[Dorse1988]

Good evening,

Unfortunately it looks like my time with my 330D F30 M sport has come to an end.

Timing chain went on Monday night on the way home from work.

The engine was making a loud sound. I pulled in and it wouldn't start up again, no power to start but electrics working etc. Boosted it with a jump pack and it started for a few seconds the I cut it as the sound was bad.

The recovery mechanic from the local garage who the AA outsourced the job to tried and when he turned it on he confirmed it sounded like the timing chain had gone.

He had to put it in neutral via the bolt underneath the car to tow it to my local garage.

My local garage who I've used for almost everything on this car since I've owned it, confirmed that the timing chain was jumping and it wouldn't crank when they tried it.

I've been advised that it's uneconomical to repair due to cost and other work that could possibly come with taking the engine out on a car with such high mileage. (Oil leak at the moment that would need addressing too etc)

The car has done 205k miles.

I bought it at 150k 3 years ago so I've had a good run from it.

I've been offered a grand for it over the phone by one salvage site, they instantly jumped to £1,000 from the original £500 offered online.

I currently have it up for traders to have a look at and see if I get offered a better price.

What would you guys think would be a reasonable price in it's current state, a grand feels so low for this car. Is it worth sticking on Auto trader as spares/repairs for £2,500 and see how I get on?

Luckily I've got another car to get around in and looking at it in a positive manner means I get to look at getting another BMW when I get this sorted.

I've went E90>F10>F30 I'm thinking of going back to a E90 as I felt the drive in that was better than the F30 for my commute (70 mile round trip on winding A/B roads). Possibly a F31 as I've never had a touring and always liked the look of them.

Thanks for listening to me ramble on.

Cheers,

Darren.

[danb1979]

Sorry to hear of the woes

Personally I'd stick it on eBay as a parts-car and see what interest you get - deffo not Autotrader! Far too expensive and lots of scammers now

eBay classified is £20 for 30 days - stick it up for £2500 and ask folk to contact you to discuss offers etc

Try FB F30 / F3x groups too, as well as Marketplace

[Dorse1988]

Thanks for the advice Dan, I'll look into getting it listed on eBay and marketplace.

[YODI]

Put some details on here too

[TurboWeasel]

205K is pretty good going on original chains as they're a known weak point on the N57. Well, more so the early 2012-2014 vintage ones as the LCIs got better chains.

I'd take the grand and move on with your life personally. You could make more breaking it for parts, but no one fancies the time, faff and dealing with eBay/posting etc with that option. If you can get £2500 for it as spares/repairs, that's another option, but again, you've got to deal with tyre kickers and time wasters.

The E9x is definitely a better car imo, but due to their age, rust is becoming a concern and they're old in terms of infotainment, gearboxes etc but easy enough to upgrade.

Unfortunately BMW cheaped out on the F30. Cheaper materials, thinner chains, stupid oil intervals etc etc. They are great cars if maintained religiously and ahead of schedule, but if not, they die off.

An E90 330i would be a good little project. Can get decent power from them, stick some suspension on it and it will be fun B road blaster.

[Dorse1988]

Just as an update to this, I finally sold it today for £1,300 as a spares or repairs car. The engine had seized and there was quite a lot of oil underneath it where it's been sitting for almost 3 weeks at the front and the rear diff.


Thanks for all the advice on here over the years, in particular DanB and Turbo weasel. I'm sure I'll be posting back soon enough with my new find once I land on the right one. The gen 1 XC90 family bruiser will keep me on the road until I find the right BMW again.

All the best,

Darren.

[TurboWeasel]

Soul destroying isn't it. It put in a decent mileage for a modern car, but just a shame you didn't get to enjoy it for longer.

Good luck with the next one. Petrol this time?

[Dorse1988]

It was hard to see it go, but glad it's done now and can move on looking for a new car.

Not sure if I could go petrol with the miles that I do, 20k+ per year for work.

Though with the price of diesel I'm not sure it would work out too different in the end.