[JWT4700]

I'd say that's in the ballpark. I paid an independent shop for an engine swap a little over a year ago after mine finally died from eating the belt. He got an engine a couple years newer than mine with about 60k miles on it. Total bill was $5837.61.

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by E92William

Yep you have to find someone like a backyard guy or someone without a specific bmw dedicated shop to do it. I know they're out there because I know quite a few in my area even guys that only do bmws but charge like normal cars. I was quoted 650 to replace balljoints in my xdrive e92 because that stupid AllData system said you needed a press and to take off the entire hub which you don't at all.

Buddy of mine paid 800 to have a transmission replaced on his Sonata with the transmision included in the price by one of these guys lol. Just charge for how long it takes.

I did this. I think he changed what he charged according to how broke he was that month. One time he charged me 10 bucks less than an indy another time he charged me half of what everyone in town wanted.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by greenberet123

Oh gosh, this thing never ends.

Just heard back from insurance and they are telling me that they will have to classify the car as a total loss (based on what the repair shop told them). They are giving me two options:

1. Owner kept salvage - I keep the car. They will pay me its value - deductible. Apparently I have to get a new "rebranded car" title from the DMV.

2. Insurance owned salvage - They will take the car and pay me a little more than what they pay me above.

This is a nightmare. Not sure what to do here. I want to keep the car and a new engine will help me run it for many many more years. I don't want to buy essentially the same car with a lot more money, that will have oil leaks in the future.

Is there any disadvantage of going with owner-kept salvage and having a salvage title?

Thanks!

While the insurance company SHOULD know, they may not be accurate about the salvage title issue. My E90 was "totaled" by a deer at 350,000 miles. The repair cost vs. value of my car was about $900 difference. I bought the car back and had it repaired. Body shop work I leave to professionals. But when I went to go thru the salvage title crap, I happily discovered that my state, Virginia, has specific rules regarding salvage titles. It turned out I didn't need a salvage title.

So my advice is get on your state's DMV site and carefully research what the regulations are that determine a if the car gets a salvage title. In Virginia, if the car is older than 5 years or the value is under $10,000 there is no requirement to get a salvage title. Your state may have similar regs.

Now if you are going to keep the car several more years and tens of thousands of miles, a hit on the value, say it's 50% for discussion sakes, that's maybe $1,500 to $2,500. Big deal. Anyway, I'd say a 50% hit in depreciation for a salvage title is an overstatement, and if you were to sell the car privately, showing the potential buyer all the documentation that the salvage title was the result of an engine replacement, it wouldn't be an issue.

Some people have suggested buying a salvage engine and having a shade tree mechanic install it is not a bad route to go if you have to buy the car back from the insurance company. A lot of salvage companies sell engines with warranties. Who you chose to do the engine swap, is something you should be careful to investigate for references, etc.

[marvinstockman]

First, not all salvage titles are equal. Just keep all your paperwork, and if you ever sell the car, show the prospective purchasers what you have and why it was totaled.

I'd also call you DMV, explain your concerns, and see what they say.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by kart23

That's good news, hopefully your deductible is low enough that you won't have to pay that much. IMO its very much worth it if they agree to put in a new motor. I still think it's weird of them to assign fault to you in this situation though, and your premiums are probably going to go up as a result of this. I just don't think this should be collision because collision is usually for stationary objects or other vehicles. Rocks should be classified as road hazards, but if they're willing to replace the motor that's good!

My very helpful insurance agent put it to me this way when I was filing a similar claim (and gently couched me in how to put it the right way) - if it is laying in the road and you run over it - it's a collision claim (you should have seen and avoided it). If it is flying through the air and hits your car - it's a comprehensive claim. I had actually hit a "road gator" - she was nice enough to say " are you SURE it hadn't just flown off the truck and hit your car before it hit the ground? Why now that you mention it, yes, that is exactly what happened!

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by marvinstockman

First, not all salvage titles are equal. Just keep all your paperwork, and if you ever sell the car, show the prospective purchasers what you have and why it was totaled.

I'd also call you DMV, explain your concerns, and see what they say.

I very much agree with this - a salvage title for just replacing a motor should have very little impact on the value in the long term.

I've owned a couple of salvage title cars and find that the longer you go from the time of the salvage event, the more the values converge to the norm. And the car that was a theft recovery ('91 318is, seats, wheels, spoilers stolen and replaced) had basically no impact on value. I would expect that would be the case with an engine swap - especially if the new engine is documented to be lower miles.

And as a data point - I just paid ~$7K to have a used engine put in my sister-in-laws pickup (botched Walmart oil change - long story) - similar deal, they did lots of PM along the way. So the quote does not seem out of line to me. Shop labor is expensive.

[Tunafish]

Then to make titles more complicated.. You can go from one State with a salvage title then to the next state and title could have no salvage badge without doing anything but changing what state the cars titled in..

So just because your title doesnt show salvage doesn't mean it wasn't. This is where a car history search comes into play.

[gds52]

Originally Posted by E92William

This is an outrageous price to swap an engine out of that thing holy shit. You can get a good running 65k mile N52 down here from a parted out car for 1000 or less and any mechanic with two braincells can do the job in less than a day. This thing is not complicated at all of a car to drop the subframe on. No way it'd go over 2k labor unless with bmw shop markup.

Originally Posted by E92William

This is an outrageous price to swap an engine out of that thing holy shit. You can get a good running 65k mile N52 down here from a parted out car for 1000 or less and any mechanic with two braincells can do the job in less than a day. This thing is not complicated at all of a car to drop the subframe on. No way it'd go over 2k labor unless with bmw shop markup.

This ^^^

$2k +- should be total cost. Find a good local BMW shop. Most of these used engines come wiht warranty. Also check with www.specializedgerman.com. Biggest German car junk yard with great customer service.
And u cannot go wrong with these engines...I've an e93 328i with 131k miles ( on sale ) and 128i track car with 78k miles, both engines are running strong.

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by gds52

This ^^^

$2k +- should be total cost. Find a good local BMW shop. Most of these used engines come wiht warranty. Also check with www.specializedgerman.com. Biggest German car junk yard with great customer service.
And u cannot go wrong with these engines...I've an e93 328i with 131k miles ( on sale ) and 128i track car with 78k miles, both engines are running strong.

An engine installed at a BMW shop for only 800-1000 dollars in labor. Some of you guys are so lucky.

[gds52]

Originally Posted by BravoJohny33

An engine installed at a BMW shop for only 800-1000 dollars in labor. Some of you guys are so lucky.

This is ballpark figure I heard before buying 128i track car instead of e36 M3.

[kart23]

Originally Posted by krhodes1

My very helpful insurance agent put it to me this way when I was filing a similar claim (and gently couched me in how to put it the right way) - if it is laying in the road and you run over it - it's a collision claim (you should have seen and avoided it). If it is flying through the air and hits your car - it's a comprehensive claim. I had actually hit a "road gator" - she was nice enough to say " are you SURE it hadn't just flown off the truck and hit your car before it hit the ground? Why now that you mention it, yes, that is exactly what happened!

Hmmmmm, I don't understand how a rock can remain stationary and punch a hole in an oil pan. It had to fly through the air and hit the oil pan. It shouldn't be collision. So stupid how theres little technicalities which could cost thousands.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by kart23

Hmmmmm, I don't understand how a rock can remain stationary and punch a hole in an oil pan. It had to fly through the air and hit the oil pan. It shouldn't be collision. So stupid how theres little technicalities which could cost thousands.

new to insurance companies?

you are forced to do business with them, the contract that is your policy is always skewed in their favor, and you have no choice but to accept it.

because state laws.

[greenberet123]

Very good news guys!

The claim adjustor took a look at the car today, did a search for similar cars - and finally ended up saying that that they were mistaken and "It's not a total loss"

So they are going to pay for the 5.5k used engine.

Overall, looks like this is a good outcome, I think! Don't have to deal with the salvage title stuff anymore! Just hope my insurance doesnt go too high.

Thanks so much everyone! I've been worried sick and this forum has given me hope and consolation that things are not actually that bad.

btw, shop is asking me if I want to change the timing belt as well (not covered), since they are already in there.

[E92William]

That's very good news I'm glad it all worked out

These cars don't have timing belts but chains. But if they wanna replace the chain and guides while there if it's cheap enough and you'll keep this long term might be a good idea

[Tunafish]

Very good, i thought that it was weird that would call it a total loss, why i said you might actually come out ahead if they went that route. Anyways if the price is in budget for you then for the piece of mind change the chain.

[NGEE]

Originally Posted by greenberet123

...they are going to pay for the 5.5k used engine...

btw, shop is asking me if I want to change the timing belt as well (not covered), since they are already in there.

So I take it you're going with the 6 month warranty option? I still have unanswered questions about your quote (see post 38). The 2 year warranty option had a timing chain kit, right? And I assume the shop was charging for that, not LKQ? If so, why is the labor identical for both options? I'm super confused.

[kart23]

Very good news indeed! Hope it all goes well for you.

[greenberet123]

I checked with them. It seems like they just assumed that the timing chain might be bad since its a cheaper engine, and just added its replacement to the quote.

He said that they will inspect it when it arrives and decide whether it needs changing or not.

Additionally, he said that the engine they have ordered has 77K miles (mine had 83K) and is 2 years newer than my current one. My current engine is an N51, not sure which one they are putting in.

Originally Posted by NGEE

So I take it you're going with the 6 month warranty option? I still have unanswered questions about your quote (see post 38). The 2 year warranty option had a timing chain kit, right? And I assume the shop was charging for that, not LKQ? If so, why is the labor identical for both options? I'm super confused.

[greenberet123]

How do you locate these guys? I'm in Seattle, WA. Do they put up ads on craigslist?

Originally Posted by E92William

Yep you have to find someone like a backyard guy or someone without a specific bmw dedicated shop to do it. I know they're out there because I know quite a few in my area even guys that only do bmws but charge like normal cars. I was quoted 650 to replace balljoints in my xdrive e92 because that stupid AllData system said you needed a press and to take off the entire hub which you don't at all.

Buddy of mine paid 800 to have a transmission replaced on his Sonata with the transmision included in the price by one of these guys lol. Just charge for how long it takes.

[greenberet123]

They are putting in an N51

Originally Posted by greenberet123

I checked with them. It seems like they just assumed that the timing chain might be bad since its a cheaper engine, and just added its replacement to the quote.

He said that they will inspect it when it arrives and decide whether it needs changing or not.

Additionally, he said that the engine they have ordered has 77K miles (mine had 83K) and is 2 years newer than my current one. My current engine is an N51, not sure which one they are putting in.

[rvphuerta]

$7000 is slot of money. I wouldn't care about salvage title if you are keeping it. I live in California and salvage title cars specially for older cars don't loose much value. I do live in California which is overpriced to other states.

[E92William]

Haha you find that type of people when you're shopping for parts out of cars being parted out in backyards or very small shops. Matter of fact last weekend I met this older dude he was parting out a 328xi and next to it he was quite literally cutting a 128i cabrio in half to put the rear end on another 128i with a damaged rear.. maybe people aren't this nuts in Seattle