$28k for a new engine in what most people would consider an old car? Never. RB's rebuild idea is a good one. Or source a used engine and get it rebuilt. Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market is a good place to look.

I'm going with a used engine, as I will still have warranty on it for another 2 years/ 70000kms. Also, there is no vehicle that does it for me the same as this X5 for sound and looks. The new ones are too 'puffy' with sad headlights, and the cars are just about the same except for the brand new ones (price wise out of my reach though). Plus it looks so good parked beside my 03 m5. Going from no car payments to a new lease or finance would just make me sad. Almost as sad as my x5 slowly dying...

Sounds like a good plan. How did the cylinder walls get scored badly enough to warrant replacing the engine? What was the symptom of the problem?

^^^^ I'd like to know as well

I dont know. Loose oil cap, loose air filter tube. Only my guesses. It had started smoking shortly after I bought it, and it took this long for them to figure it out. 2 - 1/2 years. Was very little then and couldn't tell while driving.

The used engine is being prepped for shipping, first thing to do is have it bore scoped to check for scoring. The current engine can't be bored by any place I've asked because of the Nikasil coating. Maybe I'll make a TopGear style coffee table out of the block...

Part out the engine. The only thing you can't re-use is the block.

Expensive components there....heads (complete with valve train), crank, intake manifold...

The original engine, did it smoke a lot under accel? Down on power? Consume oil? Was it properly compression tested and leakdown tested?

good luck ......keep us posted.

No power loss. At this point it has used up to a liter in 600kms. No compression testing or leakdown test. The bore scope is as far as they've gone. Smoked enough it would blot out the car behind me at a long set of lights with mild acceleration on a hot day. Funny part is during winter I don't think it burnt any oil. The funnier part is SAL warranty just told me they don't want to put in a used engine. New or nothing.