Is it worth fixing? £1000+ bill for 170,000 mile car

Arklight

I'm wondering what job you do where you live 55 miles away and there are actually other people who live near you to give you a lift?

Herzlos

stator wrote: »

What good would an MOT do?
It wouldn't tell you if this car is going to be a lemon when repaired.

But it'll tell him how much it's going to cost to MOT. No point spending a fortune repairing the engine if the body has had it, or it needs hundreds in additional work.

If it'll sail through, it's maybe worth the work for the years motoring.

Apodemus

Arklight wrote: »

I'm wondering what job you do where you live 55 miles away and there are actually other people who live near you to give you a lift?

Totally possible that the OP is commuting to the nearest big conurbation and finds that there are plenty of others nearby going to different jobs there.

System

stator wrote: »

What good would an MOT do?

Give you a list of other work that is going to need doing so you can factor that into the decision.

It wouldn't tell you if this car is going to be a lemon when repaired.

Actually it would, that is the whole point of doing the MOT, to highlight anything else likely to need doing within the remit of the MOT. The swirl flap issue won't have anything to do with it being a lemon if it is repaired properly.

Richard53

If you like the car, are happy with it and it is otherwise reliable, I would say spend the money on it, rather than risk an unknown. The cost of repair/inherent value calculation isn't always valid.


However, you don't say you love the car, and it sounds like the car has other issues which may make it expensive in the future. I'd be inclined to sell it for what I could, and spend the £1k (plus what you make from the sale) on a smaller car with MoT. It's a gamble, but so is a 12-year-old high-mileage Beemer.

thorganby

I don't see why you need a new air intake fitting at a cost of £1060, when blanking plates can be bought for less than £20 e.g.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-x-32-33-mm-Swirl-Flap-Flaps-Replacements-Removal-Blanks-Plugs-for-BMW-M57-/170979030277

Forget replacing the swirl flaps, BMW decided to drop this useless idea back in 2008.

The biggest problem is that metal from the failed swirl flap/s (they are not plastic) may have done damage to pistons/valves but blanking off is a much cheaper option worth trying.

Nobbie1967

Richard53 wrote: »

If you like the car, are happy with it and it is otherwise reliable, I would say spend the money on it, rather than risk an unknown. The cost of repair/inherent value calculation isn't always valid.


However, you don't say you love the car, and it sounds like the car has other issues which may make it expensive in the future. I'd be inclined to sell it for what I could, and spend the £1k (plus what you make from the sale) on a smaller car with MoT. It's a gamble, but so is a 12-year-old high-mileage Beemer.

Repairing this car takes you into unknown territory since we don't know if metal bits have got into the engine.

Sounds like good advice above to get blanking plates put in and then see if the rest of the engine is OK.