[Agentphish]

Purchased my 08 328i from what I have always heard was a very reputable local dealership 2 weeks ago.

Dealership stated to me verbally, in writing, and reported to CarFax that the oil was changed when they got the car as a trade in 2 months ago in preparation for sale. They told me they used regular Castrol 5w30 Synthetic.

Thanks to advice here I did a DIY oil change this morning with Mobil1 0w40 LL01 Euro Spec Oil.

The oil I emptied from my new-to-me car was jet black and very very watery. There's just no way it'd been changed anytime recently or if it had they didn't use what they stated they used. They also used a filter that fit, but was TINY compared to the Mann I put in. It was an unidentifiable dark gray cardboard looking piece of garbage that just said "poland" on the side.

Again, thanks for the advice to change it folks. I have a right mind to ask them to reimburse me for the cost of the oil and filter.

Was it a BMW dealer, no way a BMW dealer would use a non-OEM filter.

Just FYI, even after 2-3k miles the oil turns black on my 330i.

[Agentphish]

No it's another local dealer where I purchased the car used.

I remember running synthetic in my Subaru and it wasn't this bad from a color and viscosity standpoint...but shit, that filter, wow...

I understand that oil changes darker as it's cleaning the engine and collecting all the crap inside, but this was just something else.

Makes no sense, the filter is like 8 bucks, unless you buy it over the counter at the dealer then its 22-25

If I was buying from a non-bmw dealer, I would change the oil right after I brought the car regardless.
I want to make sure the correct fluid and filter where in there.

[Agentphish]

Yeah. I agree and would surely do so immediately in the future. I was actually waiting to see my father in law since he had ramps and an oil can he was going to give me. So I drove about 2 weeks on the shitty stuff that was in there.

Now 0w40 Mobil 1 and Mann are in my car.

[PichaDis11]

I have got worst on my hands.. Saw oil leaking through oil filter cap couple of weeks now. Thought original that maybe it was sweating or something else. But I started getting low oil warning. So bought a oil cap wrench a week ago and found out now that I have a shattered oil filter with oil that is no way short of black... Attempting a oil change in the morning. hope nothing else is wrecked because of this.

[ttedeschi]

Just recently bought a used 2007 328i. Dealer said oil was changed during inspection. A month later it started having vanos issues. Long story but to shorten it up a bit, 2 engine oil flushes, new valve cover and gaskets, oil pan pulled and cleaned, new vanos intake vanos solenoid and still it was throwing vanos sticking codes. Finally I pulled the oil filter cap just to inspect the filter and I noticed the insert sleeve that was supposed be attached to it was missing. New cap for $50 and no more engine codes, but I am still concerned about long term effects of that. And no one even noticed, 2 different mechanics and bmw service shop

[napeHbNYC]

The color of the oil is an old gimmick for auto repair shops, it darkens because of the temperature

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by ttedeschi

Just recently bought a used 2007 328i. Dealer said oil was changed during inspection. A month later it started having vanos issues. Long story but to shorten it up a bit, 2 engine oil flushes, new valve cover and gaskets, oil pan pulled and cleaned, new vanos intake vanos solenoid and still it was throwing vanos sticking codes. Finally I pulled the oil filter cap just to inspect the filter and I noticed the insert sleeve that was supposed be attached to it was missing. New cap for $50 and no more engine codes, but I am still concerned about long term effects of that. And no one even noticed, 2 different mechanics and bmw service shop

Attachment 828500

It is absolutely amazing how many ham-fisted mechanics (or shade-tree mechanics) can't figure out how to disassemble the oil filter on a modern BMW.

That dosen't sound good, the TSB on sticky VANOS solinods SPECIFICLY STATES TO CHECK TO MAKE SURE THE INSERT IS INSTALLED ON THE OIL FILTER CAP AS #1

Basically your car was running with no oil filter, without that insert the oil isn't getting filtered correctly.

What dealer was this in Arizona? Bunch of bone heads.

[ttedeschi]

it was BMW of North Scottsdale that originally diagnosed it.... and there diagnosis was: replace vanos solenoids $643, new valve cover$1488. and then they recommended oil filter housing gasket $1015 and a bunch of other recommended stuff totaling to about $4000... never a mention of the oil filter cap. Needless to say they didnt do the work.

So the dealer it was purchased from said to bring it to him and he would take care of it. World Motors... all I can say about them now is buyer beware. They just used BMW's diagnosis to clean the vanos, flush the oil and replace the valve cover with their "expert" Euro mechanic. Oh.. and they had the car for a week and did lots of other unauthorized work because the mechanic said "in good faith" he couldnt not do it and it would have been necessary anyways. So the bill ended up being double what was authorized. And naturally it didnt solve the issue, so they said to bring it back, reset the codes and said the sludge is still working its way out and within a few oil changes all will be back to normal. Of course that didnt work either and they did another flush and then the car went into limp mode the next day. So... I took it to another mechanic of my own choice (BMW, Mini, Porsche experts) and they did another flush and thoroughly inspected the engine... They said they had never seen anything so bad and it looked like whoever owned it prior only changed the oil during BMW's recommended time and that clogged everything up. They didnt notice the cap either. a few days later is when I noticed it, replaced it and reset the code. And now a few weeks later no engine codes, no stalling. But I am still worried about those 3 flushes without that insert on the cap if it did more damage.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by ttedeschi

it was BMW of North Scottsdale that originally diagnosed it.... and there diagnosis was: replace vanos solenoids $643, new valve cover$1488. and then they recommended oil filter housing gasket $1015 and a bunch of other recommended stuff totaling to about $4000... never a mention of the oil filter cap. Needless to say they didnt do the work.

So the dealer it was purchased from said to bring it to him and he would take care of it. World Motors... all I can say about them now is buyer beware. They just used BMW's diagnosis to clean the vanos, flush the oil and replace the valve cover with their "expert" Euro mechanic. Oh.. and they had the car for a week and did lots of other unauthorized work because the mechanic said "in good faith" he couldnt not do it and it would have been necessary anyways. So the bill ended up being double what was authorized. And naturally it didnt solve the issue, so they said to bring it back, reset the codes and said the sludge is still working its way out and within a few oil changes all will be back to normal. Of course that didnt work either and they did another flush and then the car went into limp mode the next day. So... I took it to another mechanic of my own choice (BMW, Mini, Porsche experts) and they did another flush and thoroughly inspected the engine... They said they had never seen anything so bad and it looked like whoever owned it prior only changed the oil during BMW's recommended time and that clogged everything up. They didnt notice the cap either. a few days later is when I noticed it, replaced it and reset the code. And now a few weeks later no engine codes, no stalling. But I am still worried about those 3 flushes without that insert on the cap if it did more damage.

DUDE!, you paid $1,015 to get the oil filter housing gasket replaced??????? OFMG, that is like a 30 minute job for an experienced tech and a $18 part. You should demand your money back.

[ttedeschi]

No.. I didnt do any of that work at BMW North Scottsdale. I declined all that work. yea.. I know $1015 to replace a $15 part is ridiculous.

All those prices are a complete joke, good indy FTW.