long time. But now, I can't bring myself up to believe that it will run well even if I do get another engine for it. Simply don't trust it anymore...


PS I can't help but remember how Craig used to say he'd totally disappointed in BMW about a year ago, and I used to argue, say "its a good car, you just got stuck with a lemon"... well, guess he isn't the only one stuck with a lemon - at least his is a lease...

Bteljuice

I really would like to congratulate you on the calm way you are taking this.
I honestly feel terrible that a nice taken care off car would fail its owner. I always truly believed in the " Take care of your car and it will take care of you" mentality. Guess this is an exception.

I always purchase every single part/liquid from BMW Stealer and service it at a reputable mechanic in my area ( He always gets surprised how clean my car is and well maintained it is after 6 years).

I really worry that one day something unpredictable and hefty to the wallet would happen (such as your case). Car is at 53k miles right now (hopefully much more to go).
Wanted to sell my car 2 years ago (when warranty ended), however was only 30k on Odo (that's around 7.5k/year, was relatively untouched).

Do keep us posted on your updates, but If I were to add my .02cents, I would sell the car and buy another vehicle with warranty.

Changing the Engine does not guarantee that something else (major or minor) would not occur. Most of the times, it is a chain reaction, when something breaks down, something else is prone to break.
Having the peace of mind is way better than having this anxiety and stress of the feeling that you never know when something bad will happen. This time you might be able to handle the costly bill (having saved up on aftermarket warranty) but the next surprise might hurt more when you least expect it.

I wish you the best of luck in either route you plan to take and do keep us posted my friend

pjinca

Vladdy, this is a good chance to maybe get into a 550 like Ghostcheck. I'd love to get a V-8, and the newer BMW V-8's are way better than the older ones. Either way, good luck and you know no matter what you get next you better stick around!!!

v_therussian

Thank you very much for your kind words and wishes! It means so much to have the support of my BMW Brotherhood Really, it does!

Best case would, of course, be if this knock ended up being some kind of an ECU issue, that would get fixed by a re-flash... but let's get real - this is major. Engine oil was found in coolant, and while coolant may not have entered the engine when I had it sampled, it probably bled into there by now and caused the knock, by diluting the oil and the damage is there. My options, then, are pretty limited. I do agree that having this fixed does NOT guarantee that the clutch and flywheel won't fail in a week. And then something else major... and something else... unfortunately, I'm beginning to painfully realize that owning BMWs out of warranty is just not acceptable. Its a great, wonderful car to drive, but a terrible car to own.

I've thought about a E60 550i M Sport, sure... but if I were to go with a V8, I'd probably look to a little something else first...

I'm also considering just leasing a Lexus IS250 AWD and forgetting about BMWs for a while - just have a workhorse of a car for a bit, then get a Boxster S in a year or two.