Problems. Poll: Keep or sell?
 

Bought a 2005 n62 e53 back in Feb (from Hansels in Santa Rosa, CA in case anyone is curious) to keep for a year or two while life is complicated by moving and small children etc. 1 owner car with a high consumer rated buy number on this specific X which has turned out to mean nothing. There was a waterpump replaced before my ownership (apparently at trade in). Dealer told me the car needed to be smogged when it pulled lean run codes on my Peake reader. Not true - and since they have disavowed warranties, and things found during them orcany implied serviciability, etc. Since I have found a warped valve cover and a broken tap in the rear of one of the heads along with JB Weld and a big mess of hidden broken bolt. Clearly perpetrated by the dealer Hansels. So a new head and all the fun of the 5-8 side. Does not appear there are any other helicoils or more mess but I am concerned about the metalurgy being weakened, etc. I dunno... What do you guys think, money aside: keep or sell? Would you drive it across the country?

JB weld anywhere on or around the engine would be enough cause for concern....and a broken tap still in the head:wow:?! If your life is already complicated without the X, dump it and get something less mangled.

^^^

Ditto.

I don't know of any dealer not trying to sell some kind of 3rd party warranty on new or used vehicles. If they weren't willing to do it, I think that speaks volumes about them. Hind sight is 20/20. Sorry you got a crappy right out the door.

That being said, there shouldn't be anything that's JB Weld with exception to non-essential, cosmetic stuff. List it, Leave it, and run!

For clarification-- Is this X running? Do you have a blown head gasket--water in the oil? There is 1 head bolt that is broken off and another with a broken tap in it? And what do you think they were trying to do with the JB weld? Any smoke out the tailpipes? How many miles on your X?

tough call!
 

Its a tough call, i dont think it would be ethical to dump the X5 without letting the next owner know the issues. Or, you could repair the damaged parts and then drive it yourself. I am not even sure how a mechanic could in good conscious piece the engine back together, and sell it!
my .02 $ worth!

As per RFaber, it is a tough call. That's why I am asking for more info. If it was repaired would it be a DIY?

Before deciding I would at least do a compression and leak down check and have a thorough inspection done to see if there is any indication of any other expensive repairs needed now or in the near future.

Leak down and compression are good actually. The flange is damaged where the bolt broke. It appears they got the bolt out, tried to retap it and broke the tap, did a drill out down to the broken tap then used JB Weld over it and put a helicoil in the JB Weld. So... Wow. Really frustrating considering how good and even the compression is. I've talked to a number of welding types who say the JB Weld penetrates the metal and makes it unweldable. In order to sell the used head it has to be chucked/pressed with a similar material into the hole and then retapped. Not a wonderful solution.

I would not sell it without doing the work - not my style. But after 4 months of hunting down what was going on and knowing now it was severely overheated, I have to wonder if it will ever really be super reliable. It's an 05 so the valve seal issue is supposed to be resolved - haven't noticed anything else. Mechanically the car seems pretty sound.

Did I mention when I talked to BMW NA they told me I wasn't the kind of clientele BMW dealerships wanted?

Were you given a reason why you were not their clientele? Did you unload on them or were you polite and professional? BMW NA always refers you back to the dealer until all efforts to resolve the problem have been exhausted there. Did the dealer say the head was not that way when they sold it?

I would seek out a source that specializes in rebuilding BMW heads or sells high performance BMW heads and see what they suggest. There is source in MN I believe that is very reasonable. It was mentioned in a thread but I don't remember which one.

Unless I'm missing something, for all intents and purposes the issue you describe don't sound like something a Dealership should have sold or presented as a "good buy". Rather than fixing this car or trying to off load it, I would be screaming hell for some kind of resolution from the Dealer and also BMW NA for the nerve to tell state you are not their kind of clientele. That reeks to me.

BMW NA is looking for NEW car buyers for their clientele, not use car buyers.

Life to short dump the car and get something else.