Thats kinda what I reckon too - hence why its now back for repair again (I believe) and why I feel more than just a little short changed......

Sorry, which part are you referring to on the back of the intake?

The second guy seems very capable and definitely knows his BMWs

Truth is he`s the third mechanic Ive taken this car to - the very first (who gets rave reviews all over the net for only working on BMWs in this locality) did a small unrelated job for me before all my CCV issues but the night before it was due to go to him I noticed it was leaking oil so I asked him to check it

So I picked it up the next day and asked about the leak, he tells me its just a leaking gasket and not to worry about it until spring(!) as it wasnt possible to get them to seal correctly in the cold weather, that didnt please me at all as I knew how much oil it was using - last time i checked engines needed oil to function correctly and this was a time bomb in my eyes but he was the expert, supposedly.......

Well I soon discovered that this was the first of my CCV troubles - it was obviously starting to go for the first time. I picked it up on a monday and by thursday night the gaskets had completely blown so I called him on friday first thing and explained what had happened

He listens, tells me not to drive it and he will sort it out (so I had visions of tow trucks arriving, it being ferried off and I would pick it up fully repaired in a few days) - fine I thought. So by midday his secretary phones to ask if I need a hire car, I tell her no as I have a deal through something else however this made me wonder why I`d need a hire car.......

So a few more hours pass and its almost quitting time on a friday, cant remember if he called me or I called him but we speak on the phone (bear in mind the Ive only had one other call to ask if I need a hire car and my car is still sitting in a puddle of expensive new oil in my garage) - he explains that its most likely a CCV freezing issue and the gaskets are probably blown, he advises me not to fix it until the spring (so what do I drive until then you ask) as it will fail again because it is an inherent design flaw for which there is no cure and buy a "beater" (I had to ask what this was - basically a cheap disposable car) to drive in the winter - I genuinely thought he was joking at the start

I explain that I didnt buy an AWD X5 with winter tyres etc by chance - I needed it to get to work on those cold/snowy/icy winters days and I would like it repaired, he tells me he cant touch it for 3 weeks and I then conclude that I have no option but to take it elsewhere in that case as I want it it repaired ASAP - so we went our separate ways

I should also mention that before I purchased the vehicle I called this same guy who was very helpful (or so I thought at the time), turns out he had worked on the vehicle and verified that it was in decent condition, one thing that stuck in my mind about the conversation though was him saying "In the really cold days, drive something else" - he said this a few times but never said why

I now know that this comment was referring to the CCV issues but if he had explained that at the time I would have done one of two things -

Not purchased the vehicle and took another direction

Or

Purchased the vehicle with my eyes open and had the problematic parts checked out/relocated

I think its safe to say I wont be giving him much business in the future

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2002 (05/02) 4.6IS X5 (Estoril Blue)