Arggghhh X3 motor went pop! what to do next?

[BERGS2]

Hello BM forum

hoping for a little advice.....

my wifes X3 lunched it's engine whilst she was driving to the gym earlier this week

Had it recovered to a local garage who confirmed that a piston had made its way through the engine block - no more engine

Garage has given the option of an engine swap (c. £5.5k for an unwarrented used unit, inc labour) - Given I will need to source and pay for a replacment engine do you guys know of reputable suppliers?

or

should I cut my losses and put as a non-runner on ebay and see what happens? - get what 25-30% of the market value for a runner? £3-4k maybe?

anyone done similar?

WBAC a possibillity? (other than getting it there)

Its in very nice cosmetic condition for an 8 year old car - mechanically - well, less so now......

[danb79]

BERGS2 said:

Hello BM forum

hoping for a little advice.....

my wifes X3 lunched it's engine whilst she was driving to the gym earlier this week

Had it recovered to a local garage who confirmed that a piston had made its way through the engine block - no more engine

Garage has given the option of an engine swap (c. £5.5k for an unwarrented used unit, inc labour) - Given I will need to source and pay for a replacment engine do you guys know of reputable suppliers?

or

should I cut my losses and put as a non-runner on ebay and see what happens? - get what 25-30% of the market value for a runner? £3-4k maybe?

anyone done similar?

WBAC a possibillity? (other than getting it there)

Its in very nice cosmetic condition for an 8 year old car - mechanically - well, less so now......

Sorry to be reading this

a) where do you live in the UK and b) which engine is in the car?

ADC in Manchester are very well thought of and respected for this kind of work; could be worth speaking to them: https://www.adcbmw.uk/

Get the car trailered up to them etc

[MitchT]

Looks like a 2 litre diesel from the badge on the side. Could this have been caused by the infamous N27 timing chain issue? If so, might a full BMW service history (if there is one) prompt some good will? Could be worth looking into.

[rottenegg]

More likely N47, but if it's worth more to you as it is vs starting over, you could try a used engine. If you're not bothered about it, then just flog it for what you can get and move on. It won't be worth much at all with a blown engine, mind.

[MitchT]

My bad! Meant the N47, though a little more digging suggests it may be a B47 on this car.

[BERGS2]

MitchT said:

My bad! Meant the N47, though a little more digging suggests it may be a B47 on this car.

Yeah - its a B47

[BERGS2]

rottenegg said:

More likely N47, but if it's worth more to you as it is vs starting over, you could try a used engine. If you're not bothered about it, then just flog it for what you can get and move on. It won't be worth much at all with a blown engine, mind.

thats the number i'm trying to get a rough read on

from a quick bit of desk research over the weeked, it looks like its unlikely to get the £3500 above which it would make sense to 'sell as is'

so replacment engine it is

and from the desk research done on that as well - looks like another minefield! :-(

(non-warrented, sold with/without ancillaries, only quote for exchange unit etc etc...)

[Richard-D]

Huge minefield, probably the only way to go is to pay one of these 'supply and fit' companies. Otherwise you could be paying for someone to fit and remove multiple times.

I've bought a few dead cars and replaced the engine myself. It's always a risk as it's impossible to confirm what you're buying. I would never buy a re-con engine though, would rather gamble on a used one that hasn't been apart.

[Magnum 475]

I’d be tempted to source a full engine from a low mileage crashed X3 (Copart?) and get that fitted. You should be able to get a fair idea of the engine’s history going this route, and have a reasonable chance of getting a decent engine. Will be cheaper than replacing the entire car.

[RSTurboPaul]

Will there be issues with the electronics / things not being coded to each other? (In not just this but any modern car?)

Different vehicle, but I know someone who tried to swap a van engine after it near-expired and it basically would not talk to the ECU etc., so much so it was pretty much pushed onto the forecourt for a part-ex for a new one!

[ComStrike]

Do NOT send the car to these places that advertise S&F
If they need to advertise with set pricing, its usually a red flag.
Parts & Labour in any industry is expensive, so for someone to advertise fixing one of these engines at that price is way off the mark
Use a trusted engine rebuilder or as others have said .. Copart for a smashed runner

[hilly10]

BERGS2 said:

Hello BM forum

hoping for a little advice.....

my wifes X3 lunched it's engine whilst she was driving to the gym earlier this week

Had it recovered to a local garage who confirmed that a piston had made its way through the engine block - no more engine

Garage has given the option of an engine swap (c. £5.5k for an unwarrented used unit, inc labour) - Given I will need to source and pay for a replacment engine do you guys know of reputable suppliers?

or

should I cut my losses and put as a non-runner on ebay and see what happens? - get what 25-30% of the market value for a runner? £3-4k maybe?

anyone done similar?

WBAC a possibillity? (other than getting it there)

Its in very nice cosmetic condition for an 8 year old car - mechanically - well, less so now......

Out of interest what was the mileage

[BERGS2]

just over 100k

[The Conflated Outlier]

Avoid the recon supply and fit places like the plague. You will lose your car.

There are plenty of good BMW specialists but any decent garage can replace an engine.

The B47 is a known reliable engine - it's not like the N47 so you don't have to fart about with timing chains before you even fit it. A BMW specialist like Quarry Motors in Sheffield can supply a fit a good used engine. Others such as Parkside in Worksop or Martin Wright in Mansfield can source and engine and fit it.

It's unusual for a B47 to blow up like that.

[ComStrike]

The Conflated Outlier said:

Avoid the recon supply and fit places like the plague. You will lose your car.

There are plenty of good BMW specialists but any decent garage can replace an engine.

The B47 is a known reliable engine - it's not like the N47 so you don't have to fart about with timing chains before you even fit it. A BMW specialist like Quarry Motors in Sheffield can supply a fit a good used engine. Others such as Parkside in Worksop or Martin Wright in Mansfield can source and engine and fit it.

It's unusual for a B47 to blow up like that.

The B47 does blow. I've seen quite a few of them in various mediums.
I digress .. hope you got sorted OP