Blown Engine, car value.

Hey guys, it's a depressing day in our household... The top end of our 2002 325i is blown. It was overheated and pushed too hard and now the engine is simply not worth repairing given our current financial situation. (I was not driving it when it happened...) I would personally say the car is in overall "ok" condition outside the issues under the hood. It does have an automatic transmission with issues and extremely rough shifts if you don't put it into gear quickly on start up. Ultimately I'm asking how someone more familiar with these vehicles would value it at given the engine is blown. We're pretty much screwed into parting with it and finding a "beater" :'( I know I couldn't really give much detail to it for you all to go off of and for that I apologize, but I really don't know what all to list for it as I'm personally not very mechanically savvy myself. Sorry for any annoyance I may cause due to my ignorance of the details, but it's not my personal car so I never really had the chance to "get to know" it.

The basics do include:
2002 325i auto, sedan
160,000 miles
completely stock
not beat to shreds, but does have a few carpet stains and minor scratches.
sun roof and drivers side window won't close if opened.

I'd say it's worth $1500, maybe less. Reason being the motor and trans are obviously the main parts that are worth something. Since they are dead, you are hosed. Why wouldn't you just find a used engine ($1500 or so) and replace the whole motor? It isn't hard to do at all. Beats spending $1500 for a "beater".

Well, it's my dad's car and ultimately his say. BMW's are completely unfamiliar to me (as well as almost any car for that matter) and he was told that an engine swap wouldn't mesh too well with the computer system and systematically cause a slew of other problems. Personally, it seems fishy to me because I don't know the mechanic that said this, and it seems like flashing it to match could also be done if such a problem were to occur. I think he's just tired of it in all actuality. We got it used and it's been a problem child ever since. We owned a BMW wagon before this one and it was the ultimate family vehicle. It was VERY reliable and even saved my mom and siblings lives when hit head on by a drunk driver. Theory is, we got a poorly maintained car (we bought it used as a replacement for the wagon) and it's just been on the road downhill from there. We're hurting pretty bad financially and can't afford all the repairs sequentially even after the engine replacement. Although, IF I can get some REALLY substantial information on the engine swap, who knows, maybe I can save this car. Just the stuff to show that it would be the better route than selling, although it would be equivalent to winning the lottery...

Originally Posted by cfield189

Well, it's my dad's car and ultimately his say. BMW's are completely unfamiliar to me (as well as almost any car for that matter) and he was told that an engine swap wouldn't mesh too well with the computer system and systematically cause a slew of other problems. Personally, it seems fishy to me because I don't know the mechanic that said this, and it seems like flashing it to match could also be done if such a problem were to occur. I think he's just tired of it in all actuality. We got it used and it's been a problem child ever since. We owned a BMW wagon before this one and it was the ultimate family vehicle. It was VERY reliable and even saved my mom and siblings lives when hit head on by a drunk driver. Theory is, we got a poorly maintained car (we bought it used as a replacement for the wagon) and it's just been on the road downhill from there. We're hurting pretty bad financially and can't afford all the repairs sequentially even after the engine replacement. Although, IF I can get some REALLY substantial information on the engine swap, who knows, maybe I can save this car. Just the stuff to show that it would be the better route than selling, although it would be equivalent to winning the lottery...

Another sad and unfortunate story....one that might have possibly been avoided IF the car had gotten a thorough PPI done before the purchase....

I've swapped engjnes in more than one BMW. It is plug and play as long as you get an M54B25 engine.

Nothing needs flashing, nothing needs coding. You drop it in, reconnect the sensors (which are all the same) and turn the key. Its that simple.

I've done it. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesnt know what they are talking about.