A Sad E39 Story (and 2 requests for advice)

[tonyg99]

My beloved 2001 530iA M-Sport (117k miles) suffered catastrophic engine failure during heavy rain last week -- a repair shop was able to get the engine running again, but reported that some of the valves and pistons are colliding at any RPM above idle (my unconfirmed theory is that rain water got into the air intake via the brake booster vacuum tube, resulting in hydrolock engine damage). That wasn't a fun way to start our family vacation to Cape Cod!

So now my car is dead and stranded in East Sandwich, MA, 250 miles from home, and both the economics and logistics for repairing it are looking challenging -- the shop offered to put a replacement engine in for around $2,000 (labor only), but there don't seem to be many reasonably-priced, low-ish mileage M54B30 engines available for sale on eBay.

Request #1: Can anyone offer advice on finding a good, reasonably-priced replacement M54B30 engine from a RWD car (apparently the X-Drive engines have a different-shaped oil pan) -- ideally with less than 100k miles?

Unless I can find a good replacement engine, my next best hope is to find an E39 enthusiast with the time, skill, and resources to fix her up -- she's much too nice a car to be broken for salvage. The bodywork is in great shape -- there are a couple of scratches, but nothing really prominent. Here's the last 7 of the VIN which you can run through your favorite VIN decoder: cf14268

In addition to the factory features, I've added a few upgrades:



BavSound Stage One (https://www.bavsound.com/Stage-One) Speaker Upgrade
Dice MediaBridge by Audiovox (https://www.ecstuning.com/News/BMW_Bimmer_Dice_MediaBridge_Audiovox_Multimedia_In tegration_Kit_Bluetooth_ipod_wireless_radio_handsf ree_audio/) smartphone integration: Bluetooth hands-free phone, Bluetooth/USB audio, fully-integrated steering wheel controls etc. (N.B. Installation of the MediaBridge kit required removal of the 6-CD changer from the trunk).
Upgraded Mk IV DVD Navigation system updated with the most current firmware available and 2014 map DVDs
4 x good Continental ExtremeContact DWS 235/45R17 tires on gorgeous Type 42 "BBS-style" split alloys
ZERO dead pixels on the OBC display!
Both cupholders work perfectly!
Recent service includes replacement of both accessory belts and tensioners/idlers, new fan clutch, new transmission cooler, new Duralast Platinum battery, A/C service, transmission service, power steering service, 4 x new struts, and more.


Request #2: What do people think is a fair price for a good 2001 530iA M-Sport with a dead engine? Anyone interested in making an offer?

All photos below were taken after the engine self-destructed:

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[1999 540i m]

There's many engines here http://www.car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?userSearch=int&userPID=1000&userLocation=USA&userIMS=&userInterchange=D%3D%40%40%3DN&userSide=&userDate=2002&userDate2=2002&dbModel=9.16.2.2&userModel=BMW%20530i&dbPart=300.1&userPart=Engine&sessionID=11000000042539277&userPreference=zip&userZip=11223&userLat=40.5970000&userLong=-73.9734000&userIntSelect=224909&userUID=0&userBroker=&userPage=1&iKey=

[tonyg99]

This is a great resource, many thanks!

[effduration]

I would suggest you find an engine on car-part.com preferably with a warranty and have it delivered to your mechanic and he'll throw it in. Pay extra to have all seals & gaskets, heater pipes, CCV, t-stat, water pump, etc replaced while out. $2,000 labor is a fair price

Don't get hung up on <100k mile engine. Any engine under 150k would be fine. I would prefer an engine from an automatic, but it is only a slight preference.

To answer your second question, I think a car like yours with a bad engine is worth $1,000 - $1,500. For me, Its low mileage, recent maintenance and good overall condition is partially offset by the gray interior, automatic trans, and the fact that it comes from a salty state. An engine replacement is $3500, which puts the repaired car at $4500-$5000 which is on the full side IMO.

I am in MA - about an hour away from Sandwich.

[geargrinder]

Requisite "ITS NOT AN M-SPORT" comment. Yes yes I know I know its got "M Sport" in the decoded options, but there's 1000 threads that explain why its still not an M-sport...

Aside from that... Bummer man. Sorry about that.

Are you sure pistons are hitting valves? Seems more likely that a knocking sound is blown bearings. Nonetheless indeed motor is probably junk. But are you confident in the mechanic that has the car now? We got a couple dudes that are Upper Cape (where the car is stuck) that might have ideas on BMW mechanics down there.

In addition to what F-dur says, the car doesn't even have sport seats, so... there's a number of "not special" demerits against it... although it is loaded with other luxe type options like the NAV and PDC and heated seats...

[JimLev]

I use to live pretty close to Sandwich until I moved.
You may want to try to get in touch with Capebmw (Dave S), he's probably on the X5 board, haven't seen him here for a while.
He lives in E. Falmouth, has a 528it and X5 as of 2 years ago.
I use to lend him some of my tools.
I can give you more contact info if you PM me.

[tonyg99]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

The car is at Canning's Service Center, which is AAA-approved (FWIW), and seems to get pretty decent reviews online.

I found a replacement engine with 112k miles from car-part.com for $925 including shipping and 90-day warranty, which seems like a pretty sweet deal!

P.S. Yes I know it's not an M-Sport -- and that there is in fact no such thing as an M-Sport. It's just an abbreviation for "530i with M-Sport handling package" :-)